Landlord World - Start with SSS talent

The man continued, "The knowledge you learn from books is nothing but dead things."

"The world is always in motion. People must constantly adapt to fit their circumstances and living conditions."

"It's the same for plants. The information you study was researched and recorded by others."

"It may only be accurate in certain situations—it is not always absolutely true in every case."

Khorvath was taken aback. She glanced at the man, then looked again at the Moon Blossom and asked, "You mean…"

"That's right," the man nodded. "Knowledge isn't fixed. You must constantly update and innovate."

"Most importantly…" The man pointed at Khorvath and continued, "You have to cast aside your arrogance and ego—that is what truly matters."

Hearing this, Khorvath lowered her head in shame. She let out a deep sigh, then said, "What… is your name?"

"Me?" The man laughed loudly, "Hahahaha… People often call me madman, so I nearly forgot my real name."

"You can call me… Elgar."

…

"Is this really just a canyon?" At that moment, Noan was flying through the gorge, muttering to himself.

Surrounding him were four fireballs radiating a strange blue-green light, illuminating his path.

Although he could use his Spatial Talent to survey the area, he didn't want to, as it would cost a lot of energy.

And doing so would make it difficult to focus. If danger arose or he was ambushed, he wouldn't be able to react in time.

Noan looked around—the place was like a canyon on Earth called the Canyon, vast yet shrouded in darkness, filled with rare medicinal herbs below.

He could even see a stream running along the bottom of the canyon.

Yet, what was odd was that there were absolutely no animals.

That's right, not even rabbits, deer, or elk. Only insects—especially fireflies.

"How strange. There's so much plant life here, yet no animals. What's the mystery of this place?" Noan frowned, finding it puzzling.

Because he hadn't received any quest information from the System, he had no choice but to search slowly on his own.

Suddenly, he spotted an enormous stone door on the canyon wall.

"That is…" Noan didn't rush over immediately, instead observing it from a distance.

The door was over ten meters tall and about five meters wide, with nothing particularly carved upon it.

In fact, this type of stone door was extremely crude, as if it had been cut from a giant boulder and then shaped into the form of a door.

Noan frowned, using his Spatial Talent to sense if there was any danger.

"That's… a sealing spell?" Noan was a bit surprised when his energy approached the stone door and was immediately blocked.

He noticed that there seemed to be a very powerful sealing magic on the door—beyond anything he had ever encountered.

In fact, this seal was as powerful as the one in Carlotta's mausoleum.

"It seems this place is not simple at all," Noan muttered.

He set a 'Anchor Point' at a spot near the stone door, then prepared to leave when a strange sound rang out.

Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!

It sounded like a bee flying near him.

The noise grew louder and louder, as if the bee was flying directly toward him.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a shrill gust of wind pierced the air.

Noan was startled and instantly used his teleportation ability.

BAM!

A loud explosion erupted. The spot where Noan had just been hiding exploded violently, dust billowing everywhere, large rocks breaking off the cliff wall and tumbling down.

Noan reappeared more than a hundred meters from the blast, his gaze searching the surroundings.

Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!

The buzzing sound still echoed, but Noan couldn't spot anything flying nearby.

He frowned, waving his hands.

The four fireballs immediately fused into one, radiating a dazzling light like a miniature sun, illuminating the entire surrounding space.

KRIT!!!

A shrill screech rang out from an insect. Noan looked in the direction of the sound—and there it was, a bee larger than himself.

That's right, a giant bee, its body covered with moving magical runes, like living serpents.

Its four wings beat with an incredibly high frequency, and its sharp stinger below was wrapped in countless streams of green energy.

Its giant eyes, resembling those of a fly, now became its own downfall as the intense light from Noan's fireball overwhelmed it, leaving the creature dizzy and disoriented.

Krit! Krit! Krit!

The giant bee screeched, but then quickly flew away into the distance, vanishing into the darkness.

Noan frowned, knowing full well that the bee hadn't actually left—it was lurking in the darkness, watching him.

However, the bee's speed was terrifying. Noan couldn't keep up with its movements, so his only option was to escape.

Just as he was about to leave, countless pairs of eyes glimmered in the darkness, all fixed on him, sending chills down his spine.

"Damn it!" Noan instantly teleported, vanishing from the spot.

As soon as he disappeared, the eyes faded away one by one, but the buzzing of bee wings continued to fill the space, showing no signs of stopping.

…

Noan returned to the area near the cave, letting out a long, relieved sigh.

Silently, he thought to himself: "Did you see that monster just now?"

"Yes, Master," Vylyss's voice echoed in his mind.

In truth, before entering this challenge space, Noan had been worried he would encounter dangers here, so he had brought Vylyss into the 'Summoning Space.'

That allowed him to bring her into this world without the System noticing.

Noan continued, "Do you know what kind of monster that was?"

"Master, I'm sorry… I don't know what kind of monster it is," Vylyss replied apologetically. "But I could easily defeat it."

"It's just… if there are too many, that won't be so simple. Besides, I can sense a terrifying presence watching us as well."

Hearing this, Noan took a deep breath, realizing this place was nowhere near as safe as he'd hoped.

In fact, this place was even more terrifying than the Snow World he'd once visited.

A mysterious dragon, swarms of overwhelmingly powerful insects… This place was truly horrifying.

"It seems… this time I won't be able to complete the mission so easily," Noan sighed.

At this moment, he still hadn't found any clue about the quest, yet he had already encountered countless powerful beings.

He couldn't use his ability to teleport to an anchor point in another world, since this world was completely isolated.

Noan sighed, feeling a trace of despair. He had thought, with his current level, that he would easily overcome challenges like these.

'Luckily, I still have the effects of the Extreme Challenge Medal; otherwise, this trial would be even more difficult,' Noan thought to himself.

He shook his head, unwilling to dwell on it, and quickly made his way toward the cave.

"Huh?!" Noan was startled to see Khorvath sitting in front of that mysterious man, diligently taking notes on everything he said.

"This is…" Noan scratched his head, finding it hard to believe.

When he'd just left, they were like fire and water, but now they were getting along perfectly.

That man looked like a teacher, and Khorvath, like a diligent student.

Khorvath also noticed Noan had returned and quickly stood up, bowing her head: "Master."

Noan nodded, "Uhm! You… what's going on here?"

Khorvath sighed, then took a deep breath and said, "Master… may I become Elgar's disciple?"

"Elgar?!" Noan frowned, "Elgar is that man?"

"Yes," Khorvath nodded, "Master, I realized Elgar possesses tremendous knowledge, and his experience in refining medicinal ingredients is immense."

"I hope to learn from him, so I can contribute more and assist you better."

Hearing this, Noan realized what had happened. Khorvath must have recognized Elgar was no ordinary person and had decided to become his student.

Noan nodded, about to say something, but Elgar's voice suddenly cut in, interrupting him.

"Wait! Have you encountered the Assassin Bee?"