Lin Mo gently parted the grass and indeed spotted the injured Cursed Pattern Cat Demon in the distance, resting beneath a tree.

Its condition appeared quite poor, completely collapsed on the ground, while another Cursed Pattern Cat Demon beside it was licking its wounds.

If their appearances were somewhat cuter, this scene might have been rather heartwarming.

Unfortunately, although cat demons differ from cats by just one character in name, their looks are worlds apart.

Excessively short fur, rough skin, faces wrinkled from emaciation, plus sharp claws and fangs—they're even less pleasant to look at than goblins.

After just a quick glance, Lin Mo promptly averted his gaze.

Cat demons possess keen perception; staring at them for too long would likely alert them.

Their speed couldn't match these two Cursed Pattern Cat Demons. If they startled them prematurely, chasing them down would be impossible.

The group exchanged glances. They were still two to three hundred meters from the two Cursed Pattern Cat Demons—this was roughly the limit. Getting any closer would make detection almost inevitable.

Thus, everyone, including Cody the assassin, focused their attention on Lin Mo.

Although Cody was an assassin, his skill "Backstab" enhanced damage output. Concealing his presence and approaching enemies relied entirely on his experience and technique.

This worked sufficiently against humans and monsters like goblins, but cat demons' perception was simply too sharp. Not just these Cursed Pattern Cat Demons—even during previous assaults on ordinary cat demons, he hadn't succeeded.

But Lin Mo was different... Though they'd never inquired about specifics, they all knew Lin Mo possessed a skill that reduced his presence. Combined with his speed—almost comparable to the Cursed Pattern Cat Demons—catching these two depended entirely on him.

Lin Mo immediately understood, nodded, melted into the grass, and entered "Concealment" state, approaching the cat demons from the side.

One hundred meters, fifty meters...

Lin Mo's Concealment skill had reached level 3, significantly more effective than at level 1. Even the Cursed Pattern Cat Demons detected nothing unusual.

Twenty meters.

This distance was sufficient to launch a surprise attack. But Lin Mo didn't rush to act, instead carefully gesturing toward their original direction.

The next moment, Cody began moving, approaching from the opposite side.

Unlike Lin Mo with his "Concealment" skill, even with Cody's solid assassin fundamentals and standard stealth movements, he'd be detected at about a hundred meters from the cat demons at most.

Lin Mo estimated Cody's position, counting silently in his mind.

5, 4, 3, 2...

1!

Just as the two Cursed Pattern Cat Demons sensed something unusual and looked toward Cody's hiding spot, Lin Mo suddenly struck. He burst from the grass at maximum speed, executing a "Slash" that precisely severed the injured cat demon's head.

"Hiss—!"

The other Cursed Pattern Cat Demon reacted swiftly, turning quickly and swiping its claw at Lin Mo.

But Lin Mo was prepared. His right-hand short sword moved almost simultaneously, rising from below to firmly block the counterattack.

At the same moment, Cody arrived from the other side, executing "Backstab" aimed directly at the cat demon's neck.

Sensing danger from behind, the Cursed Pattern Cat Demon abandoned further pursuit, considered retreating, and bolted toward the right.

Lin Mo wouldn't let it escape so easily. Releasing his sword hilt with his left hand, he barely managed to grab its wrist.

The next second, Cody's short sword pierced straight through its body.

Though it desperately dodged at the last moment, avoiding the fatal neck strike, the sword still penetrated its shoulder blade.

That was enough!

The instant Cody struck, Bern and Evan charged forward. Miriam drew her bow and arrow, hitting the cat demon's thigh. Bern followed immediately with a Shield Bash, coordinating with Lin Mo's "Slash" to completely finish off this Cursed Pattern Cat Demon.

[Slash] proficiency +5!

Seeing the notification before his eyes, Lin Mo immediately smiled.

Excellent, got the last hit!

Besides this one, the surprise attack that killed the previous one also gave 5 Slash proficiency points. Two elite monsters directly raised his Slash skill proficiency to Lv4 (80/100)—just 20 more points needed to fully master this skill!

"Well done!"

Bern patted Lin Mo's shoulder. "Your strength becomes more astonishing every day. At this rate, you might become a professional in just a few days."

Without Lin Mo, they couldn't have closed the distance sufficiently. They wouldn't have killed even one Cursed Pattern Cat Demon, let alone two.

Cody glanced sideways slightly but said nothing.

He already respected Lin Mo's capabilities completely, but becoming a professional in just a few days? Wasn't that somewhat exaggerated?

Evan and Miriam collected the Cursed Pattern Cat Demons' claws and teeth together. Unlike ordinary cat demons, Cursed Pattern Cat Demons had more valuable parts. Beyond claws and teeth, their hearts served as basic alchemical materials too.

Evan removed and cleaned the two cat demons' hearts, storing them in specially sealed bags.

The mission only required claws—the remaining materials could fetch considerable money.

"With this, we only need claws from 16 more ordinary cat demons to complete the entire mission."

Even someone as composed as Bern couldn't help showing a happy smile, since their progress far exceeded expectations.

If everything went smoothly, they could begin their return journey within the day!

Lin Mo nodded, then suddenly noticed a strange fissure on a tree somewhat farther to the right.

"What's that?"

Lin Mo asked curiously.

Bern looked in the indicated direction, saw the completely natural-looking fissure that seemed to grow from the tree, and momentarily froze.

After a moment, he recalled a story heard from a bard begging for drinks in a Lania City tavern.

Carefully approaching, he examined the roughly person-high fissure closely and said somewhat uncertainly, "This is... a secret realm entrance?"

"Secret realm? What's that?"

Lin Mo raised his eyebrows—this was his first time hearing this term.

"Entrances to secret realms can randomly appear anywhere magical energy concentrates. According to the Imperial Chief Mage Corps' current research, secret realms are likely other worlds existing in the same dimensional plane as our continent, created through temporary or long-term dimensional entanglement phenomena caused by magical resonance between two worlds..."

Frankly, Bern didn't fully understand these profound concepts either—he'd just memorized them mechanically.

"For example, the famous adventure holy land—Nasadok Dungeon—is supposedly an extremely stable super-large secret realm."

Lin Mo generally understood: essentially, magical influence caused localized overlapping between this world and others.

Rather interesting...

"So, what exists within these secret realms?"