“No need.”
Lin Gui waved his hand in refusal.
He appreciated the dwarves' sense of justice, but when crossing a Forbidden Zone, having more people wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Furthermore, he didn't want too many people knowing the secrets of his Eyes of the Netherworld and the Shroud of the Gloomy Night.
Lin Gui's refusal seemed to be within Blackbeard's expectations.
The old dwarf sighed.
“The Fortress Lord also said you would definitely choose that way.”
“Fine then, our human friend.”
Blackbeard's expression turned solemn as he spoke, “What do you want to know?”
Lin Gui held up a finger.
“First, what is the greatest obstacle to crossing the Wall of Sighs?”
Blackbeard fell silent for a moment.
The atmosphere in the tavern grew heavy along with his silence.
He spoke slowly, every word sounding as if it were being hammered out on an anvil: “First, the invisible... spectral demons.”
“They are the true 'denizens' inside the wall.”
Blackbeard's gaze became distant, as if he were recalling some tragic scenes.
“A physical attack is like hitting thin air.”
“Magic bombardment can only temporarily disperse them; they gather back in the blink of an eye. You can't see them, touch them, or even sense their energy fluctuations.”
He lowered his voice.
“You can only occasionally hear the... wailing or hissing they make.”
“Relying on that, you can barely judge their position.”
“But it's only a 'judgment'—”
Blackbeard clenched his fist.
“Only at the very instant they actually launch an attack, when their claws are about to touch your throat...”
“Will they reveal a physical form.”
“But by then, it's usually too late.”
“Second, those mists.”
“That thick fog that stretches on endlessly like a wall.”
Blackbeard's face darkened further.
He grabbed the ale by his hand and took a deep swig before heavily setting the cup down.
“That mist... is even weirder than the demons.”
His voice was kept very low, as if he were afraid of disturbing something.
“First of all, if you're inside for less than half an hour, your sense of direction completely goes haywire.”
“You think you're heading north, but in reality, you might be walking in circles on the spot, or even heading straight south.”
“If you stay too long...”
Blackbeard's eyes became a bit vacant.
“Your mind will get muddled too.”
“Memories start becoming distorted; you can't distinguish the present from the past.”
“There are people who came out and forgot what their own names were, or even why they went in.”
“The most lethal part is the visibility—”
He made a gesture in front of his eyes.
“Beyond ten paces, you can't see your companion's back.”
“Beyond twenty paces, there's only a sheet of greyish-white.”
“And those specters hiding in the fog...”
Blackbeard's Adam's apple bobbed.
“They will mimic your companions' voices and call your name.”
“Or they'll create false lights and paths.”
“Leading you step by step toward cliffs, deep pits, or... their nest.”
Lin Gui's brow furrowed.
These were indeed details he hadn't known.
Through Eli and Balin, he knew that the Wall of Sighs had rare spectral demons.
He had also heard rumors of survivors eventually going insane and taking their own lives.
But he had always thought that was purely the result of the demons' mental attacks.
He hadn't expected that the true source was actually that seemingly harmless mist.
“Since you've tried so many times...” Lin Gui pressed further. “You must have developed ways to counter it, right?”
Blackbeard nodded.
“Naturally.”
“Otherwise, people would have stopped coming for this bounty decades ago.”
He held up three thick fingers.
“First, and also the most common—”
“Consume potent mental stimulants.”
“Like the 'Iron Will' potion or the 'Clarity Elixir'.”
“They can forcefully refresh your mind for a short time to resist the disorientation.”
“But once the effect wears off, the backlash is even more severe, and they are easily addictive.”
“Second, rely on the wind mages in the party.”
“They open up an isolation barrier to physically push away the mist.”
Blackbeard shook his head.
“The risk is too high. If the mage has a gap in their casting, the whole party is finished.”
“As for the third method...”
He suddenly fell silent.
His gaze drifted away, as if he had fallen into some memory he was reluctant to recall.
After a long time, he let out a heavy sigh.
“That method... is indeed the most reliable.”
“But likely, no one can use it anymore.”
Lin Gui spoke up at the right moment: “Are you talking about... the party of the Dark Elf leader, Shadow Blade Lynn?”
Blackbeard nodded slowly.
“Yes, the pioneers she led.”
“Relying on that method, they went in and out ten times.”
“They were so close... to truly making history.”
His voice sounded parched.
“A pity that after going in the eleventh time...”
“They never came out again.”
“Three whole Epic experts.”
Blackbeard wiped his face.
“That was truly... a disaster.”
Lin Gui didn't feel much regarding that and asked directly, “What exactly was the method they used?”
Blackbeard looked up and said word by word: “It was a spell.”
“In the entire Akara Continent, the mages who have mastered it can be counted on one hand.”
“A Novice soul magic—Clarity.”
Lin Gui: “...???”
He almost thought he had misheard.
Blackbeard didn't notice Lin Gui's subtle expression and continued to explain, “Clarity has two critical functions within the mist.”
“First, it can continuously stimulate the recipient's spirit.”
“Like a needle stuck in the brain, keeping a person in a state of being 'jolted awake by pain'.”
“Thereby resisting the memory distortion and the loss of direction caused by the mist.”
He made a gesture.
“Second, it's a Novice soul magic.”
“The consumption is extremely small. Once the chant is finished, the effect can be steadily maintained for a whole day.”
“The mana consumed is practically negligible.”
“For a party that needs to explore for a long time, it's practically a god-tier spell.”
Speaking up to this point, Blackbeard let out another heavy sigh.
“But the problem lies there—”
“Mages who know soul spells are already pitifully few.”
“And every single soul spell is exceptionally difficult to learn.”
“They require special talent and consume precious materials.”
“More importantly, Clarity is normally... too niche.”
“Who would specifically go and learn a spell that only prevents someone from 'feeling sleepy'?”
“Most soul mages go off to study practical spells like soul tracking or Mental Shock.”
“Sigh...”
Blackbeard sighed heavily, his beard trembling along with him.
“Where could one find a fool of a soul mage nowadays who, like Shadow Blade Lynn, 'accidentally learned' Clarity?”
Lin Gui: “...”
Unaware of how subtle Lin Gui's silence was, Blackbeard continued with his advice: “So, that method can basically be ignored.”
“Human friend, I suggest you still take potions.”
“Even though the duration is short, they've at least been verified over decades and are mature and reliable.”
He turned around and fished out several small, dark-purple glass bottles from under the bar, placing them on the counter.
The liquid inside the bottles was thick, with an unnatural metallic sheen.
“Here, this is 'Iron Will'.”
“I happen to have stock on hand.”
Blackbeard rubbed his hands together, revealing a shrewd smile belonging to a businessman.
“Since you're a friend of the Fortress Lord...”
“I'll give you fifty percent off. One thousand gold per bottle, how about it?”
Lin Gui was silent for two seconds before pointing a finger at himself.
“I... can barely be considered a friend of the dwarves of Shield City, right?”
Blackbeard chuckled and waved his hand.
“But I'm not a dwarf of Shield City.”
He puffed out his chest, his tone carrying a bit of the reserve unique to dwarves from the Royal Capital.
“I am a 'Special Envoy' stationed here, directly dispatched by the Dwarven Royal City.”
“I'll give face to the Fortress Lord, but business...”
He tapped the potion bottles, his smile unchanging.
“...Must also be done according to the rules.”
Rate on N.U.
