Sanctuary, the frozen path.
Ino looked down at the oil lamp in his hand. Though there wasn't anything unusual about it at first glance, his intuition told him that this lamp might be of some interest.
He reached out to turn off the lamp, extinguishing the flame, and then placed it into a Muggle-mode suitcase.
After doing all this, he lay down slowly on the frozen path, memories of his time in Middle-earth flashing through his mind.
This experience had been remarkable. It was the longest he had ever stayed in a fantasy world—an entire year.
There were no epic battles or grand adventures, but he encountered a different kind of scenery.
Family, friendship, and a touch of happiness in the midst of tranquility, like a glass of lightly flavored lemonade on a midsummer night.
It wasn't as colorful as a cocktail, but it still had a hint of tartness and sweetness when you drank it.
Lying by the roadside, Ino recalled many things from the past, quietly thinking until he gradually fell asleep in the snow.
...
Meanwhile, as Ino slept, the suitcase beside him quietly opened.
Lina stood on the snowy path. She first glanced at the figure sleeping in the snow, then spat out blue spider silk. The silk quickly wove into a thin blanket.
The blanket silently fell on Ino.
After ensuring it covered him properly, she stepped on her eight long legs and quietly approached the ice-blue flower. When she got close, she gently kicked the giant snake coiled around the ice flower with one of her legs.
Surprisingly, the frost giant snake, which was over 40 feet long, obediently slithered away.
With the snake gone, Lina quietly crouched in front of the ice-blue flower, her eight eyes staring at it in a daze.
Time passed by slowly, second by second.
It was unclear how much time had passed.
Ino slowly opened his eyes. Everything around him was still covered in white, just as it had been before he fell asleep, with no change at all.
Suddenly, he seemed to sense something. He first glanced at the ice flower planted in the sanctuary, then smiled knowingly.
The first thing to do after waking up was, of course, to eat something.
After eating two pieces of chocolate and three packets of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, he picked up the suitcase beside him and walked to the other side of the path.
Unlike the freely chosen red maple leaf path in Middle-earth, the mist on the main road had cleared. If he didn't enter, he truly couldn't leave the sanctuary.
...
A serene forest, surrounded by towering trees.
Between the trees, vines intertwined like green ribbons, tightly connecting the forest.
Sunlight poured down like golden waterfalls, penetrating the dense foliage.
Of course, this was the scene when looking up.
Ino slowly lowered his head. Despite the sunlight, what lay before him was a desolate and bleak scene of withered branches and leaves.
The scattered bones gave an air of chaos to the place.
"Protego!"
Without hesitation, he cast the Shield Charm on himself.
With basic protection in place, he then examined the battlefield-like forest filled with bones.
After a few minutes of careful observation, he discovered something unusual. Most of these bones were not human, or if they were, there were very few human ones.
From some fresher bones, he found that these creatures were generally short, ugly monsters.
"Goblins!"
The name flashed through his mind.
This discovery made him sigh with relief. After all, goblins were always depicted as cowardly and timid creatures in stories.
With this in mind, he chose a direction with fewer bones, carrying his suitcase in one hand and holding his wand in the other, strolling leisurely forward.
...
Two hours later.
In front of a fork in the road, Ino looked at the two almost identical paths with some hesitation.
This forest seemed exceptionally large. Despite walking for so long and killing many goblins, he still hadn't seen any signs of human activity.
"Bang!"
A loud noise, as clear as a firecracker, sounded not far away.
With such a conspicuous natural marker, he immediately picked up his suitcase and walked towards the sound.
"Bang! Bang, bang, bang!"
The continuous sounds made Ino's face grow serious.
He thought of a possibility. This wasn't just firecrackers; these were real gunshots.
However, gunshots meant people. Facing an unknown story, he decided to follow the sound.
After about fifteen minutes.
Ino, through the dense vines, saw a tall, valiant girl standing not far away.
Behind the girl was another girl in a red dress, looking frightened.
At this moment, the girl was holding a revolver in each hand, continuously firing at a group of green-skinned goblins. Despite her firearms, she was struggling against the endless waves of goblins emerging from the forest.
Just as the goblins were about to reach the girl, a calm voice rang out:
"Sectumsempra!"
With the power of an adult wizard, Ino unleashed his full strength.
Dozens, if not hundreds, of goblins were slashed in half as if mown down by a giant scythe.
The sudden turn of events frightened the remaining goblins, who scattered into the forest.
Equally startled was the girl with the guns, who now aimed outward in a defensive stance.
"Who's there? I'm Caitlyn, a disciple of Lady Kiri from Hendon Myre!"
Her clear voice rang out. Though Ino didn't recognize the names immediately, he suddenly felt a strange attachment to his Magic Wand.
"I'm human! I mean no harm!"
Though he trusted his Shield Charm, he didn't want to test the power of bullets, so he called out from a distance.
Hearing his response, the girl gradually lowered her guard. After all, she had never heard of goblins speaking.
As Ino emerged from the bushes, the girl holstered her guns.
"Thank you for your help, mighty wizard! I am Caitlyn, a gunslinger student of Lady Kiri!"
At the same time, the other girl spoke up cheerfully, "Thank you for your help, brave adventurer! I'm Seria!"
This simple explanation struck Ino like a thunderclap.
He now understood why the name "Lady Kiri" had made him value his wand.
Distant, almost forgotten memories began to surface—memories of protecting the land of Arad with millions of brave warriors in "Dungeon Fighter Online."
One by one, the memories unlocked.
However, after the brief recollection, Ino put down his suitcase and looked solemnly at the girl in the red and white dress.
"Hello, Seria! On behalf of the fallen warriors, I greet you!"
In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to greet Seria on behalf of his former guild and friends.
After all, countless nights had been filled with Seria's greetings, but no one had ever responded.
At this moment, his wish came true.
"Hello, adventurer! Though I don't know the warriors you mentioned, I received your greetings!"
Seria spoke cheerfully, with no trace of the fear she had shown when surrounded by goblins.