That's right, that's what adventure is like!

Night gradually fell.

The withered trees had lost their original sickly reflection, leaving only the black shadows standing still, like a decaying army guarding the place.

Yogurt handed Roland dried meat strips and hard bread. The two ate them with cold water from their bags without saying a word, even deliberately suppressing the sound of their chewing.

The campsite in the distance was equally silent.

The campfire had been completely extinguished, and the light inside the carriage had not been turned on since it disappeared. Only the two horses tied to the leeward side occasionally snorted.

The half-elf remained seated cross-legged on the withered tree stump, longbow across his knees, a posture he hadn't changed for nearly three hours.

He didn't approach Roland proactively, as if he had forgotten the previous deal requirements, but the occasional glances he gave clearly suggested that the two of them should remain calm.

Roland swallowed the last bite of bread, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

He felt something was wrong.

Although he had never been involved in such an event before, an adventurous instinct reminded him that something "abnormal" was happening here.

However, there was clearly no other person around, and all the wild beasts had been slaughtered by the bald, burly man. There wasn't even a bird's cry.

This situation continued until the first rays of dawn broke.

It wasn't the golden hue of sunrise; the ray of sunlight, still dazzling in the distance, had turned grayish-white by the time it set.

Click—

Roland rose gently, nocked an arrow, and made no attempt to conceal his movements.

Because the moment the sun set, the camp was empty.

The carriage remained stationary, the two horses continued to snort, and even the unburnt wood retained its original shape.

But the bald, muscular man was gone, the wanderer was gone, and the half-elf was gone.

Yogurt's breathing became heavy. He grabbed his battle axe and charged out of his hiding place, rushing towards the camp in a near-pounce manner.

Roland followed closely behind.

The two stepped over withered branches and fallen leaves, quickly traversing a distance of nearly a hundred meters to check the situation in the camp.

The grass and trees were not flattened, and there were no drag marks on the ground. The tree stump where the half-elf sat still had morning dew on it.

It wasn't a departure, but rather as if it had been erased by an invisible force.

"Barlow is gone too!"

Yugra opened the carriage door. Inside, the black tea on the low table was still steaming, and a woman's shawl was draped over the seat, but there was no sign of anyone.

A cold glint flashed in Roland's eyes as his gaze swept across the carriage, finally settling on a body curled up in a corner.

It was that coachman. Now there was a thin needle in his neck. Judging from the angle, he must have been killed unexpectedly by Mrs. Barlow while he was asleep, without even making a sound.

Ms. Barlow seemed to think he didn't need to "disappear," so she chose another way for him to "disappear."

Besides the Silverfly Squad and Ms. Ballow, other things also disappeared.

Roland plucked a small blue leaf from a partition in the corner of the carriage, carefully brought it close to his nose, and quickly identified what it was.

"Sweet with a hint of spice, it's the Green Moon Vine."

He fumbled around for a bit, then pulled down the partition and discovered a large space hidden beneath the seat, filled with a considerable number of blue leaves.

Judging from its size, it must have once contained at least fifty vines of the Green Moon Vine. Considering the extremely high density of this plant, it's no wonder that such deep ruts were left behind.

Roland returned to the carriage, scanned the surroundings again, and spoke in a more steady voice than expected:

"It wasn't a battle; they didn't even move an inch before being taken away by an unknown force."

"It wouldn't be a powerful professional or monster either. If it were, we wouldn't have come unscathed, and there would be no need for Balo to come all this way."

The two exchanged a glance, simultaneously realizing the only possibility, and uttered the final answer in unison.

"A Secret Realm!!"

This is a fantasy world where the material plane they live in is not the only area to explore. Around it, there are countless demiplanes or special spaces of varying sizes.

These spaces overlap and intersect, with some barriers being extremely weak. Under certain conditions, it is possible to cross vast distances and reach another space.

That space, which does not belong to the material world, is called the secret realm.

It's no secret that in taverns, bards often tell stories of lucky people who accidentally stumbled into a secret realm and found a legacy or treasure, arousing envy and jealousy among others.

The Adventurers' Guild also opens up some of its secret realms to outstanding adventurers each year to encourage everyone to work harder to complete quests.

Roland never expected that the merchant guild owner, Ms. Barlow, whom he was investigating, actually possessed the method to enter a certain secret realm.

The question is, what are the entry conditions?

"time."

Yogurt said in a deep voice, "My teacher taught me that during the time of dawn, when the sun is about to rise and the moon is about to set, the barrier between the material world and other demiplanes is the thinnest."

Entering at a specific time is only natural.

The only remaining issue is the location. Entering the secret realm requires a specific location; otherwise, Ms. Balo wouldn't have needed to travel so far to get here.

But that's not enough; the most crucial key is still missing.

What could it be?

After pondering for a long time, Roland finally turned his gaze back to the blue leaf fragment in his palm.

Qingyue Vine.

He knew about this plant before. Although it was relatively rare, it wasn't widely used. It was basically only used to make medicine for external injuries. Why did he bring so many of them?

He brought the leaf close to his nose again and smelled it, carefully sensing its sweet and spicy aroma.

wrong.

The Qingyue Vine in the information, although it has a unique smell, will completely dissipate within three days, but the edges of these leaves are already dry and curled, so why is the smell still so strong?

Roland turned the leaf over and examined it carefully in the morning light, discovering that the veins had an unnatural silvery-white color, extending symmetrically on both sides.

This is abnormal; there are very few things in nature that are so symmetrical. It looks more like something that was carved by human hands.

It is a key specially crafted to unlock the secret realm.

We have the time, the place, and the key.

However, he had far too few Green Moon Vine, or even almost none, making it impossible for him to open the secret realm.

Roland paused for a moment, then walked toward the tree stump where the half-elf had sat.

He crouched down, and his fingertips quickly touched something cold and hard at the seam between the tree stump and the ground. He pulled it out.

An arrowhead with a cloth bundle tied to its end, bulging as if it were filled with something.

Yogurt leaned closer and could barely make out two blurry characters on the arrowhead: "80%".

"snort……"

Roland sneered, then opened the package, revealing six complete, plump leaves of the Green Moon Vine.

The half-elf realized from the beginning that he might enter the secret realm, and used this key as a bargaining chip to give his final terms in the deal.

They had no choice but to agree, because entering the secret realm often left them with no other option.

Almost the instant he took out the Azure Moon Vine, the silvery-white veins on the leaves suddenly shone brightly, catching the light from the sky and transforming into a grayish-white phantom.

The next second, the two of them vanished from the spot.