The starry sky above brought an unexpected sense of tranquility, and the moon hanging high in the night sky was growing fuller.
The Starfall Forest was visibly changing at a pace discernible to the naked eye.
The faint blue fluorescence, resembling fireflies, gradually grew brighter.
When these luminescent spots connected, they formed streaks of blue light. The soft grass in the forest, like velvet, also grew inexplicably fast.
Not only did it harden, but it also began to grow taller. As for the trees, it was hard to tell if it was an illusion or reality, but it seemed that overnight these massive trees, which required several people to encircle, had grown even taller.
The influence of the magical energy surge was clearly altering the entire Starfall Forest.
A figure emerged from behind a large tree. Bathed in moonlight, the figure's left hand held a round shield, while the right hand gripped a curved blade.
The armor on their body bore visible marks and signs of damage. As the figure took a few more steps forward, the moonlight finally illuminated their face—an exhausted countenance with disheveled hair and dirt-covered appearance, clearly showing days of neglect.
Multiple dried bloodstains on their face emphasized the hardships they had endured.
Another person, dressed identically to the first, followed closely behind, their condition no better.
However, these two individuals did not stop their footsteps.
They continued mechanically, seemingly numb. As their footsteps echoed, more figures appeared behind them, each displaying the same weariness on their faces.
"Just hold on a little longer. Once we reach Starfall Lake up ahead, we can rest for a while," a hoarse voice spoke, momentarily lifting the spirits of the group.
This person was Sean.
However, unlike his previous confident demeanor, Sean's face now showed evident fatigue. He, too, bore multiple wounds, some of which cut deep to the bone.
Were it not for Old Peter's exceptional first aid skills, Sean believed he would have struggled to survive.
Nevertheless, the pain from his wounds had consumed a significant amount of his energy. He had also lost Charles's sword scabbard somewhere along the way.
This was the sixth day of Sean leading the team into the Starfall Forest, with only nine people remaining.
During the initial encounter with the Windmark Black Wolves, Sean's importance was evident.
With his leadership and familiarity with the Starfall Forest, the following days went smoothly for the group.
Although the various magical creatures they encountered seemed terrifying, under Sean's precise command, they became toothless tigers.
They were easily dispatched, and the group even collected around ten level-one core crystals, which brought excitement to everyone.
However, as seasoned veterans, they didn't become complacent. Night watches and vigilance remained strict, following their usual assignments.
Due to the danger of the Starfall Forest, the night watch schedule changed from a two-shift rotation to three shifts, with an additional person.
Even so, Sean underestimated the impact of the real world. On the fourth night after their departure, the influence of the magical energy surge began to manifest.
The first to notice was Cecilia, given her astonishing talent that even surprised Sean.
Although Sean knew the magical energy surge would lead to deeper corruption in the Starfall Forest, he failed to realize the stark difference between the real world and the game's situation.
Furthermore, he didn't anticipate the extent of the Windmark Black Wolves' hatred towards them.
All of this was unimaginable in the game.
After dealing with the three Windmark Black Wolves that day, the subsequent arrival of the wolf pack led to battles with other magical creatures.
The wolf pack suffered heavy casualties since the Wind Marked Black Wolf King's forces were absent.
However, Sean and the others didn't pay much attention to this and continued toward their destination.
Along the way, they encountered several groups of Windmark Black Wolves and employed the same strategy of bleeding them, which ultimately drew the attention of the wolf pack.
On the fourth night, while the magical energy surge was changing, the wolf pack launched a sudden attack.
Fortunately, Sean and the others were not asleep and immediately woke up when the battle broke out.
However, facing around thirty Windmark Black Wolves, including the swift Wind Marked Black Wolf Captain, Sean had no choice but to order a breakout.
It was a brutal fight. Although they managed to break free, one guard was surrounded and ultimately fell victim to the wolves.
The following two days were a continuous struggle between Sean's group and the wolf pack.
Every few hours, Sean's group would engage in a battle with the wolf pack. However, as time passed, the number of wolves increased instead of decreasing.
