Chen Luo looked at Chris with a gaze that was both suspicious and somewhat challenging. After all, strictly adhering to the original setup of the Alteria Kingdom, those who managed to survive here all possessed extraordinary intelligence and deep-seated suspicion ingrained in their very blood. It seemed reality was indeed just like that.
Chris also noticed that Chen Luo's expression was somewhat conflicted, as if he were concealing some inner anguish. He didn't want to lay his cards on the table right at this moment; patiently waiting for Chen Luo to speak up on his own was far better than directly exposing him—this was also a typical psychological tactic of someone carrying royal blood.
-"There are things some people know and some don't, things some people understand and others don't. If I have to say who I am, I suppose I'm just an out-of-place outsider."
Chen Luo gave this answer for entirely his own reasons. On one hand, he wanted to probe the thoughts of this future monarch; on the other hand, this was also a vague yet truthful confession about himself. After all, he was inherently an anomalous entity in this world, and there was no reason for him to deliberately deceive.
-"Then, an Aberrant like you... how can you still manage to survive until now?" Chris's direct question made Chen Luo chuckle inwardly. Everything was unfolding precisely as he had anticipated; the boy before him was unconsciously categorizing him under the Aberrant race without ever considering the possibility that he came from a world outside. Yet, that line of thought was also completely reasonable. Aside from Aberrants, there were countless other persecuted and hated races in this world, and most conflicts stemmed from long-standing grievances between different species, so there was nothing overly surprising about this.
-"You can view me as an Aberrant, or as an ordinary human being. But you called me out here surely not just to chat idly about my background, right?" Chen Luo calmly replied, his gaze seeming to see right through Chris's thoughts. Even though the young prince tried to mask a degree of scheming in his eyes, to a veteran like Chen Luo, manipulation tactics that hadn't yet been honed into instinct remained far too easy to read.
-"It seems indeed nothing escapes your eyes." Chris let out a sigh, his gaze dropping. "When it all comes down to it, I'm simply curious about the unknowns surrounding you. That brilliant golden light the other day, the strange sword you held in your hand, or even your skills and that overwhelming power..."
Before Chris could finish his sentence, Chen Luo cast a cold, sharp glance carrying a clear warning message: Do not dig too deeply into those things. Chris was smart enough to realize he had just spoken out of turn. Coupled with his wariness toward the person before him, he immediately swallowed back his unfinished questions and fell silent.
-"Don't ask too deeply into these matters; when the appropriate time comes, I will tell you myself. As for now, surely you've already sensed those characters lingering outside, haven't you?" Chen Luo looked at Chris with the calm composure of someone completely in control of the situation. Chris nodded slightly in confirmation. In truth, from the very moment Chen Luo woke up, he had already vaguely perceived a few unfamiliar figures lingering at a short distance around the base.
-"They carry distinct killing intent... roughly two of them..."
-"No, precisely four. Observe carefully, little wolf cub." Without waiting for Chris to finish, Chen Luo calmly corrected him. Under the omniscient vision of the 「Creature Tracking」 skill, not only were all the targets precisely exposed in their positions, but they hadn't even the slightest inkling that they had fallen into his crosshairs long ago.
Following a brief exchange, Chen Luo decided to show temporary restraint, letting them live until tonight. After all, rushing out to capture them right away would be far too boring; letting them confidently sneak closer and then taking care of all of them in one fell swoop would be much more entertaining.
Chen Luo didn't let himself idle around either. He quickly headed into the kitchen, prepared a few chunks of aromatic, rich butter-sauced roasted meat, and walked down to the first floor. After all, it was well past midday, and he needed to prepare some food to line Hina and the wolf pack's stomachs.
-"Awoke, did you? I thought you were planning to stay sprawled out there and never get back up." Hina crossed her arms, unhesitatingly hurling a sarcastic remark the moment she caught sight of Chen Luo. Finally catching an opportunity to vent her grievances against her master, it would be a total waste not to seize it.
