9: Chapter 9 Lilia's Surprise

Lin Muyang rejected Shen Muyao's invitation without hesitation. This scene left almost everyone present dumbfounded, as if they had witnessed something incredible.

Especially Zhao Gang, who had just been politely declined; his mouth hung open as he stared in disbelief at Lin Muyang's calmly retreating back.

"This guy... he actually rejected Shen Muyao's invitation?" Zhao Gang muttered to himself, the shock he felt even greater than when he was rejected himself. He had originally thought Lin Muyang declined because he looked down on his team's composition, feeling a slight grudge, but now... "It seems Muyang is truly determined to go solo!"

Thinking this, his slight displeasure vanished instantly, replaced by a deeper curiosity about his classmate.

"If there's nothing else, we'll head in first." Lin Muyang smiled at Zhao Gang and the still-dazed slightly chubby girl as a greeting. Then, leading Lilia, he walked straight toward the magnificent metal gates.

The Elf Maiden followed closely behind him. Lin Muyang's excuse about her being "shy" wasn't just a random one. In the crowded environment with all eyes on her, Lilia was clearly very nervous and stiff. She unconsciously moved closer to Lin Muyang, almost pressing against his side, as if only then could she find some sense of security.

Watching Lin Muyang lead the Elf Maiden into the Secret Realm Zone without hesitation, the crowd at the entrance erupted into a flurry of discussion.

"Holy crap! This kid... is a bit arrogant!"

"He even rejected campus belle Shen's proactive invitation? What on earth is he thinking?"

"Does he really think he can solo a Dungeon just by bringing an Elf Priest? Isn't he a bit too overconfident?"

"I don't get it, I really don't... This guy is a bit of an oddball."

Even Shen Muyao herself, who always maintained a cold and aloof demeanor, had a faint trace of surprise flicker through her star-like beautiful eyes. She truly hadn't expected that her exceptional invitation to join her team would be rejected so bluntly.

She watched the direction where Lin Muyang disappeared behind the gate, a hint of curiosity arising in her heart. Originally, she had only considered that the team indeed lacked a stable healer, and her impression of Lin Muyang had always been good—feeling he had a steady personality unlike other impulsive boys—which was why she agreed to let her teammate extend the invitation.

She hadn't expected the outcome to be so surprising.

"This is infuriating!" The slightly chubby Berserker girl returned to Mu Yao's side in a huff, her face full of frustration and annoyance. "Mu Yao, that kid is so ungrateful! So many people would kill for a chance to team up with you, and he actually..."

She truly couldn't understand what the reason for Chen Yang's rejection was. Shen Muyao was not only a stunningly beautiful campus belle but also a rare class [Frost Mage] who had awakened an s-rank talent, possessing both strength and potential. Countless people were desperate to join her team.

Yet, this Lin Muyang rejected her without even thinking?

"I'll just wait and see what kind of teammates he finds after rejecting us!" The slightly chubby girl said sourly, crossing her arms. She was certain Lin Muyang would regret it later.

She didn't know, and couldn't even imagine...

That from beginning to end, Lin Muyang hadn't the slightest intention of teaming up with anyone else!

...

Passing through that massive metal gate was like entering another world. Inside was a vast area surrounded by high walls, with dense vegetation and an air that seemed filled with a wild and primitive Aura unlike anything inside the city.

"Finally, some peace and quiet..." Lin Muyang breathed a sigh of relief.

After entering the Secret Realm Zone, the density of the surrounding crowd dropped sharply. Most Professionals would immediately head toward known Dungeon entrances or Secret Realm spawn points based on map guidance or experience; few would linger at the main gate for long.

Only then did the Elf Princess Lilia—who had been following silently behind Lin Muyang, appearing somewhat subdued due to the unfamiliar environment and the many gazes—finally "come back to life."

She took a few quick steps to walk side-by-side with Lin Muyang, then looked up with a face full of dissatisfaction and doubt, glaring fiercely (in her own mind) at him: "Hey! Human! Why didn't you team up with the others?"

Although it was her first time in this world, during the summoning process, she had naturally learned some "common knowledge" about this world through the contract's connection, including information about Secret Realms and Dungeons.

"The information I received when I was summoned tells me that these Secret Realms and Dungeons are infested with many dangerous monsters! Usually, a multi-person team is required to coordinate and deal with them safely!" She tried to put on a serious expression to emphasize the gravity of the situation. "With just the two of us, and me being a Priest, it's too risky!"

