Chapter 5: The Laughing Fiends

Just as he turned to leave, his footsteps paused.

His gaze fell onto the Stone Ape’s corpse.

"..."

A hint of surprise flashed across his eyes.

"A Stone Heart..."

Floating quietly above the corpse was an Essence Orb. Inside it rested a fist-sized stone heart.

It looked like a heart carved from stone.

The fine cracks that spread across its surface were like veins, giving it the appearance of a living heart.

It was a Variant Essence.

A much rarer kind of Essence Buff that possessed an additional effect besides its primary enhancement.

Ethan carefully picked it up and looked at the Stone Heart in his hand before shaking his head.

"Hopefully it’ll come in handy within the next hour."

Absorbing this Variant Essence Buff now would only waste its duration. He could only wait

"You bastard!"

An annoyed voice suddenly echoed through the cave.

Ethan turned to see Aria hurried over, slightly out of breath.

The moment she saw him, she pointed a finger at him.

"Don’t you know the rules of treasure hunting?"

"At least leave some soup for the people behind you!"

She looked around the cave to see if Ethan had forgotten something. But...

The herbs were gone, the ores were gone even the spirit crystals had disappeared.

"You practically emptied the entire cave!"

Ethan shrugged.

"I only took what I found."

"You..."

Aria was so annoyed she almost laughed.

"If everyone were like you, treasure hunters would’ve gone extinct."

Ethan looked at her calmly.

"They would’ve become faster."

"..."

Aria was left speechless.

Just as she was about to say something else...

Her eyes suddenly shifted past Ethan.

She froze.

Not far away lay the enormous corpse of the Earth Vein Ape.

Her pupils shrank.

"...Peak Level 3?"

Her eyes remained on the Earth Vein Ape before slowly returning to Ethan.

"...How did you do it?"

Ethan looked at her calmly.

"I have my ways."

Aria fell silent.

The Earth Vein Crystal was already inside Ethan’s inventory, while the Stone Heart rested quietly in his hand. There was nothing else worth staying for.

He walked past her.

"Wait."

Ethan stopped but didn’t turn around.

"My name is Aria."

After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "...What’s yours?"

"Ethan."

He answered without looking back and continued walking.

Aria quietly watched his departing figure.

"...Ethan."

She repeated the name to herself, but no matter how hard she searched her memories, it remained unfamiliar.

Someone capable of killing a Peak Level 3 Earth Vein Ape without leaving a single sign of battle shouldn’t have been unknown.

Yet she had never heard the name before.

"...Strange."

...

After leaving the cave, Ethan didn’t stop.

He opened the map, and his eyes quickly found a familiar location.

Novice Village.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"There should still be enough time."

There was an interesting quest waiting for him there.

In his previous life, almost nobody paid attention to it because the reward looked ordinary.

By the time people discovered its true value...

It was already too late.

Ethan tapped the marker.

[Destination Set: Novice Village]

[Estimated Travel Time: 20 Minutes]

He closed the map and opened his panel.

[Panel]

Name: Ethan

Race: Human

Level: 2 (3%)

HP: 200/200

Profession: Legion Summoner (EX)

Innate Talent: One Mind, One Legion

Attributes

Strength: 20

Agility: 20

Constitution: 20

Spirit: 20

Unassigned Attribute Points: 10

Skills

• Shadow Veil (Divine)

Ethan’s eyes stopped on the ten unassigned attribute points.

Without any hesitation, he assigned all of them to Spirit.

[Spirit +10]

Spirit: 30

He nodded slightly before looking at the experience bar again.

Only three percent.

Even a Peak Level 3 Earth Vein Ape had only pushed him to three percent.

As expected...

The higher his level became, the harder it would be to level up.

Closing the panel, Ethan headed straight for the Novice Village.

...

Twenty minutes later, a small village appeared before him. Above its wooden gate hung three simple words.

Novice Village.

As Ethan walked through the streets, bits of conversation drifted into his ears.

"Did you hear?"

"Someone with an A-Rank profession arrived in the village with a large group."

"A-Rank?"

"What profession?"

"Arcane Swordsman."

"I heard the Village Elder personally went to meet him."

