The next morning, Leo ate some dried beast meat to replenish his energy, then left the palace and headed towards the seaside.
As his Rank increased to 23, the life energy required to level up had become immense.
After half a year of hunting, the large prey in the forest were few and far between, and the speed of leveling up had inevitably slowed down.
Since that was the case, Leo no longer obsessed over leveling up quickly.
Today, he planned to head to the seaside to look around, partly to try hunting marine life—those large fish or crustaceans should be able to provide decent life energy.
On the other hand, he also wanted a change of pace; he had been eating land animals for half a year and was getting a bit tired of them.
He strapped on his homemade leather backpack, which contained a stone knife, a bone spear, tinder, and some dried rations.
The leather armor had become quite well-fitted after half a year of use, and the bone plates on the critical areas could effectively defend against ordinary claws and fangs.
Just as Leo set off for the seaside, on the other side of the Secret Realm.
Satz, Caspar, and Serena were cautiously making their way through the forest. Since entering the Secret Realm, they had already explored quite a few places.
"Mr. Satz, look at this!"
Caspar crouched beside a peculiar fern and carefully collected a sample, placing it into a specialized container.
"This plant is almost extinct in the outside world; I didn't expect to find a complete ecosystem here!"
The young scholar was as excited as a child, his eyes sparkling behind his glasses.
His backpack was already filled with quite a few plant samples, soil samples, and insect specimens.
Serena followed behind him, chewing gum, her right hand resting constantly on the hilt of the short blade at her waist. She scanned her surroundings vigilantly, her brow slightly furrowed.
"Caspar, you're too excited."
She muttered, "Be careful. This Secret Realm is a bit strange—we've been walking for almost two hours since we entered, and the creatures we've encountered can be counted on one hand. This isn't right."
Satz, who was walking in the lead, nodded.
This Hunter of ruins wore a dapper suit, his purple hair was combed neatly, the lower half of his face had only two mustaches, and his sharp eyes observed his surroundings.
"Serena is right." Satz's voice was calm but carried alertness.
"Judging by the environment, there is plenty of sunlight, lush vegetation, and no shortage of water; there should be a large number of living creatures here. But all the way here, we've only seen a few small birds and insects."
He stopped and crouched to inspect the ground.
"And... look at these tracks."
Caspar and Serena leaned in. There were shallow claw marks on the ground, no longer very clear, but it could be seen that they belonged to some kind of medium-sized beast.
The strange thing was that there was no fresh excrement or fur around the claw marks, as if the beast hadn't been active in this area for a long time.
"It's like it was driven away, or..." Serena didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.
"Hunted." Satz stood up.
"If the entire forest is like this, it means there is a powerful predator here, or... someone is conducting systematic hunting."
The three exchanged glances.
If it were the former, they would need to be careful; if it were the latter, the situation would be even more complicated—who would be hunting in the Secret Realm for such a long time?
Natives? Or explorers who entered earlier than them?
"Continue forward, stay alert." Satz made the decision.
The direction they were heading was exactly where the palace was located.
Meanwhile, Leo was on his way to the seaside.
He was walking along a hunting route he used often, and he knew the surrounding environment like the back of his hand.
While passing a hillside, he casually destroyed a medium-sized ant nest.
Over these past six months, he had consciously preserved some ant nests, only clearing a portion each time, waiting for the colony to rebuild before coming back to "harvest."
This sustainable method allowed him to steadily obtain a small amount of life energy.
[Life Energy + 6.8]
[Rank: 23 (13.8%)]
The harvest wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.
Leo continued forward and checked a few traps he had set earlier, successfully catching two wild rabbits and one gopher.
When processing these small prey, his movements were skillful, and he finished skinning and taking the meat in a few minutes.
"That's about it." He wrapped the beast meat in leaves, placed it in his backpack, and continued toward the seaside.
After walking for about half an hour, Leo suddenly stopped.
There was movement ahead.
It wasn't the sound of a beast—it was voices, and more than one person.
Leo became alert instantly.
"There are actually people! Did they come in from the outside? I wonder how strong they are?"
He quickly hid behind a dense bush and looked ahead through the gaps in the branches and leaves.
