The nightlight firs cast a soft, hazy glow in the darkness, draping the Fluorescent Forest like a sheer veil, illuminating Yano's path forward.
Unlike the other young Stone Descendants, he made no effort to conceal his presence. Instead, he walked with slow, deliberate steps across the forest clearing, as if out for a nighttime stroll, seemingly inviting potential observers.
Perched high on a tree branch, Nilly rested her chin on her hand, a look of curiosity on her face. "I didn't expect this kid to be so perceptive, knowing someone was following him."
As if to confirm her words, two young Stone Descendants with eager expressions emerged from a shadowy corner untouched by the fluorescent light.
"Ancestor, we request a duel with Yano." Their gaze skipped over Yano, landing on the shadows beneath the tree.
Yano also stopped walking, turned around, and focused his gaze on the same patch of shadow.
The previously motionless shadow twisted and stretched slightly, coalescing into a blurry human figure. The figure gave a slight nod, indicating agreement.
Nilly shifted to a more comfortable lying position, settling in to watch the show.
"These youngsters are clever, knowing to first gauge the strength of their competition."
Chen Yu calmly shifted his position. "One move..."
Before he could finish, the slightly taller Stone Descendant assassin took several steps back, allowing the other Stone Descendant assassin to take the lead.
[Stealth]
The young man took a deep breath, lowered his center of gravity slightly, and his figure quickly blurred. He darted through the dark, lightless spaces beneath the trees, arriving behind Yano in the blink of an eye.
[Backstab]
The dagger whistled through the air with a faint sound, probing as it thrust towards Yano's lower back.
However, Yano seemed to have eyes on his back. The instant the dagger was about to land, his right arm shot backward and directly grabbed the assassin's dagger-wielding wrist.
"What?!"
The Stone Descendant assassin felt his wrist seized by an immense, irresistible force, making struggle impossible.
Before he could react, Yano engaged his core, and the arm gripping his wrist whipped forward violently.
An overwhelming force lifted him into the air. With a dull *thud*, he crashed into a small tree.
*Crack!*
The fragile trunk snapped. The falling canopy startled several fluorescent moths nesting in the tree hollow.
Timely Petrification prevented injury, but the shock was evident. The young man slumped beside the broken stump, clutching his chest, unable to regain his composure for a long moment.
"He's a knight, right? How is his perception scarier than a ranger's?"
"Watch me." The other assassin, clearly unconvinced, made his figure illusory, blending with the shifting light and shadow around him. He launched an attack from behind Yano.
[Eagle Eye]
A faint glint flashed in Yano's eyes. In his vision, the Stone Descendant hiding with the environment began to move in slow motion.
This was a talent Chen Yu had previously stripped from a troublesome eagle that often lingered near the swamp, preying on slime transport teams. It enhanced dynamic vision and perception.
Yano, unhurried, once again caught the second assassin's wrist and flung him away.
The Stone Descendant tumbled awkwardly across the ground several times before stabilizing, covered in dirt.
Yano stood still for a moment, pondering, then decided the intimidation wasn't sufficient. He strode towards a thick nightlight fir nearby.
Under Nilly's curious gaze, Yano reached back and grasped the hilt of his broadsword for the first time.
*Screech—*
The heavy broadsword left its sheath with a dull metallic rasp.
He didn't use any flashy sword techniques. Instead, he took a deep breath, the muscles in his arms bulging. The broadsword sliced through the air with a heavy *whoosh* and slammed horizontally into the thick trunk.
*Riiip...*
*BOOM!!!*
The nightlight fir emitted an unpleasant tearing sound. The trunk groaned and crashed to the ground.
The break was jagged, clearly the result of sheer brute force, which only highlighted the terrifying power behind it.
The two young men watched, swallowing hard, understanding his message of deterrence.
"Ancestor, we concede!" With that, their figures swiftly melted into the shadows, scurrying away in defeat.
Throughout it all, Yano remained silent, calmly sheathing his broadsword with a composed, unassuming air of a hidden master.
"Huh, it really was just one move."
Nilly blinked, her gaze fixed on Yano with newfound curiosity, as if trying to figure out the origin of his strange skills.
Then, holding Chen Yu, she leaped down from the nightlight fir. Her figure was swallowed by darkness during the descent, instantly reappearing on solid ground.
Another one of those strange shadow skills, Chen Yu thought to himself.
