Chapter 4: The Adventurers

After spending some time with Brother Bear and his family, Zhai Guangyi realized that Brother Bear had quite a few enemies.

For example, some wolves and dogs, as well as the pack of the fifth-tier Magical Beast, the Wind Demon Panther, which he had previously killed.

They would sometimes come in groups to observe Brother Bear’s family. Of course, when Brother Bear was at home, they didn’t dare to provoke him. But when only the two bear cubs were around, they would surround the area.

They would inch closer to the two cubs, but unfortunately, Zhai Guangyi always noticed them. After all, he was tall, so he could see almost everything around him, except for areas obscured by trees.

However, after learning Wind Control, he became more sensitive to air currents. Even the slightest movement in the wind could be detected by Zhai Guangyi, and he would react immediately.

The two bear cubs were still weak, but the Wind Demon Panthers in the pack weren’t strong either. The highest Level among them was only around 15. They were practically asking to be taken down!

Zhai Guangyi didn’t hold back, using the Wind Control Skill that the Wind Demon Panthers were most adept at, manipulating leaves as flying blades to harvest these weak Wind Demon Panthers.

However, some of the higher-level Wind Demon Panthers seemed capable of countering Zhai Guangyi’s flying blades, altering their direction. As a result, he didn’t manage to kill many before they ran away.

Having witnessed Zhai Guangyi’s prowess, the two bear cubs grew bolder, chasing after the Leopard Pack and attacking them. The two little ones were clever, not chasing too far, seemingly just symbolically warning the Leopard Pack.

The three of us are incredibly strong, wreaking havoc and beating these panthers into a sorry state.

Zhai Guangyi was nearly Level 20, and he was eagerly anticipating what form his evolution would take.

Zhai Guangyi also noticed that Brother Bear seemed to have been at Level 20 for a long time, never Leveling Up or evolving. The Magic Crystals he brought back from hunting were either absorbed by the two cubs or offered to Zhai Guangyi, the big tree.

Watching his Spiritual Power value inch closer to the threshold, Zhai Guangyi grew increasingly excited.

At that moment, Brother Bear, who was lying under Zhai Guangyi’s tree as usual, suddenly lifted his bear head and looked toward the Deep Forest. A faint crimson glow seeped from his eyes, and he let out a piercing low growl.

The two bear cubs also snapped out of their sleep, quickly preparing for battle and staring intently into the Deep Forest.

Logically, Zhai Guangyi should have had the widest and most detailed detection range among them. Yet, he hadn’t sensed anything amiss.

“Tsk! We’ve been spotted. No more dawdling, everyone, get ready to attack!”

A Human man’s voice came from the woods. The man wore light green leather clothing and held a longsword. He had dark golden short hair and a robust build. If he were on Earth, he’d probably be considered a handsome European-American type.

“Tsk, the magic circle is almost complete.”

Behind the Swordsman man was a woman holding a short staff, dressed in a purple Robe that flickered faintly, seemingly with effects of invisibility and aura concealment. A long Hood obscured her appearance. She was likely the Mage.

There were also two other men—one holding a giant shield, and the other constantly scattering powder on the ground.

This was Zhai Guangyi’s first time seeing Humans from the Otherworld. They were probably Adventurers exploring the Forest.

Appraisal!

Race: Human (Swordsman)

Level: 21

Life Value: 100

Magic Power: 101

Race: Human (Mage)

Level: 25

Life Value: 100

Magic Power: 300

Race: Human (Shield Warrior)

Level: 17

Life Value: 100

Magic Power: 50

Race: Human (Thief)

Level: 16

Life Value: 100

Magic Power: 5

Seeing their levels, Zhai Guangyi was startled, but then he noticed their health bars—something was off. Why were their health bars worse than those of wild monsters? Or was there an issue with the Appraisal?

It seemed that once the four were discovered, they no longer bothered to hide. The Mage woman began chanting loudly.

A strange circular pattern with a radius of forty meters started to appear on the ground. The glow of the magic circle illuminated the entire forest, covered in densely packed strange symbols. However, the circle was only two-thirds complete and hadn’t fully taken shape yet.

Seeing this, Xiong Da didn’t wait any longer and lunged directly at the Mage. Of course, reality didn’t go as he wished.

