Chapter 48: Journey to the Crater

"Did we find the right path?" A Kui's voice came through the communicator, tinged with excitement.

"Huff... huff... I'm not sure, but I think I'm almost there," Lu Kuan replied, catching his breath. Not wanting the others to worry, he forced a smile and added, "There are plenty of hidden climbing points in this crevice—most likely designed for players. I should be close. Let me climb up and take a look."

"Alright, be careful! If you fall, I won't be able to catch you," A Kui joked cheerfully.

Lu Kuan grinned, shaking out his aching wrists, then resumed his ascent. Ten minutes later, as he looked up, the endless black rock above finally gave way to a patch of vibrant green. At last—he’d made it.

He sped up, reached into the dense grass overhead, soon found the cliff’s edge, and with a cry of "Hey!" hauled himself up in one swift, clean motion.

He misjudged the height of the grass, failed to steady himself, and landed rather awkwardly on his backside. But before he could even catch his breath, a shadow flickered before his eyes—a cold gleam stabbed fiercely toward his groin!

Lu Kuan was so startled his soul nearly left his body; instinctively, he knew that such an attack was even more terrifying for a man than a knife to the throat.

In a panic, he pushed himself backward with both hands, barely evading the blow. The enemy’s dagger plunged into the soil with a sharp thud, then was immediately withdrawn for another attack—aimed at the same spot!

Any further retreat, however, would send him plummeting off the cliff. Lu Kuan rolled sideways, using the grass as cover to back away, and in a flash drew his twin swords from his waist.

But when he looked up, his adversary had vanished—only tall wild grass swayed in the breeze before him.

Such speed!

Lu Kuan narrowed his eyes, crouched low in the thick grass, and glanced at his battle log.

"System prompt: Unknown creature has launched an attack against you. Successfully evaded."

Damn it—his opponent moved too fast. He hadn’t even seen what they looked like, only a vague impression of a humanoid form.

Lu Kuan gripped his swords, listening intently for any movement, but aside from the soft rustling of the grass in the wind, he heard nothing unusual.

"A contest of patience, is it?"

Lu Kuan grinned. By now, he was fairly certain his opponent was a humanoid NPC, most likely of the assassin type—this style of combat was unmistakably that of an assassin.

He thought for a moment, sent a reassuring message to his teammates below, then crouched low and moved swiftly in the direction he remembered.

Suddenly, the grass to his left rustled, and the cold glint reappeared, aiming straight for his throat!

"Clang! Clang!"

Lu Kuan had been waiting for this. His left sword blocked the incoming dagger, and his right sword, which had been aimed at the enemy's head, was parried by another dagger, producing two crisp metallic sounds.

Although Lu Kuan was now a ranger, in his previous life he'd played an 80-level Shadow Dancer. As long as his opponent didn’t use any overwhelming melee skills and their attributes weren't too different, Lu Kuan was confident he could take on any foe in close combat.

His melee prowess caught his enemy off guard. The attacker, failing to land a strike, immediately turned to flee. Lu Kuan chuckled and didn't give chase, instead sprinting toward his original destination.

During their brief encounter, he'd gotten a good look: the figure was short and slender, clad in a cloak and hat woven from grass, but wore leather boots—not a wildling or monster, certainly.

"I don’t care what you are. I’ll grab the treasure and be gone—who has time to tangle with you here?"

With this resolve, Lu Kuan ran full speed ahead. He could hear something following behind, and couldn't help but smile: so his pursuer was after the treasure, too.

Both figures raced through the grass, which grew thinner and sparser until, after a long stride, Lu Kuan’s view suddenly opened wide.

The first thing he saw was the sky, a pure blue dome stretched overhead. A fresh breeze swept past, clearing the scent of grass from his nose.

Directly ahead, some ten miles distant, the sky met a sweeping arc of cliff, which extended left and right until it was lost among the trees. The pale green grassland stretched from the distant cliffs all the way to his feet, uninterrupted.

Such majestic scenery stirred an urge to shout out loud.

This was the caldera of a dormant volcano in the Frostfire Mountains. The cave-dweller canyon below was merely one of several massive fissures at the rim. Of course, such a grand scene was more than just the site of a C+ treasure—it was also one of the famed dragon lairs of the Frostfire range in later ages.

Directly ahead, five or six hundred meters away, stood the ruins of a crumbling structure, weathered and eroded, but still recognizable. Lu Kuan's face lit up with joy—that was the location of the treasure!

"Rustle, rustle..."

Just then, movement sounded from the grass behind him. Lu Kuan smiled, moved away from the edge, stowed his swords, and readied his bow.

Come on, whatever you are—once you leave the grass, you’re out of luck.

Seconds later, a small figure burst from the grass. This time, instead of attacking, the stranger waved and shouted, "Stop! Don’t go any farther!"

Hey—she’s a girl?

Lu Kuan was genuinely surprised. He scrutinized her, and a name quickly surfaced in his mind: "Are you Ellie?"

The girl started, eyeing him warily. "Are you sent by Tang Jie?"

"No, no, don’t misunderstand," Lu Kuan hurriedly explained, "I’m a friend of A Tang. Your mother asked me to find him..."

Ellie hesitated, clearly uncertain. Seeing this, Lu Kuan briefly recounted how he’d learned about the treasure, how he’d made his way to the cave-dwellers' canyon to look for A Tang.

Ellie relaxed, lowering her dagger. Some details Lu Kuan mentioned—the hunter's cabin, things the siblings had said to each other—were impossible to fabricate. With that, Ellie removed her grass hat and asked urgently, "How is A Tang? Is he alright?"

Seeing Ellie’s face, Lu Kuan—well-traveled as he was—could not help but be struck by her beauty.

Like A Tang, Ellie had golden hair. Her face was smudged with dirt, but her delicate nose and perfect features, especially those water-green eyes, shone with an enchanting allure.

This is what it means to be born beautiful, Lu Kuan thought admiringly—no wonder she was noticed at such a young age.

"He’s fine, not hurt. Don’t worry," Lu Kuan said, momentarily stunned, then smiled reassuringly.