Finally, one of the thugs actually knew something about those adventurers. But it wasn’t exactly what William wanted to hear.

“Where did you see them?” William asked again. “Tell me everything you know.”

The man, his face bruised from the punches he had taken, replied, “I saw them leaving the city. But that’s all I know, I swear! They always go out and only come back from time to time.”

William frowned. They had said the portal was in the city, but apparently they weren’t even looking for it inside.

Could it be that the portal was actually outside, somewhere in the region? Judging by the thug’s expression and tone, he had already said everything he knew.

“And do you know how long they’ve been in the city?”

The thug paused to think before answering. “I think around six or seven weeks, something like that.”

After that, William let him go. He stepped out of the alleys and headed back to the city center.

“I need to find Rena and let her know,” he thought.

Rena was still looking for information about the portal—inside the city. If William just left without telling her, she would definitely get confused or maybe even worried.

The last thing he wanted was to act without keeping her in the loop. That never worked out well. It was always better to keep both sides informed about what they were doing to avoid surprises.

So, he went looking for her. It didn’t take too long to find her. Rena was walking out of a building when William spotted her.

“You’re back already? Did you find anything?” she asked.

William walked up to her so he could speak in a lower voice and make sure no one else was listening.

“Yeah,” he said. “From what I found out, they left the city—and apparently, they do that often. And they’ve been here for around six or seven weeks.”

“They left the city? Then they must know something and didn’t tell us,” Rena said.

That was definitely one of the possibilities. William just couldn’t believe they’d spent seven weeks in that city without learning anything at all.

“Exactly. I’m thinking about trying to track them down,” William said. “Are you staying here, or do you want to come with me?”

Rena even considered going with him, but in the end, she figured it wasn’t the best idea.

“I think it’s better if I stay here. At least this way, we’ll both be looking for information in different places,” she said, then chuckled. “Not to mention, you’re the professional stalker between us.”

William laughed too. “True, I’ve got the skills. See you later then.”

They split up again. Rena hadn’t found anything useful in the short time she’d spent looking for information about the portal, so there was nothing for her to share with William.

William headed toward the city gates. It was easy enough for him to come and go—there wasn’t much of a strict inspection. Since he wasn’t carrying any luggage, the guards let him pass without much trouble.

Once outside the city, William stopped and took a moment to think about how he was going to find those adventurers.

He knew they had left the city—but where exactly had they gone? That was still a mystery.

He decided to use his connection with the magical dove he had tamed, which was hidden nearby. He ordered it to fly over the region and look for the three adventurers.

Thanks to their mental link, William was able to send the magical beast clear images of what the adventurers looked like. That made things much easier.

While the dove flew off to search the area, William didn’t just stand around doing nothing—he began walking along the roads as well.

The city was located in a mountainous area, which made searching even harder. The mountains acted like a natural barrier, blocking the view in many directions.

For example, when William climbed a small hill, he was able to see things he hadn’t noticed before.

“They could be anywhere,” he thought. “Should I start asking people?”

There were some houses scattered around the city. A few were simpler, probably owned by farmers, while others were larger.

The group of adventurers could be hiding out in one of these homes too. The more William searched, the more possibilities seemed to appear!

And so, hours passed. He didn’t directly ask the farmers if they had seen the adventurers. Instead, he hid and observed the houses from a distance.

It was a bit creepy, sure, but luckily no one seemed to notice him. Hidden there, William watched closely to see if the adventurers were staying in any of the houses—but no luck.

At least, he didn’t see or sense any trace of them.

He was starting to get worried since he hadn’t found any clues or leads… but then, his magical dove spotted something!

The dove was flying high above, gliding over the region’s mountains, and at the top of one of the tallest peaks, it saw the group of adventurers.

They had built a small cabin at the top of that mountain—and it looked like they were living there! William could see everything through the dove’s eyes.

What’s more, he couldn’t help but notice a large opening near the cabin. It looked like the entrance to a cave… or maybe a mine.

“Could that be where the portal to the next level of the dungeon is?” he wondered.

Even if it wasn’t, it was clear now that they had, in fact, kept things hidden from William—and yet, they were still willing to make a deal with him. But why?

It didn’t make sense for them to strike a deal to find the portal if they had already found it. The only reason William could think of was that they wanted to feed him false information and lead him to look for the portal in the wrong place!

Either way, William decided to go up there and find out what was really going on. He waited for his magical dove to return so it could carry him to the top of the mountain.

The peak was very high, and walking there would take a long time—time that William didn’t want to waste.

As soon as his mount returned, he climbed onto its back and flew toward the mountain.

The cold wind hit his face as he rose higher toward the mountaintop.

There was no snow, but the temperature was fairly chilly due to the altitude. When he arrived, William dismounted and told the dove to fly away and stay close in case he needed a quick ride.

It was time to confront the adventurers. There was no point in hiding and speculating about what they were doing or what they truly knew.

The best thing to do was to face them directly and get the answers right there on the spot. That’s exactly what William intended to do.

He walked slowly toward the cabin in the middle of nowhere. As he got closer, he noticed the adventurers outside, sitting around a campfire. They were cooking something to eat while chatting.

William didn’t try to hide his presence. He simply walked straight toward them, and the adventurers quickly noticed him, clearly shocked by his sudden appearance.

They stood up right away. “How did you get here?”

“The same way you did,” he said. “Why so surprised? Got something to hide?”

The air between them grew tense. William stared at the three adventurers, showing no sign of fear. That made the trio visibly uneasy.

If William had come all this way to confront them so confidently, it must’ve meant he had the power to back it up!

Was that true? Well… not exactly. William actually had no real idea how strong they were. But he was done hiding and second-guessing.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the leader of the trio said with a smile. “We’re not hiding anything. We just came up here to relax. Found this abandoned cabin and figured it’d be a good spot to clear our heads.”

That excuse was just plain stupid.

“Really? What a random place to stumble upon a cabin,” William said, then pointed. “And that cave entrance over there? Care to tell me what’s inside?”

The moment William brought that up, the adventurers’ expressions turned even more serious. They stared at him intently, and he could feel it—an unmistakable killing intent radiating from their auras.

At that point, William already knew: if he wanted answers, he’d have to fight. There was no way around it.

“Nothing,” the leader of the trio said. “It’s just a cave. Nothing special in there.”

William smiled. “Oh? Then I guess you won’t mind if I take a quick look?”

He took a step toward the cave, and immediately, the trio moved in sync, positioning themselves between him and the entrance. That was all the confirmation he needed—there was definitely something they didn’t want him to see.

“So, we’re really doing this?” William said, his voice cold, his gaze sharp like a blade. “Is whatever you’re hiding really worth your lives? Let me warn you—when I fight, I don’t hold back.”

Silence fell between them. The only sounds were the howling wind atop the mountain, and the crackling of the campfire.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep