secret dice.

Chapter 787 Meeting a Fellow Villager... Fellow villager?!
After some negotiation with the receptionist, Luo Jun met the leader of the Wolf Fang Mercenary Group.

This was a tall, thin, but very strong middle-aged man named Wolf, a renowned expert in Harbor Harbor. Upon their first meeting, Luo Jun activated his Eye of Insight.

After reaching level 20, Luo Jun's Eye of Insight also improved. Besides being able to see health, mana, and stamina bars, the restriction on viewing levels was also lifted. Previously, the Eye of Insight couldn't see if the opponent's level was more than ten levels higher than his own. This time, he could see clearly no matter the opponent's level.

This leader's level is 72, which is more than 20 levels higher than the lower limit of A-level mercenaries. He should be considered a good one among A-level mercenaries.

"So you're the guy who completed six C-level missions in one morning?" Wolf looked at Luo Jun, his eyes scrutinizing him.

"Not at all, it's all the result of everyone's joint efforts." Luo Jun smiled and looked at Wolf, while he could feel a pressure trying to influence him.

"Under the pressure of LV3 fear!"

"Action accuracy decreased by 50%, attack power decreased by 50%, and brief paralysis and stun effects are triggered intermittently."

"Mental strength check failed, fear curse not in effect!"

…………

"They gave me a hard time right from the start," Luo Jun thought with a sneer. "But this is all they've got. They're not even worth a second glance."

Realizing that the fear pressure had no effect, Wolf's eyes showed appreciation, and he nodded, saying, "I've already asked your teammates. You completed all six missions by yourself. Putting aside the difficulty of the missions, just the speed at which you traveled back and forth between the six mission locations in one morning shows that your strength is at least B-level... and may even be comparable to an A-level mercenary!"

"So I passed the interview?" Luo Jun smiled.

Wolf nodded. "But I still have to remind you, this is an A-level mission. Our destination is the most dangerous secret realm in the Gulf Province, Treasure Bay! The objective is to find the treasure left behind by an ancient pirate group! Numerous pirate ghosts dwell there, and it's said that the power of a deep-sea evil god is also at play. Even an A-level mercenary group would be in great danger. Knowing all this, are you still willing to join this mission?"

"That sounds pretty exciting." Luo Jun nodded. "Count me in."

“Very good!” Wolf smiled and looked at the receptionist: “Help him with the formalities, we’ll take this temporary team member.”

The receptionist completed the formalities, and Luo Jun officially joined the team. Wolf handed him a map, saying, "This is the location of Booty Bay."

Luo Jun took the map, opened it and glanced at it. Wolf turned back and said, "Fox, give him a share of the supplies the guild gave us. Ordinary swords won't be enough to deal with ghost-like monsters."

A thin man dressed as a thief behind him nodded and was about to open his backpack when he suddenly froze: "Boss, he..."

Wolf frowned and turned around with a puzzled look, only to find that Luo Jun, who had just taken the map from him, was gone.

"This..." Wolf was stunned, turning to look at his dozen or so men: "Did you see where he went?"

His subordinates all shook their heads; none of them noticed when the new recruit had left.

…………

In Treasure Bay, the Rose Mercenary Group followed the new path and soon arrived at a fork in the road.

There were two roads, one to the left and one to the right, and the sound of the wind was coming from the right fork in the road.

"Let's go to the right," suggested the mage in the group. "The right is a way out, while the left is most likely a dead end."

"Shouldn't you choose the dead end?" the purple-haired thief laughed. "The way out might be outside. If you have treasure, would you leave it outside or in the deepest part of the cave?"

"Uh..." The red-robed mage in the group was momentarily speechless. Golden Rose nodded and pointed to the left: "Let's go this way!"

The group proceeded along the left-hand path, and as they ventured deeper, the chill intensified, eventually giving them the feeling of being in a frigid polar region. Strangely, when Mulan Shi opened her interface, she didn't see any information about cold damage; instead, it indicated she was suffering mental damage.

"What makes us feel cold isn't the temperature, but some kind of mental pressure." Golden Rose took out a bottle of potion and drank it: "Everyone, take out the mental resistance potions given to us by the Mercenary Guild; they can resist this kind of damage!"

