This is a... highly abstract anthropomorphic creature.
It has a human form, dressed in rudintary clothing woven from animal furs, standing over two ters tall,
with a forward-bending back, a robust and muscular upper body, while the legs are shriveled and emaciated.
Its face is flat and twisted, with a protruding chin, sowhat resembling a crescent moon; the skin on its right arm is scorched and cracked, and its left arm is pale as snow,
an additional slender arm growing from its chest,
each arm holding a black bag emitting a strange odor, with a large stain resembling dried blood under the bag on the left hand.
The peculiar creature, with agility incongruent with its form, lightly landed on the wild boar's head, barefoot on sharp thorns without any sign of injury.
"Hehehe..."
Its piercing gaze swept over Li Ang and the others, lips parted to reveal yellowed, gapped teeth, with a soft chuckle,
the extra slender arm from its chest drooping down gently onto the boar's forehead.
The boar, monts ready to charge at Li Ang and the others, now shivers in fear as though encountering a natural enemy it couldn't resist,
its body trembling, quills rustling, without the courage to resist or flee.
Boom!
The creature's fist hovered a few centiters above the boar's head, springing lightly like a coil,
striking the boar's forehead.
The sound of its skull cracking resounded ceaselessly, blood spurting from its seven orifices, the terror in its pitch-black eyes swiftly fading,
its life ended with a nonchalant punch.
So strong.
David's eyelids twitched; the peculiar looking creature before him was comparable to Bell Tower's monster Quasimodo… unquestionably rivaling any first-tier player.
While David himself could also slay a giant boar instantly, his strength system implied that such a nonchalant display of supre power and skill was beyond him.
"It's been so long…since I saw living people..."
The creature slowly bent its knees, sitting cross-legged atop the now-dead boar's head, examining the players, "Did you co from outside?"
Outsiders?
What does it an? Is it an indigenous creature, or did it see that we are players?
Hoenheim thought rapidly, silently. They understood the creature's words, clearly a result of the system's automatic translation.
Only slaying the boar and not attacking further indicated communication, suggesting it might be the key NPC in this scenario mission.
The first stage's objective was to reach the Sacred Mountain within five hours, implying lenient ti limits, potentially using an NPC to avoid detours for a shortcut.
So, what should we answer...
The creature eyed the suddenly silent players, its gaze narrowing, expression gradually growing unfriendly.
"We might be."
Li Ang responded cautiously, "It mainly depends on how one observes and defines.
May I ask who you are..."
"I've long forgotten my original na. You may call
Claude."
The creature self-identified as Claude glanced at Li Ang, "You've co for the Pale Holy Mountain?"
Li Ang raised an eyebrow, "How did you know?"
"Dressed in flashy clothing, ignorant of the dangers here, stepping blindly with unwarranted confidence."
Claude replied coldly, "All signs suggest you're outsiders here for worship at the Sacred Mountain.
However, you do possess strength, having traversed the Endless Deep Sea and Bewildered Canyon to get here with good spirits."
Endless Deep Sea?
Are those locations outside the forest?
By his words, do the native inhabitants of this world regularly risk pilgrimages to the Pale Holy Mountain?
Li Ang pondered, nodding while attempting to use the Mystery Delver title skill to read Claude's mind, "We manage.
We all work out regularly, and our gym is top-notch, accommodating even sensitive skin — the kids love it (They rave about it). Just that the gym equipnt has limited color options, the 512 mory is too large; it burns out the rearview mirror easily. But the classes are free, and you can smoke on the balcony with peace of mind."
???
Other teammates showed odd expressions — were you impersonating a Taobao review bot?
Claude also looked puzzled, "Has external language developed so fast?
Where do you co from?
Nibuheim or Fla City?"
Li Ang felt reassured, realizing his earlier ramblings worked better due to Claude's ntion of not seeing living people for long, likely never leaving the forest, aning being off-topic could work better than fabricating plausible answers.
"Neither, we're from a small place; not sure if you've heard of it,"
Li Ang inhaled deeply, "The Office for the Leadership Group on the Work of Historical and Cultural Sites of the Ulanqab Cahar Rear Banner Wulan Hada Sumu that Ning Ga Gacha that Ning Ga Village Second Village Residents' Committee."
"Hmm???
Ulanmur Chaputsa…"
Claude instinctively tried repeating the absurdly long na, forgetting the words mid-sentence, saying with wide eyes, "Forget it, forget it.
You're heading to the Sacred Mountain, correct? How about making a deal with ?"
"Deal?"
Li Ang's eyes narrowed, "What's the content?"
"I can show you the way to the Sacred Mountain,"
Claude grinned, "Outsiders likely don't know that reaching the Sacred Mountain isn't just about entering the forest—the forest is alive,
and it shifts every so often, setting up illusions and looping paths specifically against outsiders' routes.
Without knowing the exact way out, one could wander endlessly until exhausted, becoming part of the forest,
unable to even reach the Sacred Mountain's foothills."
"Is that so..."
Li Ang exchanged looks with Hoenheim and David; Hoenheim's expression subtly changed, gently nodding,
Li Ang's Divine Power seeds planted behind the forest also indicated the location change—evidence the forest behind indeed shifted.
The other party might not be lying.
"Then,"
Li Ang asked, "What do we need to do?"
"Play a ga with ."
Claude stated calmly, "Beat , and not only will I guide you, but I'll also give you the treasures in my possession."
He motioned to the three bulging, filthy, tattered bags in his three hands, laughing, "As for losing, leave the lives of three of your group here.
What do you think, pretty fair, isn't it?"
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