“Why are you here?”
Lin Gui blurted out subconsciously, his head still groggy.
Eve tilted her head slightly, a faint smile playing on her lips.
“Why can't it be me?”
Her voice was gentle, yet carried a hint of playfulness.
Lin Gui propped himself up and rubbed his aching temples.
Eve handed him a rough wooden mug at just the right moment.
Inside was a thick, dark green liquid that bubbled slightly, emitting a strange odor that was a mix of mint, bitter root, and some pungent mineral.
“What is this? Where did it come from?”
Lin Gui took the mug and asked with a frown.
“A special dwarven hangover remedy.”
Eve blinked her violet eyes, which were now free of disguise.
“I asked Leader Grom for it. He said it works wonders.”
Lin Gui took a skeptical sip.
An intense bitterness and cooling sensation instantly rushed to his head, making him shudder, but it certainly cleared his mind quite a bit.
“Where is Theia?” he asked.
Eve chuckled and pointed to the other side of the room.
“She originally wanted to 'sneak attack' you while you were asleep.”
“But she ended up passing out drunk right at the door.”
“I put her over there.”
Lin Gui looked in the direction she pointed.
On another narrow dwarven bed, Theia was fast asleep on her back, completely devoid of any elegance.
Her silver-white hair was scattered messily, one leg dangled off the edge of the bed, and she was muttering something incoherently.
The corner of Lin Gui's mouth twitched.
She had clearly wanted to get someone else drunk, but ended up passing out first.
As a top-tier ranger of her rank, Theia's vision, archery, and stealth were impeccable.
But as an elf...
She was lively, talkative, flighty, and loved reading strange novels, possessing absolutely none of the cold aloofness and elegance that elves were legendary for.
It seemed environment truly could change a race's traits.
Lin Gui rubbed his temples.
After all, nobody would probably ever expect an elf—especially one with such outstanding looks—to actively try to 'night-raid' a human.
“So,” he looked at Eve and said half-jokingly,
“are you also here to 'night-raid' me, Lady Saintess?”
Eve smiled softly.
She sat on the edge of the bed, her short, pale-gold hair gleaming softly in the dim light.
“If you had really fallen into a deep, unbroken sleep,” she admitted candidly, “then yes, I would have been.”
“But since you are awake now,” her violet eyes curved slightly, “then I am not.”
Lin Gui stared at Eve, speechless.
So you actually had that intention.
Just then, a strange yet melodious singing drifted in faintly from outside the window.
The voice was deep and resonant, sounding as if it came from the depths of the earth. It possessed both the solemnity of a sacred prayer and a broad, cheerful rhythm, sounding like a farewell yet also like a celebration.
“Should we go out and take a look?” Eve asked softly.
Lin Gui shook his head. “Without a dwarven leader guiding us, it is easy to cause trouble.”
“Our relationship with Copperhammer hasn't spread to every corner of this place yet.”
Eve winked mischievously. “Wouldn't it be fine as long as they don't find out?”
Lin Gui raised an eyebrow.
He was actually quite curious about the origin of the singing as well.
After a moment of deliberation, he nodded.
He first lifted Theia's long leg, which she had kicked off the bed, and tucked it back under the blanket, then straightened her sprawling posture a bit so she wouldn't catch a cold.
Then, he grabbed an old broom from behind the door as the Shroud of the Gloomy Night silently expanded, enveloping him and Eve.
The two of them seemed to melt into the shadows, silently floating out of their quarters and flying high above this city-state built of iron and rock.
Below them, the fires of the forges flickered here and there, and the tunnels ran crisscross like a labyrinth.
Soon, they found the source of the singing—
It came from an open plaza at the very bottom and center of the city-state.
A massive bonfire was burning fiercely.
Lin Gui controlled the broom and quietly glided downward.
The singing grew clearer. It was in the dwarven tongue, which he could not understand—ancient, resonant, and full of power.
Many dwarves had gathered around the bonfire.
They formed a massive circle, facing the center.
