Chapter 27 The Forest of Death

As soon as I returned home, there was a clatter and racket that left me constantly apologizing to the neighbors. After making amends, I got up to find that Long Xin’s room was finally tidied up. In truth, it was just my room with an extra folding bed added. The noise had been us moving furniture out of my room for rearrangement. After a long night of hard work, everyone finally settled down to sleep in peace.

The next morning, when I got up, Long Xin was already out of bed. Stepping outside, I saw breakfast laid out on the table and was instantly filled with happiness. Feng Xiaoyue’s idea of a studio was truly brilliant.

"Long Ling, how's the fried egg?" Long Xin asked.

I was surprised. "You made this?"

"Yes. Since I just arrived and had nothing else to offer, I made breakfast. But I can't cook rice, so I just fried eggs. That’s why the whole table is covered with eggs," Long Xin explained.

Ye Shuang laughed heartily.

"What’s so funny, Ye Shuang?" Xiao Xi asked.

"We’ve got a new chef in the studio. Looks like we’re in for a treat from now on," Ye Shuang replied.

"Who?"

"Long Ling’s sister, Long Xin. She can only fry eggs but they taste great."

Long Xin beamed. "Thank you, everyone. Big brother, you’ll have to pay up in a moment."

"Pay for what? What are you up to?" I asked, puzzled.

"I ordered a set of gaming equipment. It’ll be delivered soon. Otherwise, it's unfair for you all to play games and leave me alone in the room," said Long Xin.

"But don't you already have one?" I asked.

Long Xin shook her head. "That one belonged to Wang Bin. I don't have one myself."

An idea struck me. "Then show me what you can do with your new toy. If I’m impressed, I’ll pay for it."

Long Xin blushed and shouted at me, "Long Ling, you’re so annoying!" I only scratched my head in response. Soon after, the gaming equipment arrived—another five thousand gone. But so what? It’s my little sister; let her enjoy it.

Everyone logged in together, continuing the exploration of the Forest of Death, which we'd been forced to pause the day before. Before entering, Feng Xiaoyue addressed us, "The Forest of Death is no joke. It’s teeming with monsters, all highly aggressive and particularly hostile toward players. Everyone needs to be careful. Long Ling, you and your summoned beast at the front. Xiao Xi, Long Xin, Xiao Ai, you two follow right behind Long Ling and keep an eye on both flanks. Ye Shuang and I will bring up the rear. Once inside, maintain this formation and stay alert. Let’s go."

I protested, "Hey, you two warriors are at the back and you want a summoner like me leading the way? What’s the idea here?"

Ye Shuang replied, "Listen, you’ve got the best green-tier armor and the highest defense. If you don’t take point, who will?"

I thought about it and realized it made sense. Feng Xiaoyue’s arrangement was spot on—no wonder she’s the president of our university’s student council. She positioned the high-damage mage Long Xin in the center for protection, while Xiao Xi the archer and Xiao Ai, another summoner, could support from the sides. Feng Xiaoyue and Ye Shuang, both warriors, would cover the rear. In fact, the rear guard is even more crucial than the vanguard, since monsters attacking from behind are much harder to handle than frontal assaults.

Yet, as we entered the forest, its dense, light-blocking canopy belied its ominous name; it didn’t seem nearly so terrifying.

From afar, we could feel a refreshing breeze blowing toward us, carrying the scent of plants, which was deeply invigorating. Breathing in the fresh air, every pore in my body seemed to open, filling me with an indescribable sense of comfort.

I climbed a tree and saw a vast sea of green stretching out endlessly before me—truly breathtaking, and it was from here that the fresh, cool air originated.

At last, we reached a part of the Forest of Death where the towering trees soared over twenty meters high—and this was only the outer edge. The dense woods had no paths, and the heavy shadows concealed whatever lay within.

As we approached, the air grew even more pleasant, the temperature seeming to drop, and the moist, earthy aroma constantly teased our senses.

All around, countless players were battling monsters—some cheered in delight over loot, while others fled in disarray, routed by the beasts. Feng Xiaoyue put on a stern face and said, "Listen up. The Forest of Death is nothing like the little woods near the newbie village. The monsters here are extremely dangerous. At any moment, we could run into elite beasts, enhanced monsters, or even bosses. Once inside, no one acts alone—we stick together, and nobody attacks monsters on their own. If we draw a horde, we’re done for."

The terrain inside the forest was complex; there were no paths at all, so the job of forging ahead naturally fell on me.

I summoned Blackfur, relying on the dog’s nose to sniff out the surroundings. With each swipe of Shadow Claw, the brambles ahead were cut away, allowing us to proceed without delay.

Xiao Xi followed close behind, her archer’s keen sight and hearing sharpening her vigilance as she watched both flanks.

Before setting out, I’d looked up some forum posts about the Forest of Death. Most players complained that the monsters were extremely aggressive and hated players. The worst part was the monster clusters—meaning we could easily run into a group of powerful monsters or several bosses at once. Unless you’re superbly equipped or part of a large team, there’s little chance of survival.

The posts were emphatic: players leveling in the Forest of Death must be extraordinarily careful. Any mistake could spell disaster.

Soon, we encountered our first group of monsters—level 10 gnawing rats. These little guys attacked en masse, thirty or forty at a time, but the funny thing was, they couldn’t even scratch my defense. I let them bite me, but they couldn’t even take half a bar of health. With a single Flame Burst, I sent the cute little things back to the main server.

The Forest of Death was so dense that the phrase "blocking out the sun" barely did it justice. Even catching a glimpse of sunlight inside was rare.

We pressed on for about an hour, encountering plenty of monsters, though most were only level 10 to 20. Many would avoid us, seeing our tight formation, but plenty still charged in, offering up easy experience. Blackfur and Xiao Xi’s arrows were all it took to handle them, but the experience was meager—just a 2% increase after an hour. Pathetic.

"Alright, let’s take a break," I said, clearing a hundred-square-meter patch with Blackfur. We all sat down against the trees to rest and eat—let your hunger drop to zero in this game and you’ll die.

We were still in the outer forest, where high-level monsters were rare and the area relatively safe. Our goal was to hunt high-level monsters for big experience, which meant delving deeper—though the risk escalated accordingly. That made it all the more vital to rest and recover in these safer zones.

After about half an hour, Xiao Xi suddenly shouted, "Get up—something’s coming!"

Feng Xiaoyue and Ye Shuang immediately positioned themselves in front of Long Xin, while Xiao Ai, Xiao Xi, and I guarded the sides. Instantly, everyone fell into battle formation. Xiao Ai summoned her beast, and I was surprised to see her main summon was now an angelic creature.

I asked where she got it; she said it was from a quest and had replaced her wolf pup as her main summon. She then had her angel fly up to scout.

"Xiao Ai, what did your summon see?" Feng Xiaoyue asked.

The angel relayed what it saw to Xiao Ai, who reported, "It looks like a flying wolf, though it can’t fly high—only about three meters off the ground. It has four wings and is entirely gray."

Ye Shuang’s eyes suddenly lit up. "It’s a Winged Wolf! Haha, we’ve struck gold. That’s a level 25 elite beast. If we kill it, we can get a Winged Wolf Eardrum—a rare material. Each one sells for fifty gold coins; crafting players fight over those. Xiao Ai, keep your angel tracking its movements. If we take it down, we’re in the money!"