Chapter 61: Luke

This time, it was the turn of the nameless Wyvern-kin to lead the way. Zhai Guangyi deactivated his Magic-Defying Spirit Body and followed behind him in flight.

“My name is Luke. What’s yours? It’s a bit inconvenient not knowing your name.”

Zhai Guangyi was all about sincerity. Since the other had warmly invited him for a meal, offering his name was a sign of respect. Besides, there was a chance to uncover this guy’s real name. After all, a modern person without a name in this World would first think of the name they had before their Transmigration.

“Luke? You’re also called Luke? I don’t think I have a name. But everyone in the village calls me Ladong the 82nd, or 82 Ladong. The name Luke doesn’t sound great and doesn’t suit your appearance at all. I suggest you ask your parents to change it.”

82 Ladong? I might as well be called 82 Lafite! How dare he mock the name of the Great Adventurer Luke! Luke was the first Human Zhai Guangyi had encountered, so borrowing his name shouldn’t be an issue—Luke probably wouldn’t mind. Still, it was a shame he didn’t manage to uncover 82 Ladong’s pre-Transmigration name.

After following Ladong for about two kilometers, they arrived at the base of a rocky cliff. Ladong tied the wild boar to his body, grabbed a rope hanging down from the Cliff, and prepared to climb up.

Zhai Guangyi hovered in the air, watching him climb for over ten minutes and only managing a few dozen meters. He couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for him.

“Grab the bottom of the staff. I’ll take you up.”

“Damn! You could carry someone in Flight and didn’t say so earlier? I’ve been carrying this heavy wild boar and climbing for so long, and only now you tell me!”

Ladong’s hands were red, and he was drenched in sweat from carrying the boar. Hearing Zhai Guangyi’s words, he nearly lost his grip on the rope, his foot slipping and almost sending him tumbling down.

“You didn’t ask!”

Ladong looked at Zhai Guangyi’s slender frame and truly didn’t believe he could carry him, along with the wild boar, up such a high Cliff, especially since Ladong had the build of an adult. With one hand gripping the rope tightly, he tentatively reached out with the other to touch Zhai Guangyi’s staff. He was still a bit afraid—he was so heavy, and the words coming from this Forest Elf, who looked like he didn’t have much meat on his bones, were hard to trust.

But as soon as Ladong barely touched the staff, he felt as if he had lost all gravity. His entire body began to float upward slowly, and the rope he was holding was pulled up along with his ascent.

Ladong stared in disbelief—he was actually flying.

“Don’t let go of the staff, or if you fall, I won’t have the strength to catch you.”

Ladong quickly released the rope and instead grasped Zhai Guangyi’s staff with both hands. Falling from this height would leave him either dead or crippled.

Carrying Ladong in Flight, the staff could barely manage it. Fortunately, Zhai Guangyi was light enough. He increased his Magic Power output, boosting the Flight speed, and in less than a minute, he had brought Ladong to the top of the Cliff.

Sure enough, atop the Cliff, Zhai Guangyi saw a very small village.

The top of the Cliff was surprisingly a perfectly flat surface, as if the Cliff had been deliberately raised from the ground to isolate the village from the Forest. Aside from a few houses, there was nothing else as far as the eye could see.

“We’re here. Thanks, without you, I might have had to climb for hours. Come with me.”

Ladong naturally released his grip on the staff, jumped to the ground, waved at Zhai Guangyi, and signaled for him to follow.

By now, many villagers had seen Ladong return and came out to greet him. Seeing the wild boar he had brought back, everyone congratulated him on his successful hunt.

The village was small, and most of the villagers were around the same Level as Ladong, with similarly modest strength. If not for the village’s high location, it would likely have been wiped out by the Magical Beasts on the ground long ago.

“You’ve brought back another little girl this time.”

The old man at the village entrance saw Zhai Guangyi following behind Ladong and greeted him warmly. Zhai Guangyi looked the way he did, and explaining repeatedly would be troublesome, so he could only respond with a smile.

“A Forest Elf I met on the way. Without his help, I wouldn’t have gotten such a fine wild boar.”

Ladong patted the wild boar on his shoulder and replied with a smile.

Soon, Ladong led Zhai Guangyi to the door of a Small Wooden Hut. He knocked on the door and called out.

“I’m back, help me open the door.”

A commotion came from inside the hut, and Zhai Guangyi thought he heard something being knocked over. After a while, the door opened, but the person who opened it was someone Zhai Guangyi knew.

It was the Human Adventurer, Luke!

However, Luke seemed different from before—lacking his previous confident smile, he appeared utterly dejected and listless.

Zhai Guangyi instantly felt doomed. He had used someone else’s name, and now he had run into the person himself. How awkward. Fortunately, Luke had never seen Zhai Guangyi’s Elven Body. He couldn’t understand why Luke was here too.

Seeing Zhai Guangyi momentarily stunned, Ladong asked.

“Do you know each other?”

“No.”

Zhai Guangyi quickly shook his head in denial, and Luke also shook his head, indicating the same.

The two entered the hut. The space was small, with a simple living room right inside, furnished only with a small wooden table and not even a chair.

But lying on the floor were two more of Zhai Guangyi’s old acquaintances: the Shield Warrior Bader and the Mage Luqi.

Bader was wrapped in numerous bandages, seemingly severely injured, while Luqi had thick bandages wrapped around her head. Both lay unconscious on the floor.

“What happened to them?”

Zhai Guangyi had to pretend not to know them and ask why Luke and the others were in the Deep Forest. And on this Cliff, no less, where he had just happened to run into them—it was all too coincidental.

“Oh, these three Adventurers are ones I rescued earlier Inside the Forest. Ah, these two are now on the brink of death. Food is quite scarce here, so this hunting trip was partly to get them some nourishment.”

Luke hadn’t said a word the entire time, his eyes filled with despair, not even glancing at Zhai Guangyi once.

“It’s useless. They can’t even eat food now. There’s no saving them.”

Luke shook his head in despair. Although he was grateful for Ladong’s help, his Adventurer Small Team seemed destined to vanish completely today, leaving only him behind.

“I can save them!”

Zhai Guangyi used Appraisal to check their injuries. Bader seemed to have lost too much blood and was now unconscious, which was relatively easier to treat.

As for Luqi, it appeared she had exhausted her Magic Power and suffered some damage to her Soul, likely from forcibly using Magic. She also had a severe injury on her forehead, and even if she were saved, she would probably be left with some lasting effects.

“What? You can really save them? You’re not lying to me, are you?”

Luke suddenly looked up, reaching out to grab Zhai Guangyi’s arms with considerable force. Fortunately, the clothes he was wearing provided 300 points of defense, so it didn’t hurt too much.