In the center stood a massive iron monument over ten meters tall. Its surface was pitch-black, covered in hammer marks and mottled inscriptions, illuminated by the firelight to look like a burning giant.
A dwarf wearing a dark robe with a snow-white beard stood before the monument.
Holding a stone hammer carved with runes, he was leading the crowd in chanting.
Eve leaned close to Lin Gui's ear, her breath warm:
“That is a dwarven priest.”
“They believe in the God of Fire and Forge, who is also the guide of heroic spirits.”
“He is praying for the warriors who fell in battle today.”
“May their souls return to the forge of the Netherworld Sea to find rest and be reshaped.”
Lin Gui was somewhat surprised. “You can understand the dwarven language?”
Eve's voice was as light as the wind:
“The most tragic and stirring chapters in the holy scriptures were originally adapted from the heroic elegies of the dwarves.”
In their line of sight, the priest finished his chanting.
He solemnly received two identification tags forged from iron.
Then, he raised a massive forging hammer high, and under the watchful eyes and choral accompaniment of everyone—
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Strike after strike, he hammered the identification tags deep into the iron monument.
Every strike was incredibly heavy, sending sparks flying in all directions, as if he were not hammering into iron, but branding the names into the bloodline memory of their clan.
Lin Gui watched quietly.
It seemed this was what Copperhammer had once mentioned—
The Shield Monument of Heroic Spirits.
The solemn and fiery farewell ceremony continued.
Until the final strike fell, and the singing gradually faded.
The bonfire crackled, reflecting off solemn and resolute faces.
In Lin Gui's mind, the notification sound for a completed commission rang out.
【Ding! Weekly Commission completed!】
【Content: Successfully delivered 200 reply letters to the designated recipients in the Carter Royal Capital.】
【Sign-off Progress: A total of 7 letters signed for (Current Progress: 70%)】
【Distributing rewards...】
【You have successfully delivered 7 letters and obtained random Novice Magic x7.】
【Duplicate magic will automatically be converted into corresponding proficiency.】
【Congratulations! The host has obtained:】
【Demon-type Novice Magic: Enchantment LV7→7】
【Soul-type Novice Magic: Clarity LV9→10】
【Extra Reward: Mana Reserve +1,500】
【Host: Lin Gui】
【Rank: Mid-tier High Rank Mage → High-tier High Rank Mage】
【Mana Reserve: (4950/7256) - 12,744 mana points required for the next breakthrough】
【Ding! A new round of Weekly Commission is generating.】
【Final Destination: Avalon, the Land of Freedom.】
【Beginning retrieval of the number of letters collected by the host...】
【Remaining retrieval time: 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes】
------ “May every thought cross the darkness and reach the other side” ------
The mana within his body surged. In just a short span of a few months, Lin Gui had risen from Low-tier High Rank to High-tier High Rank.
However, Lin Gui knew that his speed of advancement would slow down hereafter.
Because promoting to a major rank required far too much mana.
Advancing a minor rank required only a thousand mana points, whereas a major rank required tens of thousands.
This was also the reason why the gap between major ranks was so vast—
the difference in mana reserves was simply too immense.
Moreover, the system's mana rewards were basically fixed.
He would likely have to cross half the continent in the future just to accumulate enough mana to advance.
Along with his rise in rank, the proficiency of many spells Lin Gui had mastered also increased.
With his Soul-type Novice Magic 'Clarity' reaching the maximum proficiency of LV10, Lin Gui was now capable of chantless casting for it as well.
Yet, compared to the system rewards, what caught his attention more was the incredibly low number of signed letters.
Two hundred letters, yet only seven were signed for, and yet the system had deemed the commission complete.
This meant that the recipients of the other 193 letters had already passed away during the time since Copperhammer and his people left.
Looking around, Lin Gui finally spotted a familiar dwarf near the cemetery, not far from the Shield Monument of Heroic Spirits.
It was none other than Grom.
At this moment, he was tearing open the letters one by one, reading their contents aloud to the tombstones.
Rate on N.U.
