Ren and Keno stayed at the base for a month.
During that time, Keno listened to all of Ren's stories and arranged the place to her liking.
This was their first home.
"Want to go on another adventure?" Ren looked at the little one.
"Sure." Keno smiled.
Ever since meeting Ren, it made her feel happy even though she was an Undead.
The two set off on their journey again, heading toward the kingdom.
Outside the Azerlisia Mountains lay the Great Forest of Tob.
After several days of travel, they finally reached their destination.
"According to the map, it should be inside a cave." Keno held the map and looked at the vast forest ahead.
"Mm, let's reach the mountains first." Ren led the way into the forest, using a magic scroll to avoid getting lost.
No magical beasts disturbed them along the way.
They soon arrived near the mountains.
Here, mountains connected to mountains, vegetation was thick, and sunlight barely penetrated.
Finding the exact location wasn't easy.
After searching for a while, "Ren, do you think that guy is lying to us?"
Keno was very angry now.
The forest was full of insects, and they had been searching for six hours without finding a thing.
There were only more bugs.
"He probably isn't." Ren used another scroll without hesitation.
Another hour passed.
"Ah, these insects are so annoying. I need to create a bug-destroying spell." Keno felt miserable.
Bugs were easy to kill, but there were just too many.
"Here." Ren arrived at a valley hidden by thick vegetation, making it hard to spot.
After killing a swarm of insects, Keno hurried to Ren's side to observe the area with him.
"Keno, the bug-destroying spell you mentioned might work here," Ren said quietly.
"No way." Keno broke into a cold sweat.
She truly hated insects.
"There are bugs everywhere inside," Ren said, leaving Keno feeling hopeless.
"There probably aren't any items here. Shall we go somewhere else?" Keno's face stiffened.
"No, quite the opposite. A place like this is more likely to have items." Ren stepped into the cave without hesitation.
"Ren, we can wait for the bug spell—" Keno hadn't finished speaking before seeing Ren already enter.
She stomped her foot and hurried after him.
After entering the cave, Ren used a magical tool to light up the entire cavern.
Keno immediately got goosebumps all over.
The cave walls and the ground were covered with countless insects.
It was a complete insect nest.
As the light turned on, the previously quiet insects went wild, charging at Ren and Keno without hesitation.
They didn't care that the two were undead.
"Poison Gas Release."
Ren decisively used a scroll, while Keno quickly put on a gas mask following Ren's signal.
The dense swarm of insects fell to the ground dead, and stepping on them squashed them, releasing juices everywhere.
After equipping their flying tools, the two hacked and slashed their way through the cave.
Every place they passed was left littered with a huge number of insect corpses.
The cave was complicated and winding, and the number of dead insects kept growing.
Keno was starting to feel numb, but she swore to herself that she would create a magic specifically designed to kill insects.
After a long while, the two finally reached an open space.
In the middle of it stood a huge cocoon.
They used a scouting spell, and soon information appeared before Ren.
Only then did he understand what they were facing: an Insect Demon, level 50, with the ability to create and control insects.
Its own combat power was relatively weak, but its insects were extremely difficult to deal with.
Ren could handle it so easily because the level gap was huge, and his paid items were just too powerful.
"What is that? Is it dangerous?" Keno asked directly.
"Am I stronger than it?"
"Of course not. Ren is the strongest," Keno said without hesitation.
"Let's deal with it first. Bury it." Ren drew his weapon, Ama-no-Murakumo, and moved toward the cocoon at incredible speed.
Sensing danger, a large number of insects attacked Ren recklessly.
He threw several magical scrolls, killing them all.
Then, with one swift strike, he cut the cocoon in half.
But it did not die.
It immediately entered its second stage, its level rising from 50 to 55.
At this moment, it glared at Ren with extreme anger.
In this stage, it produced insects all over the cave.
These insects were level 30, and if humans encountered them, they would surely die.
Ren, however, used another scroll.
Although it was a single attack, it was very effective.
Realizing that the insects were useless, the demon's tail began releasing a large amount of poison.
These toxins are instantly lethal to anyone below level 45, and the higher the level, the less the continuous damage.
Ren's gas mask can neutralize toxins up to the sixth tier.
Basically, the Insect Demon's powers were completely nullified by Ren, so it couldn't fight back.
Ren struck with another slash, and this time there was no third phase — the Insect Demon was killed outright.
At the same moment the demon died, all the insects inside the cave also died.
Clearly, without their mother body they could not survive.
"Ugh, Ren, let's get out of here — there's nothing useful." Keno said, disgusted by the smell.
"Wait a moment." Ren walked to the Insect Demon's corpse and noticed a crystal beneath it.
"What's that?" Keno hurried over and peered closely.
"It's an item — the Insect Demon Summoning Crystal." Ren recognized it quickly.
This was a premium in-game item, the kind bought with real money; it was like players were abusing this world.
Although the Insect Demon was only level 50, it was a disaster for this world.
"Is it a player?" Keno asked; last month Ren had given her a crash course on the game mechanics.
"Maybe," Ren said. "Their purpose isn't clear — they were probably just here for fun."
"For fun?" Keno couldn't believe it — just for that?
"Since it's not their world, and they suddenly gain power, some people's inner evil comes out." Ren did not say another reason he felt: before he transmigrated, the heavy hand of capital had crushed them all.
"I see." Keno now understood what "player" implied.
She looked at Ren. "Do we still go to the rest of the places?"
"We go, of course." Ren answered without hesitation. "Where there are miracles, we will be there."
"Mm." Keno's tone was no longer as light as before.
"What's wrong? Worried about this world?" Ren asked.
Keno fell silent; she did not want to make things hard for Ren, but she couldn't ignore what she had seen.
"Don't worry — that player we met before will handle the hero stuff. Let them be the hero; we're undead, so we won't get involved. Of course, if we run into them, we'll cut them down." Ren put his hand on her small head as he said it.
"Let's go quickly. I can't stay here even for a second," Keno said cheerfully, flying rapidly toward the cave entrance.
"Demon Gods, I hardly know anything about what happened two hundred years ago from the original story. That's interesting. Was the opponent a player?" Ren said with an excited smile.
These natives were too boring. PvP was much more thrilling. Of course, he wanted to be involved in the Demon God's affairs, witness miracles, and get his hands on world-class items.
"Ren, what are you doing? There are nothing but insect corpses here," Keno called out when he lagged behind.
"Coming," Ren said, quickly flying toward Keno's position.
**********
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