“Won’t Karl go to that temple and take a look? It seems like there’s a girl crying,” Naily asked worriedly, subtly pointing out the last emotional storyline clue.
Karl glanced at Naily, his voice flat: “No need.”
“But what if that girl is in danger? You’re the hero!”
Karl stopped. Naily thought he had finally gained a hero’s awareness and looked at him expectantly. The young man just calmly said:
“It has nothing to do with me.”
Karl’s delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, as if displeased with Naily’s suggestion.
He lowered his feminine eyelashes, his voice still flat: “I won’t fall in love with other women.”
Naily was stunned.
“Okay, let’s continue to the next mission,” Naily felt inexplicably flustered, turning her gaze back to the map. Karl, however, waved away the system interface and stepped in front of her, unusually serious:
“Naily, I only like you.
It’s nothing, just thinking about the steps for the next task,” Naily awkwardly turned her face away, feeling inexplicably guilty.
Carl did not respond. Naily awkwardly looked around and suddenly realized: they had somehow arrived at the prelude stage of the Magic Forest before the decisive battle, even though they were not supposed to be here yet.
“Carl? Did we take a wrong turn? The mission was at the suburban spring…”
Naily’s words were once again interrupted by the boy’s cool voice: “No mistake.” The trees surrounding the demon’s lair were dense, forming the Magic Forest. The trees were so thick that no light could penetrate, and in the tangled root cavities, there was a faint glow, like eyes staring intently at the intruders. Absolute silence, broken only by the crisp rustling of footsteps on dry leaves. Naily felt something was off. Normally, upon entering the Magic Forest, tree monsters and goblins would immediately harass them.
After the hero defeated these troublesome enemies, they could find the underground holy spring ruins using the stone tablets from the monsters, pass through the maze where monsters appeared in the center of the ruins, retrieve the King’s Sword, and then climb the mountain to confront the Demon King.
But now, the Magic Forest seemed completely asleep. Not a single goblin was in sight, let alone any other creatures.
