I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

That was the sound of shoes stepping on fallen leaves. On the road where the villagers dared not look up, two people wearing gray cloaks were walking one after the other toward the silent, dry town.

“A very obvious magical fluctuation has been detected in this area. According to the records of the Gray Tower Observation Hub, this magical fluctuation is consistent with the one detected three years ago in the Black Forest of the Mountain. Clearly, it is the same person.”

Walking behind was a woman with light blonde, slightly wavy hair, emerald green eyes like lake water, and delicate skin; she was clearly not a laborer doing heavy physical work.

"Wait, there's a town ahead. That's strange, there shouldn't be any towns here..."

She held a roll of parchment in her hand, her beautiful brows furrowed, seemingly quite troubled by her inability to find an answer.

"On the outskirts of the Black Forest, there are some towns that even the Grey Tower doesn't record."

The brown-haired man walking in front spoke in a deep voice. He looked simple and robust, like a reliable knight. Time had left its mark on his face, but the frost and snow had not washed away his sharpness.

"And if I remember correctly... there might be something not so good sealed here."

When the two arrived at the center of Drywater Town, at the Hai family mansion that had been reduced to ashes by Trist's [Imitation Sunfire], the man's expression finally changed.

“That’s right, a wisp of the will of an evil god was once sealed here. I’m very familiar with the sealing method; it’s the standard procedure from a textbook 250 years ago. However, it was later discovered that this sealing method had flaws, and it was revised 30 years later…”

The two searched around but couldn't find any more clues. Everything seemed to have been wiped away by some supreme being, leaving not even a trace.

"Even a wisp of the evil god's will has been completely erased. This person is very dangerous..."

"He defeated the will of the evil god, which at least means he's a good person?"

The woman murmured to herself.

"No, you must understand that even evil gods are inherently hostile to each other. He was able to destroy the will of the evil god here, but who knows if he relied on the power of another deity?"

The man sighed and gazed at the pale sun.

……

[Mission complete, now returning to base]

【3......2......1......】

Countless rays of light enveloped Lu Ban, causing the rainbow to lose its color. In the dizzying, lightheaded state, Lu Ban felt a sense of disorientation, but soon, the soft bed brought him a sense of security.

He first checked the time on his phone. More than eight hours had passed since he entered the alien world. It was around five in the morning, the sun was rising and shining on the earth, and everything was full of hope.

The golden sunlight fell on the balcony, distorting and deforming to form the system of text.

Congratulations on completing the task!

Settlement will now commence.

[Mission Exploration Progress: 95%]

[Task Completion Status: Perfect]

On this day of great joy and destiny, you ventured deep into the ancient and conservative town of Drywater, where you witnessed the tragic fate of a tribe and even came into contact with a wisp of will from a supreme being who did not belong to this land. Beneath the joyous songs and dances, undercurrents surged. At least, some beings will remember that light that far surpassed the brightness of daylight.

[Gained Silence Points: 12900]

[Reward Obtained: Skill: Underwater Breathing]

[Reward obtained: Item: Day of Great Joy]

Settlement complete

How long has it been since your last update? Are you content with the status quo? It's time to satisfy your viewers who are eagerly awaiting your return!

[Choose to complete career development tasks and receive career rewards]

Welcome back to the Silent Land!

Chapter 080 [Underwater Breathing]

Sitting on his bed, Lu Ban still felt a sense of unreality. The misty town, the fish-headed monster, the unpalatable dinner, the stench of metal in the mud, and the pure white statue were like a nightmare. Whenever he closed his eyes, those tormenting images would appear before his eyes.

Looking at the morning sunlight, he felt for the first time how quiet and peaceful the world was.

But Lu Ban knew that beneath the calm lay an even deeper darkness.

At the Jiangcheng Grand Theater, Lu Ban was illuminated by the brilliance of distant stars, which was enough to extinguish his reason. This meant that there were also such strange, powerful, and indescribable evil beings in this world.

At least in Lu Ban's knowledge, there were already more than four great beings whose power surpassed that of ordinary people.

"Unsafe..."

Although this world has the internet, electricity, and all kinds of modern facilities, and people don't need to be twisted into strange monsters or sacrifice their families for peace, is that really the case?

He thought of Du Danping.

To be honest, Lu Ban didn't react when he heard Du Danping's name from Tristana's mouth.

But upon closer examination, he realized something was amiss.

Du Danping died twenty years ago, and his soul is bound to the Jiangcheng Grand Theater, where he contends with the great existence of Aldebaran.

But Drizzt said that the last time he received information from Dudanping was before the two missions. According to the situation in the Silent Lands, the interval between the two missions would not be as long as twenty years. Drizzt himself looked to be in his early thirties!

Was it that Drizzt encountered not Du Danping, but some being disguised as Du Danping, or was there a significant difference in the flow of time in the Silent Land?

Considering that every time Lu Ban enters the Otherworld, the Silent Land will prompt him about the conversion of time flow between the two worlds, could it be assumed that time in the Otherworld is faster than in the reality Lu Ban is in?

