At the airport, Kevin and the other two stepped down from their private airship. The flight attendants nearby were very thoughtful, placing their luggage below and carefully loading it into the shuttle bus. Subsequently, the three of them boarded the vehicle and left the airport.
"The road ahead won't be easy; it's the most grueling part," Menchi turned her head, looked at Kevin sitting in the back row, and said with a smile.
"You don't need to specifically remind me; I've already understood the situation beforehand." Kevin rolled his eyes helplessly. He knew Menchi was teasing him, as he rarely traveled like this.
"It's fine, didn't we arrange for a vehicle in advance, and we have a local to lead the way? Though the route is a bit winding, there shouldn't be too much trouble," Buhara added from the side.
Their destination for this trip was a place known as the "Secret Realm." Just from this name, one could guess that this place was most likely located in an inaccessible area. It was by no means an easy task to reach there from a civilized area. In fact, this was indeed the case. Even from the nearest city, there was a distance of several hundred kilometers to the Secret Realm area. And this was only the straight-line distance; they had to traverse wilderness areas along the way, so the journey was destined not to be easy.
The vehicle slowly drove into the city, and the city gradually came into view. While called a city, it looked more like a dilapidated rural town. There wasn't a single building here over six stories high; various low, primitive structures were scattered chaotically along both sides of the road, and illegally constructed buildings were visible everywhere. The entire street had no order to speak of; vehicles of all sizes shuttled through randomly, and crowds squeezed back and forth in the gaps between the vehicles.
"Beep beep!"
"What are you honking for? If you have the ability, pass me!"
"Don't rush!"
"Can you move aside? It's just this little bit of road, what are you in such a rush for!"
Chaos, crowding, arguing—noisy sounds rose and fell on the narrow street.
"Oh~ I can just take the opportunity to have a good sleep." Menchi was clearly accustomed to this scene; she silently put on the sunglasses on her forehead, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and lay back in the passenger seat.
Kevin looked at Buhara, and Buhara could only shrug helplessly. It was better to get used to this.
The driver, who was driving, saw this and smiled as he chatted with them, "This is the traffic situation in our country; how about it, lively enough, right?" The driver's humorous self-deprecation made the group smile.
For Menchi and Buhara, who were constantly traveling around the world, such scenes were not unfamiliar. After all, not every country could maintain good order; in regions with scarce resources and complex geographical situations, people had no energy to reorganize traffic, and having a decent settlement was already quite good. One could even say that this place was already considered quite decent. Whether in his previous life or now, Kevin rarely had such experiences, so he kept watching quietly out the window.
The vehicle was like a bug struggling to move through bread, and it finally managed to enter the city center. After driving around for a long time, they finally arrived at the other side of the city.
"Where is the person who was supposed to pick us up?" After getting out of the car, Menchi held her luggage and looked around but did not see the guide they had arranged beforehand.
"They probably got delayed; let's make a call and ask," Buhara said as he squeezed out of the car. Kevin did not speak; he was not very familiar with this series of procedures, so it was fine to just follow along.
Immediately after, the sound of Menchi arguing on the phone could be heard.
And at this moment, Kevin felt someone watching him and followed the feeling to find the source of the gaze.
"Hmm?" The two exchanged a glance.
"Mr. Kevin?"
"Gawain?"
An unexpected person appeared nearby; looking at the other party, it seemed like they were just passing by. This young man, who was slightly younger than Kevin, walked up quickly, his face full of surprise and joy. "Mr. Kevin, I really didn't expect to run into you here."
"You are still so polite." Kevin listened to the other party's words and smiled helplessly. Gawain just smiled and did not respond.
Kevin looked Gawain up and down and nodded slightly. He discovered that the state of Nen on Gawain was much better than when it was first awakened during the exam; it seemed that his control over Nen was already quite proficient. This indicated that Gawain had received good instruction after the exam.
Buhara and Menchi also looked over. Kevin gestured to the two people behind him and introduced, "These two are my companions, Menchi and Buhara; both are Gourmet Hunters." The two greeted Gawain.
Gawain also immediately introduced himself, "My name is Gawain Thor; compared to the title of Hunter, I actually prefer to call myself a Knight. It is a pleasure to meet you two seniors."
Gawain was a very straightforward person, with a smile on his face, and his upright character seemed to be carved into his bones. After chatting simply for a few sentences, they were considered a bit more familiar with each other.
Gawain said with some excitement, "I really didn't expect to meet you in such a remote place. Ever since the exam ended, I have been staying here. If there is anything you need help with, please don't be polite with me."