Honestly, he was quite interested in these elusive shadow skills of the Stone Descendants.
He wondered if those shadow creatures were edible... what would they taste like...
He planned to try acquiring a few shadow talents himself when he had the chance.
He shook his body, snapping back to the present, ready to praise Yano. But he saw the previously masterful-looking Yano now waving his sword triumphantly.
"Boss, did you see that? I took care of two assassins with a couple of swishes, scared them right off, hahaha."
Chen Yu: "..."
Forget it. It's better if this guy just doesn't talk.
The moment he opens his mouth, his goofy nature is impossible to hide.
Nilly crossed her arms, adopting a senior's tone for critique. "Not bad perception, strength is decent too. But if you want to find shadow creatures in this forest, brute force alone isn't enough."
"They're extremely fast. Without a mount, you probably won't even catch their shadow."
Yano scratched the back of his head, not directly replying.
He simply took a deep breath, and his figure rapidly blurred, turned transparent, and completely vanished into the shadows cast by the trees, only reappearing over ten meters away.
At first, Nilly didn't pay much attention. A Stone Descendant knight knowing a bit of Stealth wasn't too strange. But soon, she sensed something was off.
"Hmm?"
Master-level Stealth?
When did this guy learn that?
Nilly's expression turned to surprise.
A knight training Stealth to Master level... that was strange no matter how you thought about it.
Although still far from her own level as a Shadow Master, this Stealth proficiency had clearly surpassed most young Stone Descendants participating in this trial.
Moreover, combined with his earlier performance, Nilly realized this guy's agility wasn't low either—it could already match that of an official assassin.
Something was off. Very off.
She glanced inexplicably at the slime on her shoulder. Though she had no proof, she strongly suspected it was responsible.
Could slimes, of all magical creatures, be proficient in teaching Stealth skills?
Nilly pinched her chin, her expression turning thoughtful. Her interest in that mysterious "Slime Kingdom" grew even stronger.
If they possessed some unique training system that could rapidly increase skill proficiency...
Perhaps, after this trial, she should find time to visit the Eastern Swamp.
It must be far more interesting than she imagined.
Facing Nilly's gaze, Chen Yu's little face remained expressionless, as calm as a real piece of green jelly.
This was a Lv.5 "Stealth" skill, of course it was powerful.
As soon as "Magic Stripping" reached Lv.5, he had completely stripped the Stealth talent and given it to Yano.
Besides "Eagle Eye" and "Stealth," he had actually fed Yano quite a few strange but somewhat practical talent orbs.
For example, "Cat's Grace" which made footsteps as light and silent as a magic-patterned leopard's, "Web Bind" from a cave spider, "Misdirect Attack" from a phantom jellyfish by Gray Mist Lake...
One could say Yano was now almost packed full with assassin-related and auxiliary talents. His strength wasn't far off from those elite professionals.
In Chen Yu's view, using him for this Shadow Trial meant for young Stone Descendants was practically as easy as a vacation sightseeing trip in the Fluorescent Forest.
...
After the small interlude, Yano continued deeper into the forest.
To find those elusive shadow creatures as quickly as possible, he even hung that bottle of Shadow Dust in the most conspicuous spot on his waist, hoping this thing, said to emit a special aura, would attract nearby wandering shadow creatures.
As for the other Stone Descendant trial-takers, their methods varied.
Some used magical dust or potions passed down through their families. Others repeatedly practiced special techniques specifically for communicating with shadow creatures.
Most of these methods were legacies from their ancestors, "supposedly" useful, but their actual effectiveness... often might just be psychological comfort.
The Fluorescent Forest wasn't particularly vast. It lay like a long, narrow, glowing ribbon squeezed between two ancient rock canyons.
The deeper one went, the narrower the terrain became, like a natural passageway leading to an unknown realm.
Yano followed this passageway. Along the way, he encountered several more groups of young Stone Descendants interested in him. They challenged him to duels, either alone or in pairs.
Yano resolved the fights easily, but they still cost him considerable time.
However, as news of him defeating multiple challengers spread among the trial-takers, the number of Stone Descendants daring to actively seek him out for duels noticeably decreased later on, making his subsequent journey much smoother.
After spending nearly a day and crossing several low hills piled with rocks, Yano finally reached the end of the Fluorescent Forest.