Or rather, can the Silent Land travel through time to other realms in the past or future?

Lu Ban couldn't understand it.

Of course, he didn't tell Trist that the big boss who brought him back then had been burned to death, and his soul and head had been smashed to pieces by Lu Ban.

This is for Twisted Fate's own good, to give him a glimmer of hope so that he can have more motivation to survive in the Silent Lands!

Lu Ban also inquired about the information he had previously learned about Du Danping from Trist. According to Trist, the last time Du Danping contacted him was in this foreign land of He Island, and there had been no further news since.

Lu Ban knew that Du Danping should have returned to reality afterward, and then met with an unexpected event that led to his death.

"So, if there's a chance later, I can go to He Island to look for clues about Du Danping. By the way, [The Sigh of the Uncertain Mist] is also a material produced on He Island. If I can get it all at once, I'll make a profit."

Lu Ban made up her mind that if she had to choose another realm later, she would prioritize the island.

Faced with a world that could drive people mad, Lu Ban must strengthen himself. At the very least, if he encounters fellow travelers in the future, he can help them to some extent, just as Drizzt helped him this time.

Putting Du Danping's matter aside, Lu Ban began to organize the gains from his mission.

"Nearly 13,000 Silent Points, I'm rich."

Lu Ban sighed.

Based on the average completion rate of 9,000, this represents an increase of approximately 40%, effectively earning the equivalent of an extra task's worth of rewards.

If I hadn't explored those stone statues and those strangely-looking walking corpses in the fog, if I hadn't investigated the Black Queen Mother's beliefs, and if Lu Ban and Cui Shi hadn't grasped the connection between the Hai family and the Black Queen Mother, I probably wouldn't have achieved such a high level of mission exploration.

Of course, this is on the [Erosion] difficulty.

Lu Ban had serious doubts. If he chose the "Mortal" difficulty level, he might not even be able to enter the Hai family's gate and would just be watching the wedding procession from the side of the street.

"The last five percent should be the cause of death and the true identities of the Hai family members who died in that cave, right?"

Lu Ban pondered that although the information he obtained from that person indicated that the fish-headed, human-bodied monster was essentially a human mutation, and that the cause of the mutation was the sludge that emitted a metallic stench, Lu Ban still had no idea who that fish-headed man was, why he died there, or how he died. There must be some unrevealed secrets behind this.

But this should have nothing to do with the final outcome; the Hai family is destined for destruction, that's all.

Meanwhile, the regular video footage has already been transferred to Lu Ban's computer.

"It's so big...it's going to burst."

Lu Ban looked at his 2TB hard drive, which had previously had plenty of space, but now it was completely full.

How big is this material?

If I work on the tasks for a few more days, I'm afraid I'll really burst my hard drive.

Lu Ban quickly went online and bought several large-capacity hard drives as backup.

It wouldn't be good if the system found that its hard drive was running out of space and forcibly deleted some movies.

Lu Ban didn't check the contents of the hard drive for the time being; he first glanced at his bank balance.

16836 Silent Points.

The accumulated Silent Points are approaching 30,000. After completing the career development task and doing another task, I estimate that I will be able to break through 50,000 accumulated points and unlock the next stage of the shop.

If you're lucky enough to get materials from each mission, after about three more missions, Lu Ban will be able to unlock the next stage of the [Last Words] essence.

"...Thinking about it this way, I'm so poor."

The essence alone costs 50,000 points. If Lu Ban doesn't save it up, he might not even be able to afford to draw [Madman's Knowledge] anymore.

Lu Ban doesn't plan to spend money for now, at least not until he completes his career development task and faces the next choice.

He then checked the skills he had acquired.

Underwater breathing

"The ability to breathe underwater, does that mean you can breathe underwater, or does it have some other function?"

Lu Ban went straight to the bathroom, blocked the drain in the sink, turned on the faucet, and the sink quickly filled with water.

Lu Ban in the mirror seemed a little confused. He saw Lu Ban bury his head directly into the sink.

In that instant, Lu Ban sensed something unusual.

Humans generally cannot see clearly underwater, but now, Lu Ban can clearly see the tiny cracks on the ceramic of the sink.

The sound traveled through the water, making it exceptionally clear.

Lu Ban, who had been holding his breath, let out a sigh of relief.

He first smelled bleach entering his nostrils, followed by the cold water.

The water flowed into his lungs, where his alveoli extracted oxygen from it, converting it into the energy his lungs needed, and then expelled the water with each breath.

Lu Ban knew perfectly well that as long as he was in oxygenated water, he could breathe continuously, just like he was on land.

At the same time, a complete knowledge of swimming emerged in his mind, enabling him to move at speeds exceeding those of athletes in sharkskin swimsuits in any complex body of water.

This feeling was wonderful, like opening the door to a new world, which made Lu Ban completely immersed in it.

Until the oxygen in the pool is depleted.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey—"

Having nearly become the first Chosen One to master underwater breathing and drown in his own sink, Lu Ban raised his head.