Hearing this, Menchi asked directly without hesitation, "Do you know where the Haxing Casino is?" It turned out that they had just learned on the phone that the local guide they had booked was gambling at the casino and had been detained as a result.
"Of course I know; though that place is a mix of good and bad people, I still have some understanding of it." Saying this, Gawain led the group to the casino.
Very quickly, they found the guide and spent some money to redeem him.
"This money just covers your payment; you had better behave yourself." Menchi glared at the guide unceremoniously and said fiercely.
This thin, middle-aged man showed a fawning smile and nodded quickly, "Of course, of course. I am very familiar with the place you want to go; every year, Hunters look for me to be their guide." Obviously, because of this job for a living, he had more or less come into contact with the Hunter profession. He was not unfamiliar with this. Who else could it be but Hunters who would look for him to guide them that way?
"Shall we set off now?" Menchi suggested, and everyone nodded to show their agreement.
Gawain, who was following along the whole time, roughly understood Kevin and his group's destination. "May I ask, are you all going to the 'Food Village'?" Gawain asked tentatively.
Kevin did not answer directly but turned his head to look at Menchi and Buhara. Both of them looked indifferent. Kevin then nodded, "That's right."
After receiving a definite answer, Gawain's expression obviously became conflicted.
"If you have any thoughts, just say them directly; this is not like your character, is it?" Kevin said with a smile; he did not mind Gawain's hesitation.
Gawain was a bit embarrassed, then revealed an expression of admiration, and nodded solemnly, "Sorry, I was being a bit pretentious. I would like to make a presumptuous request: can I travel with you? There are some things I want to figure out, and I have always wanted to enter this 'Secret Realm'."
Before Kevin could speak, Menchi frowned and asked unceremoniously, "You should be Kevin's fellow examinee, right? Looking at you now, after getting your hunter license, you have been here receiving guidance from a teacher assigned by the Association to learn Nen ability, and you just finished learning recently, right?"
Gawain nodded, "That's right, Ms. Menchi, you are very sharp."
"Since you have already learned Nen ability and are a professional Hunter, entering the Secret Realm shouldn't be difficult for you, right? Why must you come with us?" Menchi continued to press.
Gawain clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and said frankly, "Because I am still very weak right now. Though I have known since I was a child that different powers exist in the world, it wasn't until I truly stepped into this world that I realized my own insignificance. The 'Food Village' is not safe; even the journey to the village could pose a life-threatening danger to me."
As he said this, he cast his gaze toward Kevin. Gawain knew very well in his heart that though he had now mastered Nen ability and built his own Nen ability system, he understood that Kevin back in the exam hall was not someone he could contend with, let alone the Kevin of now. Though he did not know exactly how strong Kevin was now, he keenly sensed the change in Kevin's temperament; presumably, the Kevin of now was even stronger. And since Menchi and Buhara could act together with Kevin and were both professional Hunters, their strength certainly could not be underestimated. This was a rare opportunity for him. Moreover, during the exam, Gawain had developed a certain level of trust in Kevin, which was why he made this request.
"Do you happen to know some information about the Secret Realm that has not yet been made public?" Kevin keenly sensed that Gawain must have a reason for wanting to enter the Secret Realm, and this reason was very likely related to some information.
Gawain nodded.
Menchi looked at Buhara and Kevin, and after receiving their tacit consent, said to Gawain, "Then we will temporarily act together until we enter the village; how does that sound?"
Gawain nodded happily, "Of course, thank you three. I will also share the information I know with you."
Just like that, a simple agreement was reached, and the four of them began to act together. They soon got into the car rented by the guide and drove toward the outside of the city.
The car drove all the way into the winding mountain road. Along the way, the guide kept chattering on about some meaningless things.
"Alright, stop talking about that; tell us about the content we are interested in." Menchi waved her hand helplessly, interrupting the guide.
"Alright, alright, you are the bosses, I'll listen to you," the guide replied, then continued, "Every year it's like this; I don't understand, why do you Hunters always like to run to this dangerous place?"
After finishing, he began to recount various pieces of information he had learned over the years while communicating with different Hunters. He charged a high price not just because he was a guide, but also because he would share some information about the Secret Realm for free along the way.
"That Secret Realm known as the 'Land of No Return' probably turned into its current state nearly three hundred years ago. I don't know the specific time, but I heard it was about three hundred years ago. Later, I don't know how long it was, but your Hunter Association began to regulate that place. Before that, monsters often ran out from that place; of course, I haven't seen it with my own eyes, after all, I am not an old man of several hundred years, haha."
