Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 275 The Sacred Spring (Part 1)  

 

The Sacred Spring

 

 Ye Ci was finally on the Sacred Snowy Mountain. 

 

 But the location of the spring was not easy to find. 

 

 Ye Ci had spent an entire day exploring the mountain, but the Sacred Spring was still nowhere in sight. She started a fire in the middle of a forest and began roasting some meat. Due to the lack of spice, she was not able to cook anything other than roasted meat. But because of her higher quality meat harvested from the Snow Bears she had slain, Ye Ci was still able to recover a significant amount of her Stamina. 

 

Even Ol’ Four was salivating from the smell of the roasted meat. It did not attempt to steal Ye Ci’s food, but it was obvious that the beast was begging for food from the looks that it was giving Ye Ci. 

 

Ye Ci was busy marking her map of the Sacred Snowy Mountain to identify the terrain that she had explored when she noticed Ol’ Four’s gaze. She stared at Ol’ Four and sighed, “It’s time for you to slim down. People are saying that you’ve grown fat. It’ll make you ugly.” 

 

Ol’ Four snorted at Ye Ci, as if it was proclaiming its satisfaction towards its own body figure. 

 

Ye Ci cast a sideway glance at Ol’ Four and delivered her threat. “But if you grow too fat, you’ll be slow. And if you’re slow... I’ll consider getting rid of you.” 

 

Ol’ Four snorted again, but Ye Ci could not understand her pet. 

 

The meat was already cooked by then. Ye Ci sighed as she lifted one of the pieces of meat and waved it in front of Ol’ Four, which was tracking the meat with its eyes. It grunted in frustration at the food that was just out of its reach, and Ye Ci was satisfied with the trouble that she caused Ol’ Four. she nodded and threw the meat at Ol’ Four and chuckled as her pet devoured the meat, “This is the last time you’ll ever get a treat. You’re on a diet starting tomorrow.” 

 

Ol’ Four grumbled at Ye Ci, obviously ignoring her threat. To Ol’ Four, what comes tomorrow is something that it only has to worry about on the next day. 

 

Ye Ci looked at the setting sun as he munched on her food. The bright red sun was about to sink below the horizon, and a Sacred Snowy Mountain without sunlight would be much colder. So how the hell am I supposed to look for the Sacred Spring? Thought Ye Ci. She was not fond of the cold weather. 

 

The land was enveloped by darkness when the sun finally sank below the horizon. 

 

With a sudden movement, Ol’ Four raised its head and began studying its surroundings, and its throat began rumbling with its low growl. It was a response that would typically be displayed by Ol’ Four when danger was near. Ye Ci was alarmed by the sudden display. Is there something out there? 

 

She immediately put out the fire with snow. The sizzling sound of the charcoal as the fire was put out was especially loud compared to the quiet forest. Ol’ Four was growling loudly as its muscles tense. It was ready to meet any threat in battle. 

 

Ye Ci patted Ol’ Four as a signal for her pet to quiet down, and waved at it so that it would crouch down beside her. Despite its reluctance, Ol’ Four obeyed. 

 

A Hunter would never choose a random spot to take a rest in the wilderness. A resting spot must always have an easy escape route while offering great concealment for the Hunter. 

 

Such was the spot that Ye Ci had chosen. She was mostly hidden by fallen and dried trees while a wide path was not far away behind her. In the dark of the night, it was easy for her to hide in such terrain. 

 

What sort of danger has Ol’ Four sensed? 

 

Ye Ci began studying her surroundings to spot the source of danger that sent Ol’ Four on edge. 

 

She had picked the spot as she had noticed that it was rarely frequented by the beasts that inhabited the area. This was why she started the fire and began cooking. 

 

And with the advantage of the terrain around her, Ye Ci was confident in her ability to escape even if a beast came across her campsite. 

 

Come to think about it, I’ve never actually ran into monsters for quite some time now. In a forest this thick? That’s impossible. It was a fact that Ye Ci had ignored, but a feeling of unease was creeping into her heart, Is there something in this forest? 

 

Just as Ye Ci was pondering the question, she spotted figures roaming between the trees, and she immediately found her answer. 

 

So this is why! 

 

The mystery behind the absence of wild beasts in the forest was unraveled. This forest is dominated by Spectres! 

 

So this is how a Devil’s Night looks like. Spectres are a truly bizarre life form. Due to the abundance of sunlight, Spectres were not a common sight in the day. Most of the Spectres would only appear at night when it was dark. 

 

As the sky grew darker, the number of Spectres around Ye Ci increased. 

 

With their levels ranging from lvl100 to lvl120, the Spectres were nearly impossible to defeat by Ye Ci. She would never engage them in combat unless it was absolutely necessary. 

 

Spectres do not have physical bodies, and attack mainly through Psychic-type skills. They did not take a lot of damage from Physical attacks, but were weak to Fire and Holy damage. The forest could be said to be the perfect leveling spot for a high level Priest, but as a Huntress, it was very unwise for Ye Ci to attack the monsters. 

 

Of course, the Spectres were not without weakness. A long time in the darkness without a physical body meant that the sense of hearing, sight, and smell of a Spectre was weak. The Spectre, however, could still detect a player’s precise location through echolocation, and any casting of skill could also be picked up by the Spectre’s senses. They’re just like bats! Thought Ye Ci. 