Hearing her "fierce" questioning, which she only dared to show when no one else was around, Lin Muyang found it quite amusing. She was like a completely different person compared to the nervous Elf Princess who had been hiding behind him in the crowd.

This contrast was actually quite cute.

Lin Muyang wasn't angry at her questioning; he simply asked back in a flat tone, "Then did you also learn that if you kill monsters in a team, the experience points and loot must be distributed among the team members according to certain rules?"

"Even so... we have to make sure we can actually defeat the monsters first, right?" Lilia curled her lip, feeling that this human had his priorities mixed up. "If we can't even beat the monsters or if we run into danger, what's the point of discussing reward distribution? You don't actually expect me, a Priest whose main duty is healing, to clear those ferocious monsters at the front, do you?"

She looked at Lin Muyang with eyes full of the sentiment: "Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about Priests?"

???

Lin Muyang looked at her "you're hopeless" expression and couldn't help but laugh.

He didn't explain further, simply giving an order: "Just follow me, and you'll find out when the time comes."

At the same time, his sharp eyes scanned the multiple wide-angle surveillance cameras installed on the high metal walls behind them. These cameras were there to monitor the activity in the entrance area and ensure safety and order.

To avoid his subsequent actions attracting unnecessary attention and trouble, Lin Muyang led Lilia away from the main road, choosing a relatively secluded path toward the depths of the Secret Realm Zone.

The surrounding trees gradually became denser, and signs of people vanished.

After confirming he had completely avoided all possible surveillance ranges and that there were no other Professionals around, Lin Muyang stopped.

It was time.

With a thought, he once again connected to the vast Supreme Halo system. His gaze quickly swept over the halos with various effects, finally locking onto one perfectly suited for the current situation.

【Divine Concealment Aura (God-Tier Aura)】: Upon activation, places you and all your summons into a state of perfect invisibility. Effect: Grants a +100 Invisibility Level bonus; moving, attacking (slightly increases the chance of breaking invisibility), and casting certain non-targeted skills will not break the invisibility state. Duration: Infinite (until manually deactivated or forcefully dispelled).

That's right, this was an absurdly powerful invisibility Aura! It directly provided an Invisibility Level bonus as high as 100 points!

In this era of Class Changes, classes like Rogues and Assassins can learn invisibility skills. There exists a countering relationship between invisibility and anti-invisibility, determined by "Invisibility Level" and "Anti-Invisibility Level."

Generally speaking, the level of invisibility or anti-invisibility skills a Professional can learn is roughly equal to their character level divided by ten. For example, a Level 10 Rogue's invisibility skill would have an Invisibility Level of about 1; a Level 50 Hunter's anti-invisibility skill would have an Anti-Invisibility Level of about 5.

But after Lin Muyang activated the Divine Concealment Aura, it was equivalent to directly gaining an Invisibility Level of 100!

What did this mean?

It meant that a Professional would need an Anti-Invisibility Level of 100 to even have a chance of seeing through his invisibility!

According to the rough conversion of level divided by ten, that would have to be... a Level 1000 anti-invisibility Professional?!

One must know that in today's world, the highest-level experts recorded in human history are far from reaching the legendary realm of Level 1000.

In other words, as long as this Aura was active, at the current stage, it was basically impossible for anyone in the world to discover Lin Muyang and his summons with the naked eye or skills! They would truly become "ghosts"!

“Divine Concealment Aura—Activate!”

As Lin Muyang confirmed his thought, an indescribable energy wave with a hint of coolness quietly spread out from him as the center, instantly enveloping him and Lilia beside him.

In the next moment, the figures of the two began to rapidly become blurred and transparent, eventually vanishing completely into the lush woods, leaving no trace or scent behind.

???

“Wha... what's going on?!”

Lilia looked in surprise at her raised arm—her originally fair and slender arm had now become completely transparent, as if it had merged into the air! She could clearly see her own status, with an “Invisibility Level: 100” indicator clearly floating in her perception.

How could she not understand? This meant she had entered an extremely high-tier state of invisibility!

The key point was... this Invisibility Level of 100 completely stunned her!

This had already completely exceeded her scope of understanding of invisibility-type spells! Even among the Elf Race, the highest-tier Natural Stealth Techniques mastered by elders who had lived for thousands of years were far from achieving this level of effect!

“...Is this, is this your ability?” Lilia couldn't help but turn her shocked gaze toward Lin Muyang, who had also become semi-transparent but was still present in her perception.

This human...

It seems the things he knows are indeed a "billion" bits too many?!

For the first time, she began to seriously consider whether her previous judgment of this "master" had been made too hastily.