In the most recent encounter, there were already over fifty wolves. With insufficient rest, their combat effectiveness naturally declined.
The fatigue on their faces became more apparent, and the scent of blood from their injuries couldn't be concealed.
The attacks from magical creatures extended beyond the Windmark Black Wolves.
If it weren't for the influence of the magical energy surge, Cecilia's temporary ability to unleash the power of a Tier 3 Mage, the group would have been unable to continue. In this intense battle, Sean's experience points skyrocketed.
In just six days, he reached level 9. Now, when he killed Windmark Black Wolves or other magical creatures, the experience points no longer caused the burning pain he experienced before.
In the game, before reaching Tier 3, one was considered a novice, and the tasks mainly focused on understanding the world background and game system.
To truly integrate into this world, one had to reach Tier 3 or higher. Only at Tier 3 or above could a person establish a real mercenary group, seek a position in a kingdom, or become an adventurer, embarking on adventures around the world and experiencing this completely unique world.
Although Sean claimed to have established a mercenary group with Cecilia, he was well aware that they were not taken seriously by any mercenary organization.
Establishing a mercenary group was not something that could be done casually in this world.
It required formal approval from the Mercenary Guild. Similarly, becoming an adventurer, pioneer, or demon hunter all required passing the tests of those guilds, which, in turn, demanded a Tier 3 or higher profession.
Joining a mercenary group or pioneer team was not as strict, as long as the other party was willing to accept them.
Therefore, Sean didn't really consider himself a level 9.
The only thing that satisfied him was the fact that he had accumulated eleven skill points, which distinguished him from others and provided the greatest guarantee for his survival in this world.
He also had a secret that nobody else knew: when he arrived in this world, his attribute points were already at the maximum of "10 (10)," while normal adults in this world had attribute points of "5 (10)."
After joining the "Mercenary" profession and obtaining Charles' sword, Sean's five personal attributes became "Strength: 11+3 (13); EnDurunce: 11+1 (14); Agility: 10 (13); Wisdom: 10 (12); Willpower: 10 (13)."
These stats were slightly stronger than those of people who had just reached the Tier 2 profession, except for veterans like Old Peter and Durun, who had maximized their potential through long battles and training.
Sean was contemplating how to make the most of his eleven skill points to enhance his combat power when a wolf howl suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
Immediately after that, a series of wolf howls resounded, causing everyone's expressions to change.
"No need to run anymore," Sean turned to look in the direction of the wolf howls.
The weariness on his face was no longer concealed but fully revealed. He visibly relaxed and said, "No magical creature would dare to approach within this area. Let's take a rest here."
Seeing Sean's relaxed expression, the people around him also eased up. In the past six days, without realizing it, they had come to see Sean as the backbone of the entire team.
They followed his instructions without question. Even Durun, who had always maintained his noble pride, humbled himself to cooperate with Sean because he knew they wouldn't have been able to survive in the forest for so long without him.
The Fallen Star Forest was even more terrifying than Durun had imagined.
Curiosity about Sean grew in Durun's mind, but he knew it wasn't the time to delve into those matters yet.
As Sean had said, the Wind Marked Black Wolf pack quickly caught up, but this time they didn't rush towards the group as they had in the past. Instead, they stayed about ten meters away, angrily scratching the ground and constantly howling but refusing to take another step forward.
A blue fluorescent strip acted like a warning line, dividing the area into two worlds: inside and outside.
About thirty meters ahead of everyone, there was a massive lake with a radius of over a hundred meters.
In the center of the lake, a huge black stone with numerous indentations and bumps was visible. It had a diameter of at least fifty meters.
In these hollows and marks on the black stone, an extremely viscous deep blue liquid continuously surged, flowing into the lake.
The entire surface of the lake was covered with a deep blue glow, and a thick, almost substantial magical power emanated from it.
However, this magical power was filled with an intense sense of chaos.
This was the fallen star from the twilight era.
The entire lake had solidified from the power emitted by this fallen star.
One could even say that the root cause of the transformation of the Fallen Star Forest originated from this starry lake right before everyone's eyes.