It didn’t take long for Alex to climb the hill, and he did so with his senses at high alert. He didn’t want to take risks.

His feet made squishing noises as they pressed on weird pulsating roots, the air feeling stiff and greasy, but he ignored them. His eyes fixed on the front, not missing any detail.

Soon, he reached the glowing summit, but when he did, it revealed something entirely unexpected: a village.

‘What the…?’ Alex was shocked and alarmed at the sight.

The area was retro, with cobblestone paths weaving between stone-and-wood houses. There were lanterns hanging from posts, their soft golden glow illuminating the area.

The air here felt lighter, almost serene, a stark contrast to the desolate zone’s oppressive atmosphere.

Villagers moved around with smiles on their faces, going on with their daily routines.

“Hahaha.”

“Catch me if you can!”

“Heh! I’m faster. I’ll catch you in no time!”

The merry voices of children echoed as they played near a fountain in the village square, their laughter infectious, making some of the elders around them smile warmly.

Vendors sold goods at colorful stalls, and many handmade things, ranging from food to utensils made out of wood, were put on display.

It seemed like a normal village.

“This… doesn’t fit,” Alex muttered, narrowing his eyes.

[Yeah,] Sophie said, her tone cautious. [Although the desolate zone isn’t lifeless, this place feels like something that shouldn’t be here.]

Alex scanned the village for anomalies; his senses heightened. But he couldn’t find anything strange.

He noticed the atmospheric pressure—it felt normal, unlike the 3X gravity outside. The people appeared healthy; their mana signatures were faint but stable. They looked like humans. Humans lived happily in the demon realm, and that too in the desolate zone where even the demons feared to step in.

It was then that a villager noticed him—a young woman with braided hair and kind eyes—and hurried over. “Oh! A traveler! Welcome to Luminora!” She exclaimed, surprised but welcoming. “We don’t get visitors often. Are you lost?”

Alex shook his head, his gaze scrutinizing her. ‘Anything strange about her?’ He asked Sophie.

[No. Strangely, she’s just a normal one-star, star formation realm expert…]

Alex frowned inwardly before he smiled at the woman, appearing curious. “Luminora? A village in the desolate zone? How is that possible?”

The woman momentarily raised a brow, surprised by the question. “Ah, I see you’re skeptical,” she sighed before a warm smile marred her face. “Many who stumble upon us are. But rest assured, Luminora is safe. This hill is blessed and protected from the chaos of the desolate zone.”

Those words made Alex frown harder, but only on the inside; outside, he still had an intrigued expression—something that seemed to have surprised the woman. “Blessed? Protected—?”

He wanted to know more about what blessing she was talking about, but the woman spoke first, “Please, let us offer you food and rest. You must be tired.”

‘Yeah, totally not suspicious,’ Alex sighed inwardly.

Her tone was sincere, and Alex couldn’t detect any malice in her expression or body language, but he couldn’t relax.

[What do we do now?] Sophie inquired, her thoughts the same as Alex’s.

‘Let’s see how far this goes,’ Alex replied silently, nodding to the woman. “Alright, lead the way.”

The woman smiled wider, guiding him through the village, pointing out the market, the community hall, and the crystal fountain at its center. The villagers waved at him, their friendliness almost unnerving.

To verify his suspicions, Alex tested his surroundings discreetly. He picked up a piece of fruit from a stall and infused it with a trace of his mana. The fruit remained unchanged, proving it wasn’t tainted.

He had heard of demons that make people delusional by feeding, but this place didn’t seem like that.

From the novel’s plot, Alex knew the desolate zone was dangerous, but nothing about it was said. Keryu had just come here and reached the place where Lilia was.

Keryu had stayed in this zone for almost a week and even plundered some opportunities that Ben, the main protagonist of the novel, was supposed to receive, but how he got them was never told.

It was as if something about this place was purposely hidden by the author, as if he didn’t think it was time for them to be revealed.

‘Is this village one of the opportunities Keryu had come across during his stay in the desolate?’ Alex wondered, extending his senses toward the fountain’s water, searching for dark energy. Instead, he found pure, untainted mana flowing through it.

[Nothing’s wrong with the water either,] Sophie admitted reluctantly. [It’s as clean as anything in normal places.]

By now, Alex had walked the entire village, observed the villagers’ behavior, and tested various elements for illusions or traps. He found nothing.

Alex had tried talking to people with life and death energies coating himself, expecting them to show aversion to life and desire for death like any demon of the desolate, but he was again proved wrong.

Everyone—adults and children alike—would flock around him when he used life energy and avoid him when death was used.

“I don’t know what to think of this place anymore,” Alex muttered in resignation, though his guard didn’t drop entirely.

[We still have one test left,] Sophie reminded, making Alex nod, but for some reason, he felt that he wouldn’t find anything even with it.

Soon, Alex found an inn in the village.

It was almost night as Alex had been walking around for a while, so the street was lit with the warm glow of lanterns hanging from the inn’s wooden beams.

The sign above the door, etched with the name ‘The Velvet Hearth’, swung gently in the breeze.

As Alex pushed open the door and walked in, he was greeted by a wave of warmth and the aroma of spiced meat and freshly baked bread.

The air carried a faint hint of honeyed mead and woodsmoke, mingling with the low hum of conversation. The creak of the wooden floorboards beneath his boots added a sense of rustic charm.

Inside, the inn was alive with activity. Round tables, worn smooth by time, were scattered across the room, each surrounded by villagers clad in simple yet sturdy clothing.

Laughter rang out from a corner where a group of adults played a lively game of cards, coins, and small trinkets piling up in the center of the table.

“You lots, keep it down!” Yelled the innkeeper with a smile. He was a burly man with a graying beard and a jovial smile.

A serving girl darted between tables, her tray balanced with ease as she delivered steaming bowls of stew and plates piled high with roasted potatoes.

Looking at all this, Alex sighed again, feeling a bit disbelieving.

‘If this really is an illusion or some sort of trick, then the one who made it must be powerful,’ he shook his head at that thought, stepping further inside.

The murmur of voices dipped slightly, and a few curious glances were cast his way. It seemed like travelers like him weren’t uncommon here, but that was more of a reason why Alex found it strange.

These people weren’t strong enough to defend themselves. So, how did they survive until now? How did they survive with many travelers going in and out?

The innkeeper then caught his eye and nodded toward an empty table near the hearth.

“Welcome, traveler,” the innkeeper called out, his voice as warm as the firelight. “Find yourself a seat, and we’ll have something hot and hearty for you in no time.”

Alex nodded in thanks, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he moved to the offered table.

Relaxing for a bit didn’t seem wrong to him. If things turned out to be different from what it seemed, he would just have to take care of things in his way.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep