The dark night enveloped the land. The bright silver moon hung high in the sky, casting down a gentle, pure white light. On the hillside of the plain, Kevin and the three others quietly watched the flickering lights in the distance.
"This doesn't look like an ordinary village." Kevin cupped his hands around his eyes like binoculars, gazing intently into the distance. Judging by the distribution and scale of the lights, it looked more like a small town than a village.
"Never mind, we'll know once we go in. It's already very late." Menchi said, then jumped directly down from the hillside. The others followed closely behind.
After walking forward for a short while, a sign appeared on the muddy ground beside them. This sign was clearly not set up by the villagers, as it prominently displayed the Hunter Association's logo. The text on the sign clearly read: [Food Village]. The few people just quickly glanced at the sign and strode forward.
The moment Kevin stepped inside, he immediately sensed something unusual, as if he had passed through a layer of water film and entered a completely different world. The air carried a slightly biting chill—this was definitely not an illusion.
"Resentment—could this be the source?" Kevin thought to himself. Though he couldn't be sure, he could clearly feel a faint resentment permeating this space—perhaps this was the outward manifestation of that mysterious curse. However, he couldn't judge based solely on this. Even if Kevin saw the source, he couldn't actually determine much. He could only judge the intensity of that thing's resentment. And the place where the sign was located seemed to be an invisible dividing line.
"Someone's there." Buhara said softly, his gaze directed toward a large rock about ten meters away from them. When they had looked at this large rock just now, they hadn't noticed anything special, but as soon as they crossed the sign, they immediately discovered that a person was lying on their side on the rock's flank.
Everyone's gaze turned toward it. This person was wearing simple burlap clothes. The originally light yellow garment was now covered in dirt, his hair was messy, his face was gaunt, and he looked like a wandering beggar. He held something resembling a wine pot in his hand, occasionally taking a swig. A cloth was spread out in front of him, on which were placed some appetizers that were hard to identify. The person seemed quite leisurely. Clearly, he had also noticed Kevin and the three others.
"It's you free folks again. Have you come to see us poor wretches who are imprisoned?" This person's tone was full of dissatisfaction, and his words were filled with resentment.
"The place where that sign is—that's the dividing line, right? Villagers like you can't get out?" Kevin felt inexplicably curious about the situation before him. He unconsciously took a few steps forward, closing the distance with the other person, and asked.
"That's right, it's an invisible cage. What, do you want to use those words to mock us? Do you want to show off the superiority of your freedom?" Though his words sounded sharp and harsh, he was indeed answering the question truthfully.
"What are you muttering about over there? Or is this just your unique local way of speaking?" Menchi was not good-tempered to begin with, and at this moment, she questioned him with increased volume, full of dissatisfaction.
"Heh heh, listen to that, how arrogant." That fellow who looked like a beggar just let out a cold laugh.
Kevin didn't speak or continue questioning, but quietly observed the other person. Under Kevin's scrutiny, though this fellow's tone was unfriendly, his movements still appeared relaxed and at ease. Based on Kevin's initial impression from his careful observation, he felt that the other person's strength wasn't too high; he should be able to exchange a few blows with him.
In Kevin's opinion, this was already a decent level. One must know that ever since witnessing Dazarn's strength, Kevin had formed a rough estimate of the average strength of professional Hunters outside. Facing Dazarn, Kevin could finish the fight with just one punch. In other words, in his eyes, anyone he couldn't take down with one punch was considered quite strong among professional Hunters. He just didn't know if everyone in this village was truly a Nen user as the information suggested, nor was he sure if everyone's Nen ability level was similar to this person before him.
"Alright, you guys, one or two always come every year, it's such a drag. This time, four came at once—that's enough. If you have nothing to do, don't stand here. Can't you see the road ahead? Follow the road and go into the village." After speaking, he waved his hand as if shooing away flies.
"What?! What kind of attitude is that!" Menchi instantly became furious. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to have a good argument with the other person.
Buhara was already used to this. He quickly stepped forward and stopped Menchi, saying, "Alright, alright, it's getting late. Let's go into the village first." Saying this, he pushed the clearly displeased Menchi forward.
Kevin didn't mind. He followed them forward and casually said, "Thanks." Gawain, who was following behind him, also gave a knight's salute with his fist and nodded slightly to express his gratitude.
Everyone longs for freedom.
If one's life could only be confined within this small village, it would indeed feel tragic.
After walking just a few steps forward, they saw a small roadside camp. This camp seemed to only accommodate one person for rest. It was likely the dwelling of that fellow who looked like a beggar earlier. "Choosing to live in this fringe area instead of inside the small town, did he make a mistake, or did he choose this himself?" At this moment, Menchi had regained some composure and asked seriously.