"Should we continue exploring?" Mulan asked tentatively. "We can feel the pressure here. Could there be powerful ghost monsters ahead?"

"It's alright..." Jin Qiangwei said, "Our team has three A-rank mercenaries, and the rest are mostly B-rank elites. We also brought equipment specifically designed to deal with ghost monsters. Even if there's an S-rank evil spirit inside, we're still a force to be reckoned with!"

Golden Rose's confidence inspired the others, and they continued forward. Soon, they saw a glowing blue light emanating from the depths of the cave.

"Wait..." Golden Rose stopped her teammates behind her, glancing at the priest in the group: "Can you tell what that is?"

The beautiful female priest drew a holy symbol on her chest, emitted a soft white light, which transformed into a thumb-sized white bird that flew forward. When the white bird came into contact with the blue light, it did not react at all.

"It doesn't seem to be an evil spirit, but just pure spiritual energy that must have been fused with magic to emit this kind of light."

Hearing her explanation, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the spiritual energy wasn't malicious, there wasn't a big problem; it might even indicate the presence of some powerful treasure.

"Let's go take a look!" Golden Rose led the group forward and soon arrived in front of the blue light. They found an ancient, rusty iron door with a circle of blue gems inlaid on it, radiating waves of magical power that fused with spiritual energy.

"It's so cold..." The red-robed mage frowned and said, "Is this the thing that's been emitting spiritual energy?"

"Can you untie it?" Golden Rose asked.

“We can try, but it will require the two of us to work together.” The red-robed mage glanced at the priest beside him, and the two nodded, walking together to the door and beginning to cast a spell. Although both were magic-based professions, the mage focused more on elemental magic, while the priest focused more on soul, mind, and physical magic. Comparatively, the former was better at manipulating mana, while the latter was better at manipulating spiritual power. Working together, relying on the tacit understanding honed from years of fighting side-by-side, the two quickly broke the seal on the door, and the iron door slowly opened with a screeching sound.

"This...this is..." Jin Qiangwei exclaimed in surprise, and everyone else stared wide-eyed as well.

Behind the door was a circular, secret chamber. A ring of ever-burning magical lamps surrounded the chamber, and a huge magic circle was drawn in the center. At the center of the circle, a skeleton dressed in white sat cross-legged, its clothes severely weathered and tattered. In the corner behind it, a wooden box with a severely rotten exterior lay.

"Who is this?" The burly female warrior walked forward in surprise, holding up her hand to measure: "Sitting on the ground, it's almost as tall as me. What kind of physique must it have had in life?"

It should be noted that this fierce female warrior was over two meters tall, and the skeleton was not only sitting on the ground, but also had its head bowed and its body hunched over due to gravity after death. Even so, its height was no less than that of the female warrior, which shows that it was huge.

"It's not human!" The red-robed mage shook his head. "Look at its skeletal dimensions. Even considering its height, it's far too thick. And its fingers and toes have very sharp ends, like the claws of a wild beast..."

"And the top of the head!" Mu Lanshi also noticed something was wrong: "Underneath that messy white hair, you can see two protrusions... like severed horns!"

“He is Bloodfang Trul…” Golden Rose guessed the identity of the skeleton: “The most intelligent ogre in legend, not only possessing a strong physique, but also mastering knowledge and magic surpassing that of human scholars. However, when he wanted to enter the Royal Mage Association of the Oran Empire, he was rejected because of his ogre race and was even hunted down… Later, he fled to the Gulf Province and formed the Bloodthirsty Pirates, which struck fear into the hearts of the entire southern part of the empire!”

"He's the Grand Commander of the Bloodthirsty Pirates?" Clearly, everyone had heard the legends of the Bloodthirsty Pirates. The one they had just killed in a fierce battle was the captain of the Bloodthirsty Pirates' third fleet, and one of their few human captains. Historical records indicate that more than half of the Bloodthirsty Pirates were intelligent races other than humans, and their willingness to serve under this ogre Bloodfang was proof enough of its power!
"I remember reading in the history books that after the fleet wiped out the Blood Pirates, they didn't find Bloodfang's body or its legendary magical equipment... Many people guessed that it escaped in the chaos, but who would have thought it would end up here?"

