You see, the 【Illusory World】 interface doesn’t even include age as a data point. After all, dealing with the issue of time in a virtual world isn’t exactly thrilling, is it?

Moreover, it’s been only about two years since Violet hatched Xiao Guang from her dragon egg. What’s with the 300+ years? Could this thing be malfunctioning?

She doesn’t even have a display for her age and just lists it as “undisclosed”… What’s the meaning behind that?

After silently grumbling about this inexplicable setting, Violet carefully checked her skill tree and inventory once more but didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.

The only regret is the substantial funds, materials, and some spare equipment in the game’s storage that she couldn’t bring along. Although the most important items were always carried with Violet, many high-level items were lost in the process…

Closing her personal panel and the inventory, Violet sighed and noticed her pet dragon girl was still perched on the table, looking at her expectantly.

Speaking of which, this room had only one bed. How were she and Xiao Guang going to…?

While there was an option to send the little dragon girl back to the pet space, ever since Violet realized that she had become a sentient, real-life being, it was challenging to treat Xiao Guang purely as a combat pet. Even though she didn’t say it, you could tell from her eyes that she didn’t want to return to that lonely, monotonous space.

At least for tonight…

To be honest, neither the dragon Xiao Guang nor Violet as a deity had a pressing need for sleep. However, for Violet, who had been a regular human not too long ago, suddenly not sleeping at night was quite an adjustment.

Originally, she had already received kindness from Lester, and asking for another room might not be the best idea. Well, perhaps for tonight… Huh?

She stood up and quickly went to the window. In the dim light of the night, Violet looked down and saw a shadow moving stealthily.

The person was shrouded in a faint black mist, and with the cover of the night, it would typically be challenging for ordinary people to notice their movements. However, a somewhat familiar energy fluctuation had drawn Violet’s attention in the room.

The reason was simple: this person’s method of concealing their presence was remarkably similar to what she had observed with the Black Night Tiger before. In the small town, the sudden appearance of something like this, meant to reduce one’s visibility, stood out clearly in Violet’s perception, much like a spotlight in the night.

“Hmm? Finally, something interesting. It seems that the matters in this little town aren’t as straightforward as they appear on the surface…”

A trace of intriguing interest curled up at the corner of her mouth. This discovery was akin to slaying an inconspicuous low-level monster and unexpectedly receiving an invitation to a special quest, brimming with unknown allure.

“Master, should we follow and see?”

Xiao Guang’s figure appeared silently at her side. As a giant dragon with equally keen senses, she had also spotted the distant figure long ago but hadn’t paid much attention to it.

“Of course, let’s go. This is a great opportunity for us to gain further insight into this world. Just be cautious. Although it’s only a possibility, these hidden ‘side quests’ that lurk in the shadows sometimes have difficulties far surpassing mainline missions.”

“Yes.”

Violet conjured a levitation spell with a flick of her hand, and she leaped out of the window. The golden-haired girl with dragon wings followed closely behind her. Their figures swiftly vanished into the night.

Carl Perkins was an ordinary hunter from the small town of the Darkwood Jungle. His forefathers, and even their ancestors, had made a living as hunters for generations.

Growing up on the outskirts of the forest, Carl was naturally familiar with the wealth and dangers of the Darkwood Jungle – at least, the outer layers of it.

But ever since that incident, his life had undergone a drastic change. It was because of this that Carl had ventured into the forest under the cover of night, an action that, in the past, would have been considered a reckless endeavor.

A layer of dark misty energy enveloped Carl’s rather frail figure. Though it wasn’t his first time, he couldn’t help but feel his heart pounding relentlessly when he saw how the forest predators, who were usually hidden in the night, seemed to completely disregard his presence.

This unbelievable situation was something even the occasional adventurers who visited the town couldn’t achieve. Choosing to follow that gentleman was definitely the right decision!

Thinking back to how his life had improved since receiving powers from the gentleman, and how the townspeople now treated him with increased respect due to the surplus of game he brought in, Carl felt a bright future ahead.

However, he was slightly uneasy when he learned that the magical beast he had previously placed in the forest had been hunted down by adventurers from the city of Ciel. Although the gentleman had said, “It doesn’t matter if it dies,” that thing still required guarding with force…

So, when Carl received the news, he rushed to a certain area in the forest during the night.

Utilizing his special ability to evade magical beasts, he arrived unscathed at the location. After scanning the surroundings, he found an inconspicuous rock on the ground. He reached into the stone and pressed a particular recess that matched the surface of the stone almost perfectly.

Click, click, click…

The ground quivered slightly and automatically revealed an opening leading downward, appearing dark and lightless, like the maw of a beast ready to devour its chosen prey.

Carl swallowed hard. If given a choice, he certainly wouldn’t want to enter such a terrifying place. However, the gentleman’s orders were absolute. Not following them would lead to a rather grim fate.

With a dimly lit torch in hand, Carl braced himself and walked inside. A short while later, the passage closed once more, concealing any trace of its existence from the outside.

A faint human silhouette sneaked inside just before the passage sealed, but…

Following that, two unnoticed, subtle glimmers of light flickered at the entrance.

Using the torch to light a row of strange fire pots along the sides of the passage, the underground environment became much clearer. However, the light wasn’t warm but instead gave off a rather chilling feeling, like ghostly blue flames.

There were many traps on the path. According to the gentleman’s instructions, even a Sky-level powerhouse would be injured if they didn’t understand the principles behind them. Carl certainly wouldn’t dare to test them with his own body. He cautiously followed the guidelines to bypass the traps and eventually reached a door.

Opening the door, he found himself in a spacious underground chamber with an altar in the center. On the altar, there was a black-gray, faintly glowing circular gem, and in the corner, there was a rack holding several rhombus-shaped crystals, one of which had an empty slot.

Carl first looked at the floating gem on the altar from a distance. He didn’t understand why the gentleman wanted this object to be placed there or its purpose. The gentleman only told him that he must ensure it stays in its original position at any cost, and the “Seal of Beast” crystals were the guarantee left behind.

Inside those crystals were magical beasts.