Kevin, who had walked quickly ahead, didn't answer but said, "That guy was very surprised by our appearance." These words made Buhara nod involuntarily as well. Gawain, who was following behind, looked confused: Was he? He thought the other person's reaction was quite normal.
Menchi's attention was also diverted. She walked over and nodded, saying, "Yes, though he hid it quickly, the traces of deliberate acting were too obvious." Perhaps because this place was isolated from the world and the villagers couldn't leave, their thoughts were easily seen through.
Looking at the backs of the few people in front, the person named Kuri couldn't hide the surprise in his eyes. Four?? By common sense, no one should be coming at this time. This is troublesome. He really couldn't understand. Could it be that the so-called Hunter Association was finally going to take action? An accident just happened last time. He knew nothing and had no way to judge, after all, he was like a bird trapped in a cage, able to see only a limited view through the bars.
Kevin and the others finally entered the village. After truly stepping into the village, they confirmed that it could no longer be simply described as a "village"; calling it a "small town" was more appropriate. Brick and tile houses with a certain ethnic flair were neatly arranged, and they could even see small buildings of three or four floors. In the dark night, if their eyes weren't mistaken, there was also a small castle at the very back of the small town.
Fortunately, they didn't seem to arrive too late. The residents of the small town appeared to be getting ready for bed, but there were still scattered people on the streets. When the villagers at the village entrance saw the unfamiliar Kevin and the three others, they all gathered around, both surprised and curious.
"Outsiders?"
"Some outsiders have come."
"Coming at this time?"
"They're really lucky."
Kevin and the others, who had just reached the village entrance, were instantly surrounded.
"This time there are actually four, and they came together." A girl who looked about sixteen or seventeen said with a face full of surprise and delight. Her pupils were filled with curiosity about the strangers.
"Hey hey, what are your names?" A little girl of only twelve or thirteen directly reached out and grabbed Menchi's hand, asking.
"You're so fat, like a ball." A little boy, without any reservations, looked at Buhara and jumped up to pat his belly.
Though the adults were also curious, they didn't directly touch like the children but talked and asked questions on the side. The children, however, had no such reservations. They directly surrounded the few people, chirping and asking questions non-stop.
"Stop! You're a bit too enthusiastic." Menchi really couldn't handle it anymore and shouted out loudly.
"What kind of behavior is this? Hurry and move away, don't crowd the guests." An old man who looked fifty or sixty years old, dressed in a simple silver-gray robe, walked over and dispersed the crowd.
"We didn't expect Hunters to come at this time. It's a bit unexpected for us. We're truly sorry—these villagers are just too curious about you." The old man smiled and explained a few things, then directly said, "It's getting late now. Let's talk about other things tomorrow. Please follow me, everyone. I'll take you to where the guests stay."
Since Hunters came every year, everyone was already familiar with the reception process.
"Let me introduce myself. I am the village chief of this village—you can just call me Gumu. This should be your first time here; I haven't seen you before. Though I don't know how much you understand about the village rules, I still need to explain them in advance." Saying this, he turned slightly, his expression becoming somewhat serious. "After all, we can't leave here and aren't very clear about the outside world."
He paused, then continued, "You can move freely in the village. If you want to buy things in the village, you can exchange money with me. Other than that, there's not much difference between here and villages outside. Whether it's participating in hunting, tasting food, or learning skills, it's all fine. But there's one thing to remember: you can only use persuasion or trade. You cannot force villagers, and even less can you harm them. Otherwise, even if you are Hunters from the Hunter Association, you will definitely be punished."
After hearing this, the few people nodded, feeling that these were very normal rules and not at all harsh. Moreover, besides these, there were no other special regulations. Judging solely from these rules, this place seemed no different from villages outside.
Village Chief Gumu led them directly to a two-story building. A sturdy man who was following beside the village chief stepped forward and knocked on the door. After a while, the door was slowly pushed open.
"Who is it?" A man who looked to be about thirty poked his head out, his eyes heavy with sleep. "Village Chief?... Hunters?" He seemed quite surprised by the appearance of both. At the same time, his expression showed some joy.
"Sorry for disturbing you so late, Bian Locke. These are newly arrived guests, please arrange for them." After speaking, the village chief turned and smiled gently at Kevin and the other three, saying, "I hope you can find the prey you are looking for here, Hunters." After offering this small blessing, he left.
Bian Locke looked at the few people and invited them in. Upon entering, there was a small room similar to a reception room, somewhat like a small lounge. There was a counter at the entrance of the room, and judging by the marks on the counter, Bian Locke seemed to have been sleeping there just now. Though the decor of the entire room wasn't modern, it wasn't as old as they had originally imagined. Besides various wooden furniture, they even saw electric lights. However, the electric light was the only appliance in the room that seemed a bit out of place.
