Chapter 59: Ron: I Hate Hidden Levels

“Either they knew Isis’s goal in advance, or they’ve been watching us from the shadows all along.”

Aside from Casalima, Ron thought of the third party that only existed in the sword-hunting white tiger’s words.

“This peace will probably be shattered again soon.”

Ron ignored the various traces of the previous battle around him. The surrounding scenery was not much different from when they first arrived at this campsite.

The sunlight was just right, tree shadows reflected on the lake surface, quietly rippling.

“System…”

Ron suddenly remembered an existence he had ignored for a long time.

[Prologue: Journey of Adventure: In Progress]

[Rebirth Rewind Location: Jiadelide City Gate]

[Remaining Rebirth Rewind Count: 0]

“Heh, your prologue is a bit too long, isn’t it?”

The words that had appeared before Ron’s eyes vanished, disappointment and sarcasm evident.

“Teacher… Brave Demon King…”

***

After disconnecting from the system, Ron focused his attention on the closed tent. He could vaguely hear Lifa and Isis speaking softly inside.

The few words he could barely make out made him frown. What were Isis and Lifa talking about?

Some of the key words made Ron take two steps closer to the tent, but he still couldn’t hear clearly. On the contrary, as time passed drop by drop, the voices remained.

“Lifa, Isis, haven’t you started yet?”

Feeling that several minutes had passed, Ron, who had already walked back to the tent, asked in a low voice.

Then he received no response.

Ron sensed something was wrong.

Tent, lawn, campsite, forest.

Was everything around him really still in the real world?

Ron turned and scanned the surroundings, which had not changed at all. The next moment, he whirled around and ripped open the tent’s curtain.

“Just as I thought.”

Empty and deserted—neither Isis nor Lifa were inside.

“I hate hidden stages.”

Ron muttered to himself. He guessed that he had now fallen into a world of illusion magic or some kind of mental magic.

“Casalima, is it you?”

His every word and action would be monitored by the caster. The first suspect Ron thought of was Casalima, whose true form was a nightmare demon.

No one answered. Ron’s current strength did not allow him to break this magic.

‘Could it be that getting deeply involved with Isis was the inevitably wrong path?’

After dismissing various methods of deciphering the magic in his mind, Ron couldn’t help but have that thought.

The encounters with Isis were far beyond what Ron and Lifa could participate in at their current stage.

Lifa’s helplessness in the face of many unknowns and high-level demonic beasts was a real problem that talent and courage could not compensate for.

As for himself, although he had unlocked the development path of the mental system, his total spiritual power and magic power were destined not to help Isis much.

“Rather… being able to come this far is already the blessing of luck and chance.”

The space inside the tent was narrow and pitch black. After a brief thought, Ron sighed and exited the tent.

Just as he lifted the curtain, he saw a small figure outside the tent.

“Hello hello~ Mr. Ron~”

A heart-shaped tail tip swayed beneath her floating body. A petite nightmare demon tilted her head, holding her cheek with one hand while waving with the other.

“Casalima.”

Ron calmly called out her name.

“Hmm, you seem to be quite familiar with me. At least, you seem to know quite a bit about me.”

The Demon King narrowed her eyes—it was the gaze of one sizing up a kindred spirit.

“So… before fusing with Isis, I specially came to meet you~”

The Demon King spoke on her own. If one didn’t know what she had done in the past, just looking at her highly deceptive appearance and expression, no one would feel any wariness.

“It’s really strange. Although you’re not old, your body is as frail as an ordinary human’s, and your mental power has only just been raised to a usable level by that dagger.”

Casalima approached Ron. Half his height, she was like a scholarly researcher, flying in the air while continuously examining various parts of Ron’s body.

“Knowledge, ideas, the Holy Church’s wish magic, the Sage Lineage’s perception magic…”

Casalima lifted her hand, counting off each point on her fingers like reciting a treasured list.

Ron silently watched Casalima’s deductions, worrying about Isis and Lifa’s situation and what to do next.

“All these unreasonable circumstances have actually led me to a reasonable conjecture~”

“Mr. Ron, would you like to hear it?”

Casalima displayed a carefree attitude. Ron rubbed his fingers together at his side a few times, then spoke up.

“I’d be happy to hear it. But you seem to have victory already in your grasp.”

“Mm-hmm~”

Casalima shrugged. Such direct probing wouldn’t work on her. She flapped her wings and flew up to Ron’s eye level.

“I’m not that foolish woman Isis.”

“She actually believed your story about being from a Northern Empire family and being friends with her master.”

Casalima spoke with conviction, her eyes looking at Ron with a mix of ambiguity and curiosity.

Ron thought the Demon King was about to state her conclusion directly, but Casalima’s words stopped abruptly after a frivolous laugh, and she crossed her arms.

“Before me, the nightmare demon clan hadn’t produced a Demon King in over a hundred years.”

“Mr. Ron, do you know why?”

Suddenly throwing the question back, Ron was silent for a moment before giving the answer that came to mind.

“The demon race is a group where the strong prey on the weak.”

“Although nightmare demons are one of the very few clans with achievements in the mental and soul fields, but…”

“Other demon clans would not give nightmare demons the opportunity and space to grow. They either enslave or kill them.”

“That is the most efficient and optimal solution.”

Casalima had sought him out alone and was chatting so patiently. Ron really couldn’t figure out this Demon King’s thoughts.

“You really do know, Mr. Ron.”

Casalima clasped her hands together and smiled very happily.

“Although this is not a secret among the demon race, you knowing and understanding it…”

“I am very happy~”

A faint blush rose on her cheeks. Casalima looked like a little girl praised for being understood, shyly lowering her head.

“I know, but I don’t understand.”

Ron completely ignored Casalima’s display and replied matter-of-factly.

“You don’t understand? Hehe~”

Casalima brought her fingertips together in front of her, her gaze starting to shift downward.

“You will understand soon~”

“After hearing my words and proposal…”