Book 5: Chapter 11: Guardian

“You solved the ‘Mystery of the Crystal Lake’?” Qin Lun frowned with a suspicious look. “But we haven’t received any notification from the Shattered Starry Sky!”

“No, not that kind of solving. I discovered the core part of this mission!” Hill’s tone was full of delight. Although his discovery was somewhat accidental, he was still pleased to be one step ahead of Qin Lun. “Qin Lun, do you remember our earlier guesses about the Mid-Magic World?”

“Of course!” Qin Lun raised his eyebrows.

When they first entered the Nals World, Qin Lun noticed that there were no traces of magic in this world, which did not match the description of a world in the Magic Web popularization stage. Based on this, he had a discussion with Hill and Hansen.

Qin Lun believed that the Nals World should be a dual-plane spacetime, like two sides of a mirror. One side was a material technology world, and the other was the magic world. Of course, this viewpoint still had some unresolved difficulties.

The biggest difficulty was that transitioning between dual-plane worlds was extremely challenging. Even high-rank apostles at the third level rarely had the ability to travel between planes. It was unlikely for the Shattered Starry Sky to send them into such a Mid-Magic World.

So, during their discussion, the three revised their view. They thought the Nals World should have Time-Space Nodes similar to the Phantom Demon World, allowing plot characters or apostles to travel between the two worlds.

However, unlike the Phantom Demon World, the other end of the Time-Space Node should connect to at least one continent, not a small area like the Undersea Temple. Only then would it match a Mid-Magic World with a popularized Magic Web.

It was like an hourglass with two spaces of different sizes connected by a narrow passage in the middle. Of course, there might be many such narrow passages.

“Did you discover a Time-Space Node in the camping area?” Qin Lun’s eyes lit up. Hill only hinted slightly, and he immediately grasped the connection.

“Haha, talking with a smart person is so pleasant. That fool Hansen reacted much slower than you!” Hill laughed heartily.

“Hey, I’m still listening here!” Hansen interjected gloomily in the Team Channel.

“Hehe, Hill, what just happened? Where are you now?” Qin Lun asked cautiously.

“Earlier, I was attacked behind the house with that centaur. A troll dragged me into an underground tunnel before I could notify you!” Hill said somewhat awkwardly.

“Hmph, you wanted to have it all for yourself, didn’t you?” Qin Lun said with displeasure. “After all, the Guidance Mission is only at the sergeant major level of difficulty. Did you want to deal with the troll Fink alone?”

“Hehe, if it were you, you’d do the same!” Since Qin Lun had seen through him, Hill openly admitted it.

“So, did you kill the troll Fink?” Qin Lun asked with surprise and doubt. Judging by the troll Fink’s body, which was almost as hard as diamond, it was hard to imagine Hill’s combat power had reached that level.

“No, I didn’t kill it. We were evenly matched—it couldn’t do much to me, and I couldn’t harm it either. That thing’s body was too tough!” Hill shook his head. “It was killed by the monster in the Crystal Lake.”

“The monster in the Crystal Lake?” Qin Lun asked, puzzled.

“Yes, we only met briefly underground. The troll seemed to sense danger and quickly fled,” Hill said thoughtfully. “I searched the underground passage for a while and climbed out to the surface. Then I realized I had been under the open ground in front of the cabin the whole time. And then I saw that monster from the Crystal Lake…”

“What was it?” Qin Lun pressed immediately.

“I don’t know. By then, the fog had risen, and I could only see a rough outline!” Hill said hesitantly. “It held an axe or something in its hand. It was tall, walked upright on two feet, and looked like… a human.”

“Did you fight it?” Qin Lun asked with great interest.

“No, that thing felt too dangerous,” Hill said with a bitter smile. “I immediately hid in the tunnel and didn’t dare to fight it. I sent the message to warn you to be careful and not face it alone!”

“Hmm, where are you now? We’ll come to meet you right away!” Qin Lun curled his lips. This old fox only shared when there was danger, but kept the benefits to himself.

“Hehe, I was in the water earlier. Now? I’m in the underground tunnel not far ahead of you!” Hill let out a strange laugh. “When I saw that monster coming up from the lake, I suddenly had an idea!”

“Oh, could it be… the Time-Space Node is underwater?” A flash of insight crossed Qin Lun’s mind.

“Haha, you finally figured it out!” Hill clapped his hands and laughed. “Yes, the Time-Space Node is underwater. I’ve already found it. But I haven’t made contact with it yet.”

“So that’s it!” After Hill’s confirmation, Qin Lun suddenly understood most of the key points.

Since his understanding of the Nals World was correct—it truly had two sides and existed in two different planes—then there must be quite a few Time-Space Nodes connecting these two planes.

