Dugu Bo, standing nearby, wasn't surprised by what he saw.
Though they had only known each other for about a day, Wu Tong had acted as a bridge between them, and during last night's gathering, the group had quickly grown familiar. It was then that Dugu Bo had gotten a clear grasp of the personalities of these visitors from another world.
(Not that Kevin and the others had tried to hide anything.)
Given his understanding of their temperaments, Dugu Bo wasn't the least bit startled by Pardo's antics.
…
Watching Pardo suddenly pounce toward him, Wu Tong couldn't help but laugh wryly. Is she seriously overestimating the so-called "ferocious beasts" of this world?
With an amused smile, he said, "Alright, you're overthinking this. The combat power of this world's ferocious beasts is nowhere near that of the Herrschers from your world. With Kevin and the others' strength, they're practically invincible here."
To his surprise, Pardo didn't seem reassured. Instead, she remained as skittish as ever.
"Boss Wu Tong, of course I know that! But didn't you tell us before that some Spirit Beasts here have really weird abilities? Sure, Sister Elysia and the others are strong, but they might not have a way to deal with those kinds of tricks!"
It wasn't that Pardo doubted Elysia or Kevin's capabilities—it was just that Wu Tong's initial descriptions had been so exaggerated that she assumed even the Flame-Chasers couldn't handle such bizarre powers.
After all, she knew full well that while the Thirteen Flame-Chasers were undeniably powerful, they lacked specific resistances against certain esoteric abilities.
In short, the Thirteen Flame-Chasers were overwhelmingly strong in direct combat but overly specialized. Against straightforward enemies, they were unmatched, but when faced with foes wielding strange abilities, their weaknesses became apparent.
Back in their world, even Kevin had needed to implant the "Vow" to resist the mind-control of the Herrscher of Sentience—and in doing so, he'd lost the ability to dream.
That incident had left a deep impression on Pardo, reinforcing her belief that this world was dangerous. It was why she holed up indoors all day, refusing to engage with the outside world.
Hearing her words, Wu Tong chuckled helplessly. "I did say that, but while those abilities are strange, most of them won't actually work on you guys. I only mentioned it as a reminder not to get careless. Even if you do encounter them, those tricks would just be a minor nuisance at worst—certainly not life-threatening."
"So… does the place we're going to have any Spirit Beasts with those kinds of abilities?"
Pardo's expression relaxed slightly at Wu Tong's reassurance, but she still looked tense as she asked the question.
Elysia, Vill-V, Mobius, and the others perked up, equally curious.
"Uh…"
Wu Tong paused for a moment before answering, "Well, yes, but they're not that hard to deal with."
"There are?!"
Pardo's body stiffened again. "Boss Wu Tong, what are those creatures called? Tell us so I can at least avoid them!"
Wu Tong listed them off under the group's expectant gazes:
"The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's time and evil powers, plus its Life-and-Death Arena; the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's control over fate and worldly fortune; the Silver Dragon King, ruler of all Spirit Beasts; and a few others worth noting. That's about it."
"Time and evil powers… Life-and-Death Arena…"
Mobius's eyes gleamed with almost palpable hunger. Clearly, she was very interested in this particular Spirit Beast.
"Control over fate and worldly fortune? Such power can be wielded by living beings?"
As someone from Shenzhou, Mei was well-acquainted with these concepts.
The saying went: First comes destiny, then fortune, then geomancy; fourth is virtue, fifth is knowledge.
Even someone like her, who wasn't deeply versed in Taoist mysticism, had heard of the forces of fate and fortune. To learn that creatures here could command such power left her genuinely surprised.
"Relax, Pardo. If I'm taking you there, it means I'm confident in your safety. You don't need to worry."
Wu Tong reassured Pardo first, then smiled at the eager looks from the others.
"Since everyone's raring to go, let's head out."
With that, he decided not to drag things out further. If they kept talking, it'd be noon soon—and they still had to eat.
"We'll visit the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well this morning, then head to the Great Star Dou Forest in the afternoon."
As he spoke, Wu Tong prepared to open a portal.
However, Elysia suddenly stopped him.
"Wait, Wu Tong."
"???"
Wu Tong halted mid-motion and turned to her, puzzled.
"What's wrong? Is there something else we need to prepare?"
Elysia grinned mischievously. "Not exactly. It's just that we've only been in this world for a few days and haven't really gone out beyond the academy. Why don't we travel there instead? It'd be a great chance to see more of this world."
Wu Tong blinked, then nodded in understanding. She had a point—discounting his time in the "Instance," Elysia and the others had only been here for about two days.
"Fine, but walking is out of the question. How about we drive instead? I've got some Soul Tool vehicles I made a while back. They were shelved after I gained spatial abilities, but now they'll finally come in handy."
"That sounds perfect! Thank you, Wu Tong~♪"
Elysia clasped her hands together in gratitude.
Wu Tong twitched at her choice of address but let it slide.
With a wave, he retrieved a fleet of sleek, newly crafted Soul Tool motorcycles from his storage device.
"Cool."
Kevin's eyes lit up at the sight of the stylish rides.
(This Kevin was from the Elysian Realm. Though still an "ice block," the presence of the other Flame-Chasers had kept him from descending into extremism. In some ways, he still retained a trace of youthful exuberance.)
"Awesome."
Even Kosma couldn't hide his excitement. The motorcycles' designs were just too sleek, and the big boy was practically itching to hop on.
Su and Kalpas, among others, also looked thoroughly pleased.
...
Read 50 advance at patreon.com/CNBLUE
(End of Chapter.)