Beyond, outside the forest, the fluorescent vegetation gradually thinned, plunging into utter darkness. Without Darkvision, this profound darkness alone could make one stop.
To prevent Stone Descendants from accidentally straying into that unknown darkness, a row of solemn-faced knight statues stood in orderly fashion along the edge. They held greatswords or spears, like silent sentinels, collectively forming the final boundary of the Fluorescent Forest.
"Does this thing really work?"
Yano stopped, somewhat puzzled as he picked up the small glass bottle at his waist and shook the dull gray dust inside.
A whole day had passed. He hadn't seen a single shadow creature, not even a regular magical creature. He couldn't shake the feeling that his seemingly unreliable auntie was fooling him.
Was this Shadow Dust actually just scraped-off pot soot?
He wasn't the only Stone Descendant to arrive here. Soon, Leon from the Stone Descendant trio emerged through the sparse woodland.
Seeing Yano, he raised a hand in greeting.
Yano re-hung the bottle on his waist and asked, "On your way here, did you hear if anyone has already passed the trial?"
Leon smiled wryly. "Of course. And from what I know, a lucky one has already successfully formed a contract with a shadow creature and passed the trial first."
"That fast?"
Hearing this, Yano grew even more puzzled. Why hadn't he encountered anything?
Leon said tactfully, "Well... the Shadow Trial depends a lot on luck and compatibility. Not every Stone Descendant can perfectly harmonize with shadow creatures and win their favor."
"Some Stone Descendants might just naturally be less... welcome to those sensitive and picky shadow creatures."
He glanced at Yano's burly physique and the conspicuous broadsword on his back, adding, "But if Uncle here got lucky and encountered one first, I doubt anyone would dare try to take it from you..."
After all, news of Yano's easy duel victories had already spread throughout the forest, and even he had heard.
As the two stood talking quietly by the boundary statues, suddenly, a black shadow, like a swallow skimming low, flashed past from the darkness beyond the boundary.
"What was that just now?"
Yano's eyes sharpened, instantly alert, his hand instinctively moving to his sword hilt.
"A shadow creature?!"
The two exchanged a glance, both realizing the possibility.
Without the slightest hesitation, they immediately gave chase in the direction the shadow had vanished.
"A shadow creature appeared?!"
"Let's go too."
The sudden commotion also caught the attention of other Stone Descendants lingering near the boundary, who similarly followed.
Not long after they left, a figure silently appeared in a shadowy corner shrouded by the knight statue's shadow.
He didn't look well. A hollow gaped open in his chest, as if a terrible force had brutally torn a piece away.
This humanoid figure stood dazedly in the statue's shadow, muttering lowly to itself, then vanished from the spot.
...
"Mmm... haa..."
Nilly lay leisurely on a tree branch, yawning, a tear squeezing from the corner of her eye.
She was supposed to be supervising the trial, but with those shadow figures on guard, she hardly did any work, spending most of her time slacking off.
Feeling the slight tremor of her body, Chen Yu lifted his head, opened his round eyes, and glanced at her.
"You seem... always sleepy?"
Ever since he met her, he'd never seen her fully awake.
Nilly stretched, her tone carrying a hint of complaint. "Obviously. Those old folks come to me for everything. I'm the one running errands, taking the blame, solving the problems... Auntie here is busy day and night, feet never touching the ground, seriously sleep-deprived. Of course I'm sleepy."
"Yesterday, to find that 'weird shadow creature' you mentioned, I didn't sleep a wink all night. Taking a little break now is perfectly reasonable, right?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a shadowy figure suddenly appeared before her.
"See? Here comes something else..."
Nilly wore an "I knew it" expression, slowly sitting up. "Alright, what is it now? Which two youngsters got too rough in a duel and need me to break it up? Or did some unlucky soul get lost and wander to the dark boundary?"
Her expression was initially casual, but after listening to the shadow figure, her brow furrowed slightly.
Nilly fell silent for a moment. The sleepiness on her face vanished, replaced by seriousness.
"What happened?" Chen Yu asked.
He could sense something had occurred.
Nilly took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping towards the direction of the forest boundary, her tone grave. "That intelligence you provided earlier... might be true."
"That weird shadow creature has appeared. And it's aggressive. A shadow creature guarding the Fluorescent Forest was attacked by it."
Nilly stood up on the branch. "Let's go. We need to find it before it causes more trouble."