Qin Lun’s Elf Bloodline was suitable for activities in the forest, and Hansen had rich experience in jungle warfare. Meanwhile, the Sas couple were aquatic humans, and Hill possessed a Water Element bloodline. The Guidance Mission “Mystery of the Crystal Lake” assigned to their small team by the Shattered Starry Sky was perfectly tailored.

However, Qin Lun was initially misled by the murder of the John couple, focusing his attention on the monster culprit, which caused him to overlook the fog clue. The Crystal Lake Campground showed no abnormalities until the fog rose over the harbor lake surface, and supernatural phenomena appeared in this area.

If they had shifted their focus away from the monster and the troll, they would have easily noticed the abnormality of the Crystal Lake. Still, the Time-Space Node being at the bottom of the lake was also rather unbelievable. Fortunately, that old fox Hill had good luck. Otherwise, they might have wasted a lot more time before realizing it.

“Since we found the Time-Space Node, why hasn’t our Guidance Mission prompted completion?” Qin Lun suddenly frowned and asked Hill.

“Hehe, that’s the key point I want to remind you about now!” Hill said calmly. “The Time-Space Node is not the answer to the ‘Mystery of the Crystal Lake.’ Our Guidance Mission isn’t a simple team mission. First, take a look at my current mission description…”

Qin Lun glanced at the Team Channel and saw that Hill’s Guidance Mission “Mystery of the Crystal Lake” had indeed undergone significant changes. Originally, the team Guidance Mission “Mystery of the Crystal Lake” was just an introduction to the tragic case of the John couple. The mission goal was to solve the mystery and find one of the three children: Karl, Sam, or Lucy.

But now, the mission introduction had been updated, showing a progress of 25% and the discovery of the Time-Space Node at the bottom of the Crystal Lake. However, the goal of solving the mystery remained, along with an additional sacrifice requirement to pass through the Time-Space Node.

Seeing the sacrifice content for the Time-Space Node, Qin Lun’s pupils constricted. The requirement was simple: any intelligent being wanting to pass through the Time-Space Node had to sacrifice 40% of their companions to the Guardian of the Crystal Lake Time-Space Node.

“Now you know why I’ve been avoiding you!” Hill’s gloomy voice came through the channel. “To complete this Guidance Mission and pass through the Time-Space Node, we must cooperate with that Guardian monster of the Crystal Lake here and kill the Sas couple and the female centaur…”

“Crack!” Just as Qin Lun was taken aback, a faint sound came from behind him.

“Watch out!” Sas roared. His massive frame, over two meters tall, took two steps forward, moving around Qin Lun’s side to shield him.

“Clang!” A deafening impact echoed far through the quiet forest.

Sas staggered backward as if struck hard. Qin Lun reacted quickly, diving forward and rolling to create distance. When he stood up, he saw that Sas was already fighting the attacker in the darkness.

The attacker was nearly two meters tall. Though half a head shorter than Sas, his shoulders were broad, and his body was twice as thick as Sas’s. Standing there, he was like a solid wall.

Just as Hill said, he was a human. He wore an iron mask over his face, revealing only a pair of cruel blood-red eyes. He had on a tattered coat, leather pants, and boots, gripping a large double-bladed axe tightly in both hands.

At the first glimpse of this Crystal Lake Guardian, Qin Lun felt his breath catch, and alarm bells rang in his head as if facing a savage beast. A flash of red flickered in Qin Lun’s eyes but was quickly suppressed.

“Help me!” Sas’s face turned red as he shouted loudly. Although the Guardian wasn’t fast, his strength was immense. Sas had only blocked two strikes and was already unsteady on his feet, staggering backward.

“Qin Lun, great opportunity! Kill Sas, and the remaining Cora will be easy to deal with!” Hansen’s eyes gleamed sharply. He bent down and pounced like a leopard toward Sas, his machete silently aiming for Sas’s neck.

Team members couldn’t kill each other; otherwise, they would be penalized 100 points of Soul Lifespan by the Shattered Starry Sky. Hansen’s strike wasn’t meant to kill Sas—Sas was an MT with thick health. Even a severe hit to a vital spot like the neck wouldn’t kill him instantly. However, if Sas took this blow, he definitely wouldn’t last, and the Guardian would kill him the next moment.

“Bang! Bang!” Qin Lun finally took action. The black and white guns of the Burial of Light and Darkness each spat a flash of fire. One bullet lit up with a holy white glow in the dark night, seemingly splitting the fog as it struck the Guardian’s right eye. The Guardian instinctively jerked his head back, and blood spurted into the air.

The other bullet was like a black lightning bolt. “Clang!” It shot onto Hansen’s machete, causing it to veer off, grazing Sas’s shoulder and striking the fingers of the Guardian, who was gripping the axe tightly.

Hansen’s pupils contracted. He immediately turned his head, his cold gaze fixed sharply on Qin Lun.

“Help him! Trust me!” Qin Lun nodded at him and offered no further explanation.