"Have a seat, guests." The few people each found a stool and sat down.
"You guests look unfamiliar, so this must be your first time here. Whether you knew it before or not, I have to remind you. Accommodation here is not free—no matter what you want to do, you need to spend money. The money you have from outside can be used as payment, or you can exchange it for local currency with the village chief. The prices aren't cheap; I heard they're quite a bit more expensive than normal prices outside. However, you Hunters don't seem to care much about money. This building is similar to hotels outside; the rooms upstairs are currently unlocked, you can stay in whichever room you like. I clean them regularly."
After speaking, Bian Locke pointed to himself again. "If you have anything you want to know, any questions about this village, you can ask me. As long as I can provide help or answer questions, I will do my best. Of course, there's a charge for this—it's also how I make a living." Bian Locke said this without any concealment.
Evidently, the four of them didn't care much about this and just nodded casually. Having such a direct source of information was certainly convenient. As for the information being deceptive, to be honest, Kevin wasn't too concerned. After all, whether it was true or false could be verified by exploring the village on their own. The other party was specifically responsible for receiving Hunters in the village, so he clearly wouldn't be that foolish.
"So, do you want to rest first, or do you have any questions you need me to answer?"
"Answer our questions," Kevin said directly. In just a short time, they had accumulated quite a few questions that needed answering, including those from the previous information.
Bian Locke seemed to have expected this. So, he directly pulled out a chair and sat down at the same table.
At this point, Kevin also realized why there was a lot of information about the Mystic Realm on the official website, but very little about the interior of the village, only mentioning some basic information. It turned out that this was a way to provide some opportunities for these villagers, who couldn't leave this area, to earn extra income. As for why they couldn't leave but needed money, it was clearly because the Hunter Association had some cooperative relationship with this village and could help them buy and obtain some items from the outside. After all, these villagers were sealed off here.
From the behavior of the man in front of him, one could tell that if he had money, he might be able to obtain some things he wanted from the outside through this channel. Through this method and transaction, the Hunters who came here could also get what they wanted in the village through simple spending. This could be considered killing multiple birds with one stone.
"Then first, I want to ask, you seem quite surprised by our appearance? But as far as I know, Hunters come every year, right? And it's usually around the end of the year, since your most distinctive feature here is the annual Harvest Festival, isn't it?" In this situation, the villagers seeing them shouldn't just be surprised; they should be happy or even delighted.
Moreover, Kevin had also heard some fragmented information from the villagers who had gathered around just now, but because it was too scarce, it was not conducive to speculation and made it easy to jump to conclusions.
"Five hundred thousand." Bian Locke answered concisely. Kevin nodded, indicating that the transaction was confirmed.
After getting the money, Bian Locke explained in detail, "It's simple. This year's Harvest Festival is the largest scale one yet, and it can no longer be called the Harvest Festival, but the Great Feast Festival. We can't leave here, so in some ethical and moral concepts, we are different from you. Many times in the past, because of this festival, we have had conflicts with the Hunters who were present at the time. So in years like this, the possibility of Hunters coming is relatively low, though not entirely impossible. It's just that this time four of you came all at once, which is why everyone felt surprised."
After hearing this simple piece of information, the four of them fell into a brief silence. How to put it, they felt like they could somewhat guess. The resentment lingering in the air of this place made Kevin involuntarily think in a negative direction. Moreover, the change from "Harvest Festival" to "Great Feast Festival" made it hard not to associate it with activities like sacrifice. Perhaps there would even be human sacrifices.
After all, this village had been sealed off nearly three hundred years ago, and in that era, sacrificial activities were reportedly not uncommon. As his understanding of Nen ability and this world deepened, Kevin knew that even now, in certain countries, even some well-known major powers, there were still hidden human sacrificial activities, which were said to be related to Nen ability, but they were rare and extremely secretive. If it's like this now, let alone the era three hundred years ago, it would only be more blatant.
In this situation, ordinary Hunters would more or less feel disgusted by this. Furthermore, those who came here were all Gourmet Hunters. Though Gourmet Hunters were not all saints, at least they were modern people, and seeing something like human sacrifice would always make them feel uncomfortable, so conflict was hard to avoid.
As for them wanting to continue asking about the detailed process of the festival, Bian Locke directly refused, "If you want to know, why not just wait until the end of the year? Generally speaking, when you come at this time, isn't it just to understand the situation first?"
Having somewhat guessed some clues, the group no longer pressed further. After spending some more money to ask a few simple questions, the few people returned to their respective rooms to rest.