At the same time, he lowered his breathing and suppressed his body's presence to the minimum.
Half a year of hunting life had allowed him to master perfect stealth techniques.
The voices became clearer and clearer.
"Careful, this thing has aggressive intentions!"
"I know! But it's already an endangered species, Serena, don't make a move!"
"Tch, what a pain."
Leo moved forward slowly, his movements as light as a cat. Soon, he saw the source of the sound—
In a forest clearing, three people were surrounding a subterranean badger.
Leo recognized this creature: it resembled a badger, but was larger in size, had developed foreclaws good for digging holes, and had a ferocious temperament.
This subterranean badger was baring its teeth at the three, letting out threatening low growls, but it didn't attack, seemingly wary of something.
Looking at the three again.
Purple hair, a dapper suit, a face without a mouth... Leo's pupils constricted slightly, and his calm heart couldn't help but stir with excitement.
Satz?
The examiner for the first phase of the Hunter Exam, the Hunter of ruins who screened Examinees with a marathon?
Leo quickly recalled the plot of hunter x hunter in his mind.
Satz, a professional Hunter, specializing in ruin exploration, with a rigorous personality.
In the original work, he was one of the few Hunters who never made a move, his strength unknown.
The other two—the young man wearing glasses was carrying a large backpack, looking like a scholar; the red-haired woman had a lithe build, wore a short blade at her waist, and was currently retracting the half-drawn blade with a helpless expression.
"Serena, don't hurt it." The bespectacled man, Caspar, said urgently.
"If we can't hurt it, then what should we do?" Serena muttered as she sheathed her blade.
Satz stepped forward: "Let me handle it; I can subdue it."
He raised his right hand, palm forward.
Leo was in the "Zetsu" state and could not perceive Nen—but the subterranean badger seemed to feel something, suddenly becoming restless and backing away a few steps.
Just at the moment Satz was about to make a move, his actions suddenly paused.
Immediately after, this professional Hunter turned his head abruptly, his gaze accurately cast towards the direction of the bush where Leo was hiding!
"Someone's there!" Satz's voice suddenly turned cold.
Caspar and Serena were both startled, quickly turning in the direction Satz was looking, and instantly struck a combat stance.
Serena's blade was half-drawn again, while Caspar pulled a short metal rod from the side pocket of his backpack.
"Come out now!" Serena shouted sternly, "Otherwise, we'll launch an attack!"
Behind the bush, Leo's heart jolted.
"I've been discovered?"
How is that possible? With his current stealth ability, even beasts known for their sense of smell found it hard to detect him. Moreover, the distance was at least twenty meters, with trees in between...
It's "En"!
Leo understood instantly.
Satz had been maintaining "En" to stay alert. When he was hiding nearby to observe, he had leaked a trace of his presence, which was detected by his "En".
Since he had been discovered, there was no point in continuing to hide.
Leo took a deep breath, slowly stood up, and at the same time raised his hands to signal that he had no weapons.
He walked out of the bush, facing the three.
The subterranean badger, which had been feeling threatened and planning to fight to the death, turned and fled the scene the moment it saw Leo.
"Hello, I have no malicious intent." Leo tried to make his voice sound peaceful.
In the sunlight, Leo's image was fully presented before the three.
He was draped in a simple cloak sewn from multiple animal skins, wearing leather armor of the same material underneath, with bone plates embedded in critical areas.
Hanging at his waist were a stone knife and a few bone darts, and he carried a bulging leather backpack.
His skin was wheat-colored from long-term sun exposure, his face bore faint traces of weathering, but his eyes were clear and sharp.
He didn't look old, his build was lean and tough, and his movements revealed an alertness and coordination not found in ordinary people.
Caspar opened his eyes wide in surprise: "I didn't expect that someone has actually survived in this Secret Realm until now!"
Serena's blade was not sheathed; she looked Leo up and down, her eyes full of vigilance: "Who are you? How long have you been here?"
Satz didn't speak, but his gaze fell on Leo like a physical weight, as if he wanted to see right through him.
Leo could feel that those eyes were evaluating every detail of him: his stance, his breathing, his muscle state, the position of his weapons...
The Hunter's scrutiny felt as heavy as a mountain.