"His name’s Lucian."

"They say he’ll become one of humanity’s strongest."

Another voice joined in.

"There was another guy with him."

"What was his name again?"

"...Ethan."

"Oh, that lunatic?"

"I heard he tried to kill Lucian the moment they arrived."

"If Lucian hadn’t stopped everyone, he would’ve been thrown out already."

"What a waste."

"Lucian’s such a good person, and he still attacked him."

The discussions continued all around him.

Ethan didn’t even slow down.

Word really traveled fast.

They had only arrived in this world a short while ago, yet Lucian had already become the village’s hero while he had become the reckless fool who attacked his own companion.

Just like his previous life.

The only difference was...

This time, Ethan no longer cared.

He opened the map and changed the destination.

[Destination Updated: Village Elder’s Residence]

Closing the panel, he continued forward.

The further he walked, the fewer people there were.

Soon, a spacious courtyard appeared in front of him.

At its center stood the largest wooden house in the entire village.

Although it wasn’t luxurious, it was well built. The wooden walls were polished smooth, the roof had been carefully repaired countless times, and a sturdy fence surrounded the yard.

Compared to the other houses in the village, it looked much more comfortable.

Ethan slowed his steps.

The Village Elder’s residence was far more crowded than he had expected.

Several guards stood outside the gate to keep order, while many of the newcomers gathered around the courtyard, curious to see the A-Rank profession everyone had been talking about.

Ethan quietly moved to the back of the crowd.

His eyes swept across the familiar faces.

Lucian.

Elena.

And more than ten others who had traveled with them from the Novice Region.

Some of them had once fought beside him for years.

Others had died long before the end.

Now...

Every one of them stood there alive.

The Village Elder smiled warmly.

"I’m relieved you came."

"Our village is small, but we’ve already prepared places for all of you to stay."

Lucian stood up with a polite smile.

"Thank you, Elder."

"We only arrived today, yet you’ve already done so much for us."

The old man waved his hand.

"Don’t mention it."

"You’ve all come from far away."

"As long as you’re willing to help protect the village, this little bit is nothing."

Lucian nodded.

"On the way here, I heard people talking about monster attacks."

"Is something happening?"

The smile on the Village Elder’s face gradually disappeared.

He let out a long sigh.

"To be honest..."

"I’m ashamed to even ask."

"You’ve only just arrived, yet I already have to seek your help."

Lucian immediately shook his head.

"Please don’t say that."

"If there’s anything we can do, we’ll do our best."

The Village Elder looked at him gratefully before slowly speaking.

"The Laughing Fiends..."

"The laughing fiends?" Lucian asked, confused.

"Yes!" The village elder sighed.

The Village Elder looked at him gratefully before slowly speaking.

"The Laughing Fiends..."

"They’ve been around for longer than anyone can remember."

"My father knew about them."

"And so did my grandfather."

"They’re like a curse."

"They never stay in one place forever."

"But wherever they appear..."

"They bring death."

The courtyard gradually fell silent.

The old man’s expression became heavy.

"There’s an old saying passed down in these parts."

"When strange laughter echoes through the forest..."

"...the Laughing Fiends are already on the move."

"For the past few days..."

"Our scouts have heard that laughter again."

"They’ve been watching their movements ever since."

The Village Elder pointed at the map.

"After comparing all the reports, I believe our village is the more likely target. If that’s true, then Ashbrook Village should be safe."

His expression gradually turned bitter.

"But if I’m wrong..."

His finger slowly moved to the other village.

"My daughter lives there. I don’t have enough people to protect both."

Lucian looked at the map before sighing softly.

"I’m sorry, Elder. I’d like to help, but we’ve only just arrived in this world. I haven’t even reached Level 2 yet. Even if I went now, I’m afraid there isn’t much I could do."

The Village Elder smiled and shook his head.

"I know. I never expected you to protect the village like this."

As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and slowly took out an old rusty key, placing it gently on the table.

"I’ve already thought of another way."

The moment Ethan saw the key, his eyes narrowed.

"Wait."

The single word immediately drew everyone’s attention.

Dozens of eyes turned toward the back of the crowd as Ethan walked out from behind.