After the guide finished, he told a cold joke himself, but discovered that the group was just staring at him, so he coughed awkwardly twice. "Ahem, anyway, that place is very dangerous; every few years, Hunters have accidents in there. We guides usually gather together to drink and chat, and we know that people have been lost again."
"Legend has it that there was originally a village inside, which was a Food God Village that cooked food for the gods in heaven; later, because the food did not satisfy the gods, a curse was cast down, the village was surrounded by monsters, and the people inside could never come out again." The guide mostly told legendary stories, and there wasn't much valuable information, but it was better than nothing.
The group cast their gaze toward Gawain, hoping to obtain more information about the Secret Realm from him. In fact, they were not completely ignorant about the Secret Realm; after all, many Hunters had explored it, and the information mastered by the Hunter Association was already quite detailed and could be bought for some money. But they felt that perhaps Gawain could provide some additional information.
After all, it was a Secret Realm; if all information had been explored and made public, it would not be called a Secret Realm. Moreover, according to some regulations, some information, even if the Hunter Association had it, would be sealed and not casually disclosed. This Secret Realm had such sealed information, which they could not access with their current status as Hunters; perhaps only Star-rated Hunters, or even Two-Star Hunters, were qualified to access it, which naturally aroused their curiosity.
Gawain nodded and began to recount his situation: "I had an older sister who became a Hunter when I was very young. At that time, I didn't understand what a Hunter meant. One day, she left home and never returned, leaving behind only a letter. The letter mentioned that she was preparing to go to this Secret Realm. Until my father passed away, he wanted to know what had happened to my sister. It was also because I wanted to figure this matter out that I decided to become a Hunter and enter this Secret Realm."
After listening to Gawain's story, the group found that there were not many clues. They only knew Gawain's motivation for becoming a Hunter. Gawain seemed to have realized this point as well, so he said the situation he had learned and some speculations: "Later, I carefully read that letter; my sister mentioned that she wanted to enter the Secret Realm at that time because there was an important festival in the village."
"A festival? Is it the Harvest Festival?" Buhara asked.
"I also thought it was the Harvest Festival at first," Gawain nodded, then added, "But the Harvest Festival happens at the end of every year; can it really be considered 'important'?" This was just his speculation. If his sister was of that nature, then for her, the Harvest Festival of the year could indeed be considered important. After all, there were great differences in thoughts between people, so he could only treat this as a conjecture. After all, he was still very young when his sister left, and his memories had long since begun to blur.
But the problem was that they were all professional Hunters, and the information obtained through the Hunter website was the same. The village indeed only had one festival at the end of the year. This was also the reason they chose to come at this time; they could just stay in the village for a period of time and participate in this Harvest Festival. This was a suggestion given based on the information from the Hunter website. It is said that at the Harvest Festival, all the villagers of the Food Village would display their most exquisite culinary skills. For Hunters who entered this Secret Realm and came to the village, the purpose was self-evident. So if Hunters were to come, they would usually choose the end of the year.
"How many years ago was your sister's letter written?" Kevin asked suddenly.
"19 years ago," Gawain replied. Kevin just asked casually and did not expect to obtain any critical information from it.
Just like that, the group spent two or three days on the road. Fortunately, Hunters came here every year, whether they came alone or in groups, so there were Hunter huts and camping sites built along the way.
Finally, they arrived at the entrance of the Secret Realm. It looked plain and unremarkable here, with nothing special. Only there was an overgrown airstrip nearby, which looked like it could park an airship. Beside it were a few small warehouse-type buildings, and a watchtower stood abruptly there.
The guide drove the car to the side of the watchtower with ease, poked his head out, and waved his hand. A middle-aged man, probably in his fifties and slightly plump, walked down from the watchtower. This person was undoubtedly a Nen user.
"Are you Hunters?" The middle-aged man asked.
"Who else could it be that comes here?" the guide replied casually.
"Go away, I wasn't asking you." The middle-aged man waved his hand like driving away a fly, turned his gaze to the four of Kevin, and was somewhat surprised that there were four people traveling together. After all, Hunters mostly acted alone; even if they formed groups, at most there were two, and three people traveling together was already rare; this time there were actually four.
Menchi directly took out her hunter license. According to the regulations, if it was a team trip, only one person needed to hold a hunter license, but everyone still took out their own licenses one after another.
Patreon Seasay