 

Ye Ci made the decision to dismiss Ol’ Four due to its immense size. It was a formidable fighter, but even it could not last long against the onslaught of a swarm of high level enemies. 

 

Just then, an orb of light appeared from Ye Ci’s bag much to her astonishment. What the hell is this? 

 

The orb was not one of her skills, but the sudden appearance of a light orb in the midst of so many Spectres was still a tense situation for Ye Ci. She even extended her arm to grab the orb of light with the intention of shoving it beneath her clothing to cover its light. 

 

But a quick observation of her surroundings told Ye Ci that the Spectres remained unaware of the orb’s presence. After a moment of thought, Ye Ci decided to release the orb from her grip. The light orb floated into the air, and was immediately spotted by the Spectres, which proceeded to ignore the presence of the orb. 

 

The orb circled around Ye Ci, and she realised that she was covered by the same light that was generated by the orb. 

 

But the question is: What is this orb? 

 

Ye Ci glanced at its stats, and realised that the orb was released by Moore’s familiar. 

 

She was then reminded of Moore’s words, and that his familiar would lead her to the secret to his immortality, and the way to his death. The orb was circling around Ye Ci, as if telling her that she should follow after it. As Ye Ci carefully stood up, she orb rose as well, and flew forward. 

 

The ball stopped and flew back towards Ye Ci when it realised that Ye Ci was not following after it. At that moment, Ye Ci was completely certain that the orb of light would be her guide. She cast a quick glance at the Spectres around her and followed the orb after entering Stealth. 

 

Unlike Ye Ci, the orb did not seem to be aware of danger. It flew onwards without paying heed to its surroundings, and would even fly through groups of Spectres. These moments would always cause mini heart attacks for Ye Ci who was following close behind. 

 

The Spectres, however, were very forgiving of the orb’s presence. They would not even pay heed to the orb as it flew past one of their numbers. Ye Ci was still wary of the Spectre’s despite the orb’s strange behavior. She would often maneuver around groups of Spectre in her path and carve markings into the tree along the way with her sword. 

 

The sky was dark, and Ye Ci knew that she would easily get lost in the forest if she did not mark the trees especially when her map remained mostly unexplored. She encountered a large number of Spectres along the way, and slowly came to the realisation that the orb’s like that coated her character was protecting her from detection. 

 

Her speed increased significantly after the discovery was made. 

 

The orb of light finally stopped after a long time, and Ye Ci could see a shrine ahead. The white marble walls of the shrine was a gloomy sight in the white endless snow. It reminded Ye Ci of death. 

 

As Ye Ci eyed the orb, it began to shine brighter, illuminating a large patch of ground in the dark night. 

 

And after a slight moment of pause, the orb of light began floating towards the shrine. 

 

Ye Ci continued following after the orb. She had to maneuver around the increasing number of Spectres that stood in her path while simultaneously studying her surroundings. The shrine was built into the mountain, and only its great gates could be seen from the outside. Perhaps due to the constant storm, even the shrine’s entrance was half covered with snow and icicles. 

 

It was unclear which deity was the patron of this shrine, but it was clear that the shrine had been long abandoned. Due to its hidden location within the Snowy Sacred Mountain, the shrine remained unexplored by players. 

 

That’s strange. 

 

They seem to be afraid of something in the shrine. It might be abandoned, but something in the shrine is scaring the Spectres away. 

 

The orb of light floated gracefully past the gate covered by snow, but Ye Ci was forced to climb over the snow to gain entry to the shrine. 

 

The interior of the shrine was a mess. 

 

There were no monsters in the shrine, and in their place was a substantial population of rats. 

 

Rats are very strange creatures. They exist in game and in real life, and often in the harshest of environments. 

 

As the orb of light led Ye Ci into the shrine, most of the life forms that she encountered were groups of rats that were not afraid of the Elf. 

 

It took Ye Ci quite a while to reach the interior of the shrine. 

 

Much of the shrine’s interior had fallen into ruin, but Ye Ci could still see masterfully crafted murals and paintings on the large dome that made up the temple’s ceiling. There was no statue of any gods on the altar of a shrine, but there was a small fountain. 

 

With the lack of windows of the shrine, its interior was supposed to be dark. But the entire shrine was illuminated by a weak light. 

 

Two rows of chairs were placed in front of the altar. They were old, and one of them even crumbled into dust as Ye Ci brushed her hand across its surface. 

 

When was this shrine abandoned? Not a single soul knew. 

 

The orb of light slowly faded away before finally disappearing from Ye Ci’s sight. It seems like the secret of Moore’s curse of immortality is just ahead. Ye Ci climbed over the fallen pillars and debris, making her way towards the altar. 

 

There was a fountain in front of the altar. The water in the fountain was crystal clear, but the mouth of the spring was blocked by debris, allowing only a trickle of water to flow into the pool. 

 

A strict voice called out to Ye Ci just as she extended an arm to clear away the debris, “Stay your hand, mortal! Who gave you the permission to lay your hands on the purest Sacred Spring in this world?” 

 

Sacred Spring! 

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Alright minna-san! First chapter of the week! Don't miss out on the next one we'll be releasing soon! Hope the chapter today is up to par, my thoughts were not in prime condition as I work on it... Sorry if it's bad DX 

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Desu-vult!!!