Chapter 74: Ch:74 Follow The Spirit

Daniel stepped into the tunnel alongside him. The man lifted his palm and summoned a small flame that burst to life, casting flickering light across the dark passage.

“Umm… I know nothing about you mister mysterious,” he said with a neutral expression.

“Hmm… Okay,” the man replied without hesitation.

The tunnel was cold, with no light source other than the flame burning in the man’s palm. A few minutes later, the man froze in his tracks.

Ahead, the tunnel split into two paths, one leading left and the other right.

“Young man, from here go straight left and you’ll reach Arcana town,” he said, his voice steady.

Daniel glanced toward the left tunnel. “But it’s so dark.”

“I know.”

*Fwoosh*

With a horizontal sweep of his hand, the man summoned a fire spirit from thin air.

“Follow this spirit and it will lead you to exit,” the man said. “But if you took a step back even by accident, it will explode on you. So be careful.”

For a second, a flash of memory surfaced in his mind—the fire spirit lunging at the dungeon boss, erupting in an explosion that forced the creature three steps back in pain.

Daniel glanced at him, his jaw clenched tight.”Whatever.”

He followed the spirit and turned left. The man stood behind, silently watching as Daniel disappeared deeper into the darkness of the tunnel.

Ten minutes later.

’Who on earth even made this tunnel? It’s like a never ending path of darkness.

*Grrr*

Agh… I’m hungry again. I should store some food in my pouch. Oh right… my pouch. I need to upgrade it once I get out of here.”

Another ten minutes later.

“Fuck… am I going to walk forever and ever?” Daniel muttered in frustration. “Hey, spirit, tell me how long it will take?”

The spirit waddled forward on tiny legs, small hands swaying at its sides, its round body giving it an unexpectedly adorable look.

…

Half an hour later.

*Fwosh-Fwosh*

The spirit jumped twice. Daniel froze and glanced ahead. A ladder stretched upward in front of him.

’I guess, I’ve finally reached the end,’ he thought, looking up.

*Fwosh-Fwosh*

Daniel calmly grabbed the ladder and began climbing. Below him, the spirit kept hopping, as if cheering him on.

“Fuck, I can’t see the ladder any more,” he muttered as he climbed.

Then his head hit something.

*Thud*

“Ouch,” he said, placing his right hand obove him.

Daniel felt a wood-like surface overhead. He pushed forward, and sunlight poured straight onto his face.

His eyes squinted immediately.

“Finally…” he whispered.

Daniel raised his head above the opening and saw no one around. He climbed onto the surface. It was an empty area filled with greenery.

He then pulled the wooden cover back into place, closing the hole he had come through. Beneath it, darkness returned, and the fire spirit was nowhere to be seen.

“Hmm… a tree stump to the left, and an empty space below. I’ll remember this,” he muttered as he climbed straight up.

Soon, he emerged into an area enclosed by wooden fences, covering a vast stretch of land. Horses stood calmly inside, hay bales stacked neatly nearby.

Wait… did I pop out behind a stable? he thought, glancing around.

From the corner of his vision, a young man rode in on horseback.

It was Anthony.

“Daniel?” Anthony said, bringing his horse to a stop. “Where did you pop up from all of a sudden?”

Daniel tilted his head slightly. “Uh… I was practicing my techniques down there. Heh…”

“What? Seriously? But I didn’t see you come in.”

“Oh, I came here at dawn.”

“What?! Dawn? Seriously?”

“Yeah… you know, practice is practice.”

After a brief exchange of casual chatter, Anthony’s father called out to him from across the yard. Daniel swung himself onto the horse behind Anthony, gripping the saddle as the animal shifted beneath them.

At Anthony’s word, they headed for the gate, where Daniel would hop down.

*thud-thud-thud*

“Yes, Father? You called?” Anthony said.

The man turned, but before he could say anything, he spotted Daniel hopping down from the horse. His eyebrows shot up.

“What? Where did you come from, young man?”

…

“Phew, somehow they believed my stupid story,” he whispered under his breath. “Well, for now I can only think about food.

*Grrr…*

Maybe I should buy some biscuits and store them in my pouch.”

Daniel walked from west to north as the sun dipped toward evening. The marketplace bustled with people, voices overlapping and footsteps echoing through the streets. He headed straight for the bakery.

But before he entered, his eyes drifted toward Renery’s stall. It was closed again.

’Did something happen to him?’ he thought, his voice barely above a whisper. ’Maybe I should go to his home to check.’

…

Daniel stepped out of the bakery, holding a few biscuits wrapped in paper.

“Damn it… my pouch is so full I can’t even fit a biscuit inside,” he murmured, glancing around.

Daniel calmly approached a stall vendor near Renery’s stall.

“Excuse me, sir. Do you know what happened to this stall vendor?” he asked, pointing toward Renery’s.

The vendor, holding a wooden spatula, shook his head. “No, sir. We don’t know anything about it.”

As Daniel was about to turn away, the vendor called out.

“Sir, is it true that you’re the creator of the meat pouches?”

Daniel casually shrugged and nodded. “Yes.”

The vendor froze for a heartbeat, then turned to whisper to the others. By the time they looked back, Daniel had already vanished into the bustling marketplace.

’Hmm… let’s go home and upgrade my pouch,” he thought, staring straight ahead.

Then, his attention shifted to a woman selling flowers from a small handcart.

“Maybe… after I upgrade myself,” he murmured, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

Daniel approached the flower lady. “Excuse me, how much for a flower?”

“That would be one copper, young man,” the lady replied with a warm smile.

…

*Knock-knock-knock*

“Coming…” a woman’s voice called from inside.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep