Daniel glanced at the cave and led several hundred guild mbers inside in a long procession.
Everyone followed behind him without daring to act out of line. Even their voices were kept low, as though they were afraid of disturbing him.
Once they entered the cave, the starlight disappeared, and the darkness around them deepened.
"Light Spell!"
A quick-reacting priest cast a spell at once, illuminating the entire cave in bright light.
At first glance, the cave looked completely ordinary.
Bzzz—!
Just then, a deep humming sound suddenly rang out beside everyone’s ears.
"Hm? What’s that sound?"
"What the hell is that?"
"Look! The space ahead is changing... no, wait—it’s rippling!"
Daniel was walking at the very front.
In his vision, the space ahead had looked like the surface of a calm lake, but now ripples were suddenly spreading across it.
Wave after wave expanded outward.
What was going on?
He frowned and reached his hand toward the rippling space.
[Ding! You have discovered the hidden instance: Ancient Echo. Enter?]
The system notification sounded in his ears.
He did not choose imdiately. Instead, he turned back and asked, "Did all of you get the system prompt too?"
The guild mbers behind him answered one after another.
"We got it! Looks like it’s a hidden instance!"
"Yeah, it’s called Ancient Echo!"
"Leader, are you the chosen one or sothing? We’ve gone in and out of this cave so many tis and never triggered anything, but the mont you show up, the instance appears!"
"WTF! As expected of the man who monopolized the entire Stellar announcent board!"
"Leader, are we going in?"
The corner of Daniel’s lips curved up slightly as he replied coolly, "Of course."
Even as he said that, however, he was wondering inwardly.
Why had the instance triggered the mont he arrived, while the guild mbers who had gone in and out so many tis had never encountered it?
He could not help but think of the strange ancient bracelet he had picked up earlier outside Imperial City.
Could it have sothing to do with that?
He shook his head and cast the distracting thoughts aside.
Since they had stumbled upon a hidden instance, there was no reason not to go in and see what it contained.
"I’d like to see for myself what secrets are hidden inside this instance."
Without hesitation, he selected Enter.
Whoosh—!
In the blink of an eye, Daniel and the several hundred guild mbers behind him vanished from the spot.
...
Whoosh—!
The sound of rushing wind filled Daniel’s ears.
He was falling—plumting straight downward.
If he just let himself keep falling like this, who knew where he would end up?
"Voidstep!"
He quickly activated the skill to steady himself and slowly descended.
Strange.
It was currently night in Aetheria, yet here it was broad daylight, with the sun shining brilliantly overhead.
Even stranger, the guild mbers had not landed with him. Judging by the situation, they had likely been teleported elsewhere.
Daniel scanned the surroundings and soon noticed sothing.
Not far away, a barefoot little girl in plain clothes sat by the lakeside, her face sallow as she gazed at him blankly.
Daniel slowly walked over and asked, "Where is this place?"
The girl blinked and answered timidly, "This is Soul Devouring Vale."
Soul Devouring Vale?
Daniel frowned. "What’s your na?"
The girl replied haltingly, "My na is Kelly. What about you?"
Daniel was a little surprised. This little girl was bolder than he had expected—she had actually asked him in return.
He smiled faintly. "My na is Faustus. A human—Faustus."
He deliberately emphasized the words human.
After years of playing the ga, he knew that the new version was inseparably tied to humankind. Those two words—human—might very well be the key to triggering a hidden quest.
Yet when Kelly heard the word human, she showed no particular reaction. She rely fell silent.
Daniel blinked.
So the keyword did not work?
Perhaps the timing was wrong, or perhaps the way quests were triggered in this instance was simply different from elsewhere.
So he casually found a rock and sat down, then probed further. "Kelly, why are you here all by yourself?"
Kelly lowered her head, as though rembering sothing unpleasant, and her mood visibly darkened.
In a small voice, she said, "Nobody here wants to play with , so I can only play by myself."
Then she suddenly looked up and revealed a smile.
"But I’ve discovered lots of interesting places around here."
Interesting places?
Daniel felt as though he had caught onto sothing and imdiately asked, "Can you tell about them?"
"Of course!"
Kelly nodded earnestly.
"I found that in the morning, the forest not only has the most flowers, it’s also the place where rainbows appear the most often."
Daniel smiled. "That must be beautiful."
Seeing that the young man in front of her showed no impatience, Kelly grew more enthusiastic.
"And also, the afternoon is the most interesting ti here. The lake water is warm, and the wind feels all soft and gentle."
"Then at night, the most beautiful place is the cliff over there. From there, you can see the roundest moon, and so many fireflies."
As Daniel listened, he was simultaneously pondering whether each of her words concealed clues that might trigger a quest.
At that mont, Kelly suddenly shot out her hand and grabbed at the air.
"Hey! Guess what I caught?"
"What?"
"A gift. I want to give it to you."
Kelly grinned, revealing a row of neat white teeth.
Daniel smiled. "Then I’d like to see it."
Kelly smiled as she slowly opened her palm.
A rainbow rested in her hand.
When Daniel had first entered the instance, his mind had been full of quests. How could he possibly have paid attention to sothing like a rainbow?
If Kelly had not seed like the kind of NPC who could trigger a quest, he would have run out of patience long ago.
His expression sharpened slightly, though the smile on his face did not change. "Thank you, Kelly."
Kelly smiled. "You really are just like the legend says."
"Hm? A legend?"
"Yes!"
"In the legend, there’s a monster living in Soul Devouring Vale. It can turn into anyone’s appearance, beco friends with anyone, and then, when they least expect it, swallow them whole."
She looked at Daniel with so fear in her eyes.
"If you want to eat ... could you swallow in one bite? I’m afraid it would hurt."
At those words, the smile slowly vanished from Daniel’s face.
The monster of Soul Devouring Vale? Eating people?
Kelly had mistaken him for the monster from the legend?
Caught between amusent and disbelief, he shook his head. "I’m not a monster. I’m not even from this place."
Kelly froze for a mont, then suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, you’re saying you’re not from this place?"
"Then what world are you from? The God Realm? The Demon Realm? The Undead Realm? The world of the sea demons?"
Daniel was startled inwardly.
He realized Kelly seed remarkably familiar with the various worlds of different races.
Could this hidden instance be a world where many races lived together?
He shook his head. "I’m not from any of those places. I’m human, just like you."
Then, curious, he asked, "This monster of Soul Devouring Vale you ntioned—what exactly is it?"
Kelly looked at him in confusion. "This place is Soul Devouring Vale. Soul Devouring Vale belongs to the Soul Devourers."
"They decree that every major human city must send three hundred children into the valley each year for them to eat. Otherwise, they’ll go to war with humankind."
A trace of sorrow surfaced in her eyes.
"And I... am one of the sacrifices they selected."
Boom—!
Daniel’s eyes flew wide open.
A sacrifice!
He felt a rush of hot blood shoot straight to his head, and his anger surged violently upward.
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