-"Oh, so you truly wished for me to stay lying down forever? In that case, I suppose I'll reluctantly put away these fragrant butter-sauced roasted meat pieces." Knowing Hina's personality inside out, Chen Luo merely gave a faint smile and launched a counterattack. Who could have expected that Hina, who had maintained an arrogant expression just a second ago, would instantly discard her pride and lunge forward to drop to her knees, hugging his legs with an expression full of craving. Chen Luo couldn't be bothered to argue with her either. Depriving her of a meal simply because of a teasing remark would be too petty, and he certainly wasn't that kind of person.
Sitting down to eat below, Hina had actually sensed the presence of the uninvited guests outside long ago. The royal instincts of the Silver Wolf bloodline made it easy for her to capture that unfamiliar and dangerous aura, and discovering them wasn't surprising at all; failing to sense anything at all would have been the abnormal part.
Chen Luo didn't linger on the first floor for long. He instructed Hina to stay behind and carefully watch over the children, then calmly walked alone toward the familiar cellar tunnel on the ground floor.
Hina stood there, her gaze lingering fixedly on his retreating back as he vanished deep underground, a storm of thoughts raging in her heart. Whenever she began pondering this bizarre master, a genuine headache would plague her. Far too many mysterious powers and heaven-defying encounters continuously converged onto Chen Luo. Just a moment ago, when she attempted to focus and observe him, she had accidentally caught a whiff of a spine-chilling destructive aura, even though it was extraordinarily faint. To say she felt no fear whatsoever would be an absolute lie.
The more she thought, the more a sense of helplessness crept into Hina's mind. Although she could clearly perceive the level disparity between herself and her counterpart, the longer she observed him over time, the more terrified she became upon realizing her winning odds were plummeting at a nearly uncontrollable rate. Even so, that didn't mean she had zero chance of turning the tables on this obnoxious master if an opportunity ever arose one day.
Returning to Chen Luo, he had found his way back to the tunnel path he dug out with his own hands. This time, he didn't rush at all; instead, he meticulously expanded the space while reinforcing the entire rock walls as he moved along. From a game player's perspective, this might simply be a basic gameplay feature, but from the realistic perspective of this world, this was genuine, authentic physics knowledge rather than just a few dry textbook formulas like E=mc^2.
After securely stabilizing the overall framework of the cellar and tightly tying the safety rope around his waist, Chen Luo began climbing downward. Although not a professional mountaineer, his overwhelmingly superior attribute stats perfectly compensated for physical shortcomings, allowing him to descend into the abyss in an exceptionally neat and leisurely manner.
The bottom of the fissure was a pitch-black space where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, with only a few faint rays of light filtering through the rock cracks. Chen Luo took a quick stroll through the System Store, spending 40 crystals to instantly purchase 128 bright torches. After all, for utility items this cheap—virtually no different from low-tier food—stockpiling them in large quantities at such a bargain price made complete sense.
After busily toiling away in the depths of the profound fissure for over four hours, Chen Luo finally climbed back up to the ground floor. Although this trip only yielded a small amount of molten magma along with a modest quantity of cobalt ore, that was still more than enough to mark today's harvest.
Returning to his private room, Chen Luo pulled out the two items acquired yesterday to inspect them thoroughly. The moment the skill book was pulled out of the system's storage space, Alvibion instantly emitted a magical glow and completely devoured the skill book. Simultaneously, a bright red exclamation mark suddenly appeared within the 「Martial Arts - Epic Art of Warfare」 section of the interface, notifying him that all ancient martial knowledge had been successfully received.
Even though this was the second time Chen Luo witnessed such a spectacle, he couldn't help but feel amazed. When first opening that book, he could only roughly visualize the execution movements; but now, observing the detailed and complete blueprint simulated and restored by Alvibion firsthand, he truly felt a deep shock.
This sword technique set consisted of a total of 8 primary active moves alongside 1 supporting passive. One had to keep in mind that across the entire system of Infinite Profession, the majority of advanced skill sets stopped at just 3 skills + 1 passive, or at most 5 skills + 2 passive. Force-fitting a full 8 active skills coupled with 1 passive skill straight into a single martial arts set was truly an act of stuffing power to a terrifying degree for anyone capable of using their brain.