The morning air was crisp and intoxicating.

Ancient trees stretched their gnarled branches, forming a canopy that blotted out the sky. Golden sunlight danced like fish leaping in a sunlit pond, shimmering across the earth.

If not for the threat of monsters, this would be the perfect idyllic life in another world.

Lin Luo walked through this poetic morning forest alongside two beautiful girls.

He recalled days spent alone in a dim room, yearning for such moments only through a screen. A quiet sigh escaped him.

Yet those solitary days were precious too. How could he have cherished the forest’s freshness without them? How could he have become the Lin Luo he was today?

"Lin Luo! Look—a whole patch of wild berries!" Ziwan called over her shoulder, waving at him and Feier from ahead.

A colossal, slanted ancient tree—its trunk thick as ten men—sprawled across the slope, roots twisting like serpents. Beneath it, shrubs heavy with ruby-red and deep-purple berries carpeted the hillside.

"The Forest Goddess says these are edible—and packed with nutrients!" Ziwan announced.

"Lin Luo, mark this spot on the map. We can bring the others to harvest later," Feier suggested.

"Wow! Wild greens too!" Ziwan cheered.

This expedition had already yielded two bountiful berry patches and several thriving wild vegetable groves.

"This is Blue Robe Grass," Ziwan said, holding up a plant with plump blue leaves. "A rare medicinal herb, the Forest Goddess says. We don’t have any awakened alchemists yet, but let’s take a few sprigs back."

Lin Luo smiled and nodded. Watching Ziwan dart through the trees—her slender figure, the flash of toned legs beneath her shorts—he thought how perfectly she belonged here. Girl and forest, seamless as breath.

At noon, they feasted on raw berries and greens right there in the clearing. By afternoon, their exploration complete, they prepared to return.

"It’s still early. Why not practice combat skills here?" Ziwan proposed.

"Watch me hit that fruit on the opposite tree!" She took position fifty paces away. Her first arrow missed. The second struck true.

"Hehehe! Got it!" She beamed.

Feier, standing aside, shifted restlessly.

"Ziwan, adjust your stance slightly. You’ll shoot farther and truer," Lin Luo said. As the God Emperor, he’d instantly spotted the subtle flaws in her form. Despite her talent and the goddess’s guidance, she’d never learned Star Island Sea’s classic archery techniques.

"Really? How?"

Lin Luo stepped behind her, guiding her into position again—this time aiming at a fruit a hundred paces away. He studied her posture. Her ample chest made her tilt her body unconsciously when drawing the bow, throwing off her aim.

"Arch your lower back a little more…" His voice softened. To demonstrate, one hand steadied her waist; the other gently lifted her arm. The scent of sun-warmed meadow grass clung to her skin—fresh, alive—and his breath hitched.

"Like this?"

Ziwan pushed her chest forward, her hips tilting back into a perfect S-curve. In the Star Island Sea world, such grace wasn’t just beauty—it was biology, honed for precision.

But the movement pressed her back firmly against Lin Luo. Springy warmth radiated through her clothes.

*Ah…* Lin Luo’s cheeks flushed. *This is… complicated. Ziwan…*

Pulling away now would seem cowardly. He cared too much about such things—unlike other boys.

Yet over-arching would ruin her form. He couldn’t very well adjust her hips with his hands… Could he just… hold her waist steady here? *Heh…*

"Is this right?" Ziwan wasn’t oblivious. But she trusted Lin Luo implicitly—and with Feier watching, acknowledging the tension would only make it worse. Better to pretend nothing was amiss.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly.

"Relax… Breathe slower…" Lin Luo’s own pulse thundered in his ears.

"O-okay… Huh… huh…"

"Lin Luo… I’m going to shoot now."

*…That phrasing sounds oddly suggestive.*

*Whoosh!*

The arrow flew true.

"Hooray!" Ziwan spun around, raising her bow in triumph. Face-to-face with Lin Luo at close range, her heart stuttered. This breathtaking boy… why did proximity feel so dangerous?

Feier, watching from the side, finally snapped. "Lin Luo! I need combat practice too!" She puffed out her chest—so fiercely her robe’s neckline strained perilously low.

"Check my stance!" She raised her staff, eyes challenging.

*Huh?*

Magic didn’t demand perfect posture. With Feier’s elemental mastery, she could redirect spells mid-flight.

But seeing her pout, Lin Luo relented. He moved behind her.

Since magical stances were flexible, he focused on easing her tension. "Loosen your waist. It helps focus."

"Like this?"

Her rounded hips pressed back against him through the thin fabric—a softness deep as the sea.

"Eep!" Feier’s face burned crimson. *"They* said you were a girl… But this… this manly presence? The contrast is… overwhelming."

---

Hundreds of miles from camp, on a vast plain beneath looming mountains, stood a weathered gray-white castle—a testament to human dominion.

The middle-aged knight, his Black ranger companion, the elven mage, and their barbarian ally stood atop a grassy knoll, gazing at the fortress.

"Almost there. A proper bath awaits," the mage sighed, stretching.

"Aaron Castle," the knight murmured, his sun-shadowed face etched with exhaustion. "Nefahem Kingdom’s third stronghold. The Radiant Church here is sparing no expense to hunt for the Holy Maiden from another world." His lips curled. "I wonder how much our intel is worth to them."