CH76

Helag used Deep Blue's environmental monitoring to see that there was nothing behind the door, no one at all.

Yet the entire house continued to shake violently, and the pounding on the door grew stronger.

"There were definitely people here," Helag thought. He had seen a man and a woman inside the house through Deep Blue's monitoring.

But at some point, they had vanished without a trace. Helag hadn't sensed their disappearance, nor had Deep Blue detected when they vanished.

"I need to get out of here."

Thinking it over, Helag decided it was too dangerous to stay, so he turned back, intending to leave via the mountain path.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

As Helag walked forward, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

He stopped immediately, and the footsteps behind him also stopped.

"Who's there?" Helag turned around, but saw nothing. Deep Blue detected no signs of life.

"Dark Energy Shield!"

"Mana Shield!"

"Ice Shield!"

Helag cast three shields on himself, feeling slightly safer.

Seeing nothing unusual, he continued walking.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The footsteps resumed behind him. Helag could feel someone—or something—close behind him, even feeling breath on the back of his neck.

But when he turned around, there was no one there.

Helag's vision displayed a 3D model of the surroundings. He meticulously checked every spot but found no other person.

He quickened his pace, breaking into a run. The footsteps behind him sped up as well, seemingly chasing him.

"Something's wrong!"

Helag abruptly stopped, frowning as he looked around.

He turned and saw the path leading down the mountain and the distant narrow gorge.

"Why am I at the top of the mountain?"

Helag realized he had somehow ended up at the mountain's peak, where the houses were densest.

The house he had knocked on earlier was halfway up the mountain, not far from the tavern.

He remembered heading down the mountain, so how had he ended up at the top?

Standing still, he thought for a moment, then continued down the mountain. Passing by the house, he noticed it was eerily quiet, with no more pounding on the door.

Helag deliberately took a detour to avoid the house.

Passing by the tavern, he saw the lights were still on, but there was no sound.

Peeking inside, he saw the butterbeer mugs still on the tables, unchanged.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

The footsteps behind him never ceased. Helag couldn't figure out their source.

So far, he hadn't encountered any danger. He wondered if his own footsteps were somehow echoing back, but the sensation of someone following him never disappeared, and he still felt breath on his neck.

"I need to study necromancy when I get back. I have too few means to deal with this situation."

Helag remained calm, suspecting he was dealing with some kind of malevolent spirit.

Necromancy was a vast field, encompassing various branches of knowledge. Many wizards specialized in it.

The narrow gorge was in sight again. Just a few more steps, and he could leave Creek Valley Town.

But…

"Just as I thought…"

As expected, Helag found himself back at the mountain's peak. He hadn't sensed the change in surroundings at all.

"The position of the stars…" Helag closed his eyes, sensing the stars' positions.

The stars hadn't shifted significantly, remaining as usual. Helag could still sense them clearly.

"It seems going down the mountain won't work."

Helag turned towards the town's interior. There were no streetlights, only the lights from the houses.

Given his recent experience, he didn't dare knock on any doors.

He walked forward, intending to explore other areas. The footsteps resumed behind him.

"A garden?"

Helag spotted a three-story house with lights on and sounds of conversation and violin music coming from inside.

The house had a garden on the first floor. From a distance, the plants looked familiar.

He slowed his pace, sneaking closer. The footsteps behind him were still loud.

The garden was filled with sunflower-like plants, but their heads were drooping, facing away from the street, making it hard to see clearly.

Getting closer, Helag used Deep Blue to scan the garden.

"All these are Demon Flowers?"

Helag was shocked. The garden was full of Demon Flowers, the main ingredient for Dawn Potion, which he had recently dealt with.

The footsteps behind him startled the Demon Flowers, causing them to lift their heads, revealing seductive female faces.

Seeing Helag, the Demon Flowers smiled alluringly, their heads and stems swaying like women's waists.

Helag's Dark Energy Shield protected him from their charm.

Without hesitation, he pulled out a herb spade from his space ring and jumped into the garden, starting to dig.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

With each spadeful of earth, the Demon Flowers moaned—not in pain, but in a way that sounded like ecstasy. Their faces contorted strangely.

Helag dug up the soil around a Demon Flower, then grabbed its stem and slowly pulled it out.

As he held the stems, the Demon Flowers trembled, their moans growing louder. The stems seemed highly sensitive.

Soon, the Demon Flower began to twitch, and its long stem went limp, falling onto Helag. The expression on its face…

Helag frowned in disgust, pushing the Demon Flower off himself and storing it in his space ring.

After digging up one, he moved on to the next.

Demon Flowers were valuable, fetching a good price in magic stones.

Helag decided to dig up the entire garden.

The garden echoed with moans as he worked.

Halfway through, having dug up sixteen Demon Flowers, he noticed movement in the house.

Turning, he saw a window had opened, and a woman was staring at him.

To be precise, a woman's head was glaring at him.