The red-robed mage exclaimed in surprise, looking at the wooden box behind the skeleton: "Then, could that box contain his legendary equipment?"

"Why don't you open it and see?" The purple-haired thief girl smiled slightly and was about to go around behind the skeleton. Just then, Mu Lanshi called out to her, "Wait, look at the magic circle beneath it!"

Following the priest's gaze, everyone saw seven large gems embedded in the magic circle, surrounding the skeleton. Strangely, five of the seven gems shone with different colors, while the other two were dull and lifeless.

"What... does this mean?" Although the mage in the group was also proficient in rune arrays, he had never seen such an array before, so he did not know what the seven gems meant.

"This magic array is exceptionally profound; I can't fully understand it either." Mu Lanshi frowned slightly as she looked at the array's layout. Although she lacked practical combat experience, she had been mentally sharp since childhood, especially known for her memory. She loved reading, particularly about otherworldly knowledge. While this magic array exceeded her current knowledge, she could vaguely deduce its function based on its drawing and arrangement.

“This is an energy-absorbing array,” Mulan Shi said, frowning. “Although I don’t know the specific operating principle, these gems should be containers for accumulating energy…”

"Accumulating energy?" The red-robed mage frowned. "So, do these few bright gems mean that the accumulation is complete? And the other two are empty?"

“That should be the case…” Mulan Shi nodded: “It is obvious that the energy of the magic array is still accumulating. Whether it is accumulating slowly over time or is affected by other factors, I cannot tell yet.”

"What will happen once it's all accumulated?" Golden Rose asked.

“I don’t know…” Mulan Shi shook her head: “But since that skeleton is sitting on it, it must be related to it…”

As she spoke, Mulan Shi looked at the enormous skeleton and said, "Looking at it always gives me a sense of unease."

“In that case, let’s not act rashly for now,” said Golden Rose. “Let’s go back and report the situation here to the guild, and gather more scholars here before we make any further moves.”

The others agreed with the leader's statement and began packing their things to leave.

"You did a great job. I knew I hadn't misjudged you." Golden Rose patted Mulan Shi on the shoulder. "Follow me, and you'll soon become a powerful mercenary!"

Even though she knew the other person was just an NPC, Mulan Shi still felt a warmth in her heart and an inexplicable sense of satisfaction when Jin Qiangwei recognized her. This person was truly charming; if she were just an ordinary mercenary, she would definitely be willing to join her mercenary group and serve her.

Unfortunately, the mercenary group was just a stepping stone for her to level up quickly. Her real goal was to go to the capital or other provinces and join other cultivators as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, Mu Lanshi couldn't help but sigh.

"What's wrong?" Golden Rose looked at her. "You don't seem to want to be a mercenary forever?"

Mulanshi shook her head: "I left my hometown and came here to find my fellow countrymen... Now that I haven't seen any trace of them in Harbor, I'll have to go somewhere else sooner or later..."

"Fellow townsman..." the red-robed monk asked curiously, "Where are you from? I have some well-informed friends who might be able to find out where your fellow townsman is."

“I come from the Lost Lands,” Muran said. “I have already inquired in Harbor, and there are no fellow countrymen here.”

"The Lost Lands?" The red-robed mage paused, then blinked. "I'm from the Lost Lands too."

"What?" Mu Lanshi was startled and looked at the other party with a surprised expression.

I don't know her!
Mulan Shi was certain that the red-robed mage in front of her was not an explorer sent here by the main world. So how did he come from the Lost Land, which is the starting village?

“It’s not just me…” The red-robed mage pointed to the purple-haired female thief who was eyeing the treasure chest: “She’s also from the Lost Lands…”

"Her too?" Mu Lanshi was completely confused...

“Me too.” The heavily armored female warrior raised her hand as well: “In fact, about half of our team comes from the Lost Lands… We’ve lived in Harbor Harbor for so long that we can’t even remember what our hometown looks like anymore…”

"This……"

Mulan Shi's mind raced, and just then, the magic array on the ground suddenly lit up.

(End of this chapter)