A massive shield, three meters tall, suddenly appeared between the bear and the Mage.

With a dull thud, the Shield Warrior was forced back several steps. Xiong Da, relying on his size, intended to press his advantage. But the moment the Shield Warrior was pushed back, the Swordsman hidden behind the shield crouched low and appeared right in front of the Giant Bear.

Zhai Guangyi couldn’t even see the Swordsman’s sword swing clearly before Xiong Da was sent flying backward, a bloody gash now visible on his chest.

“Too shallow. Your reaction is really fast,” the Swordsman remarked, flicking the blood off his sword tip onto the ground, his eyes fixed intently on the Giant Bear before him.

The Life Value above the Giant Bear’s head instantly dropped by over 300.

Zhai Guangyi didn’t take action. He hesitated—this was his first encounter with humans. Although Xiong Da and his family had helped him a lot and could still be useful for his growth and leveling up, was he really going to make enemies of humans? He was just a tree now. As long as he didn’t act, no one should be able to detect him. Dealing with small animals or Magical Beasts was one thing, but facing humans, Zhai Guangyi found it hard to bring himself to strike.

Xiong Da and Xiong Er desperately wanted to help, but the battle between the two humans and the bear was too fast and intense. The two cubs simply couldn’t intervene.

The Shield Warrior focused on restraining Xiong Da, preventing him from charging toward the Mage, while the Swordsman moved skillfully around Xiong Da and the Shield Warrior, continuously inflicting damage on the bear.

However, relying on his strength and massive size, Xiong Da held his own against the two. He was also much more cautious than during his initial charge, wary of the Swordsman’s attempts to flank and ambush him.

Moreover, he was gradually advancing step by step. Although the two humans hadn’t suffered any significant injuries, they were slowly retreating. It seemed the human bodies couldn’t withstand a direct blow from the Giant Bear.

Seeing that Xiong Da seemed to be holding his own, Zhai Guangyi’s anxious heart settled a bit. He hoped these humans would recognize the difficulty and retreat, sparing him the need to act and easing his psychological burden.

But just then, a dark shadow appeared behind Xiong Er, and a huge net was thrown over her. Xiong Da reacted immediately, lunging forward to rescue her.

Xiong Da’s claw struck the shadow’s arm, causing it to flinch in pain, but it didn’t let go of the net bag. Instead, it kicked Xiong Da two meters away, lifted the net, and dashed into the small woods.

The shadow was none other than the Thief from earlier. Such a slender human could actually kick Xiong Da that far.

At this point, Zhai Guangyi could no longer hesitate. Xiong Da and Xiong Er were likely, like him, reincarnated from Earthlings. Although he hadn’t confirmed it yet, their behavior strongly suggested it.

“Mission: Protect your Followers.”

Zhai Guangyi unleashed Skeleton Manipulation toward the forest, and eerie white bone walls emerged before the Thief.

The Thief was clearly startled, crashing face-first into the bone wall. However, the wall’s durability was poor, shattering instantly upon impact, and the Thief stumbled and fell to the ground.

Xiong Da reacted immediately. They were here to kidnap its child, so it ignored the Swordsman and the other two.

Xiong Da’s body began to swell, its black fur turning crimson as the entire bear became a blazing red. Xiong Da had activated its innate Skill, Berserk.

Without looking back, it charged straight toward the Thief.

Zhai Guangyi didn’t stay idle either, controlling the leaves to swirl toward the four. The Shield Warrior quickly rushed to the Mage’s side, raising a massive shield to cover both of them as they pressed tightly against the ground.

The Swordsman wasn’t as fortunate. Faced with leaf blades flying from all directions, he could only wield his sword to protect his vital spots, frantically dodging and running near the tree trunks.

Zhai Guangyi occasionally used Skeleton Control, causing bones to emerge from the ground to hinder the Swordsman’s movements. However, the Swordsman was exceptionally agile and adaptable. Aside from minor injuries from the leaf blades, none struck his vital areas or face. He deftly avoided every bone wall rising from the ground, even using them as cover to block many of the flying blades.

Zhai Guangyi was at a loss, only able to use his Skills to restrain them.

The Thief no longer had time to deal with Xiong Er, tossing a few small bottles at Xiong Da before turning and fleeing deeper into the Forest.