【Ding! Long-term commission—Escort Theia Windrunner the Elven Ranger to Avalon—completed.】
【Rewards being issued...】
【Congratulations, Host, you have obtained spatial magic: Storage.】
【Function overview: Opens a stable extradimensional space attached to the Host's soul for storing non-living objects.】
【Storage space capacity expands as the Host's strength increases.】
【Current capacity assessment (based on Host's High-tier High Rank strength): Approximately 5 cubic meters.】
【Ding! Milestone reward issued for arriving at a key node.】
【Detected that the Host crossed the high-risk zone "Wall of Sighs" and reached the commission's target area.】
【Node reward issued: Mana +600 points.】
【Note: This reward is a milestone incentive for the long-term commission and is independent of Weekly Commission rewards.】
【Mana Reserve: (923/7856). 12,144 Mana points required for the next rank breakthrough.】
【Spatial magic branch opened.】
【Spatial power has merged into the Host's body.】
【Note: This energy branch is similar in nature to the already opened demon energy branch.】
【It is the sixth type of energy, separate from the five current energy systems on the Akara Continent.】
【Detected spatial power within the Host's body.】
【Spatial magic has been added to the Weekly Commission random magic reward pool.】
【The Host will henceforth have a very low probability of drawing related spells from it.】
【All rewards have been issued.】
【.......】
【.......】
【......】
【Congratulations, Host... After crossing mountains and seas, you have reached the end of this long journey.】
【Avalon.】
【......】
【Rest well, and set out again later.】
...
The system's reward announcements echoed in Lin Gui's mind.
Inside his body, a strange and subtle "presence" had appeared.
It could not be actively invoked, but it was clearly known—it was spatial affinity.
Aside from that,
The growth in Mana was the most direct gain.
Although there was still a considerable distance before reaching Transcendence,
Lin Gui believed that before long, he would step into the realm that truly counted as being a powerhouse.
Clenching his fist and feeling the power circulating within his body,
Lin Gui looked down at Avalon, a faint light flickering in his eyes.
It wouldn't be long...
He would be able to head to the Magic City again.
Only this time...
He would no longer be that coward who silently hid in a corner, unable to do anything but witness the destruction of everything beautiful.
Lin Gui suppressed the fire reflected in his eyes.
He then maneuvered the flying vessel toward Avalon.
Behind him, Theia's state was somewhat dazed.
She stared blankly at the lights within the darkness below, her silver hair slightly mussed by the wind.
Her eyes did not hold the expected wild joy; instead, they were filled with a dazed void,
As if she could not believe that what was before her eyes was real.
Had she really... come to the Land of Freedom depicted in the nursery rhymes?
Further back, Eve had already wiped away the blood from the corner of her mouth.
With a healing spell in her right hand, she was soothing the injuries caused by her magic being interrupted just a moment ago.
Her purple eyes gazed at the small town below, flickering with a complex light.
Surprise, realization, and a deeply hidden sigh of emotion.
She had never expected that,
In a terrifying deadland like the Wailing Corridor,
Under the encirclement and peering gazes of more than ten Epic demons,
A small town actually existed perfectly intact among them.
In the center of this death basin that even High-tier Legendary knights could not cross,
It existed in peace.
This small town...
Was this the place the High-tier Legendary Holy Knight was willing to bear the name of a defector for just to find and protect...
The place he called "Eden"?
The flying vessel finally landed on a soft patch of grass not far outside the city walls.
The hum of the engine completely died out.
The three of them disembarked from the vessel and stood in the knee-high grass, looking forward.
Before them was a low, almost crude stone city wall.
It was barely three or four meters tall, with moss growing in the gaps between the bricks.
A heavy wooden city gate stood half-open, with warm light spilling out from inside.
They just stood there and watched for a good while.
No one moved first.
Finally, Lin Gui was the first to step forward.
He turned around and offered the still-dazed Theia a smile, his tone relaxed:
"Alright, let's head in."
As he spoke, he naturally took hold of Theia's wrist.
Her touch was slightly cool and trembling a little.
Lin Gui led her toward the half-open city gate.
Behind him,
The uniquely shaped flying vessel and the several wooden supply crates placed on the grass
Vanished without a trace in an instant, as if wiped away by an invisible eraser.
Only the flattened blades of grass remained.
Eve and Theia caught a glimpse of this, but they were not too surprised.
They were already accustomed to Lin Gui's elusive Shroud of the Gloomy Night,
Assuming he had simply "hidden" the items as he usually did.
What they did not know was that,
Right now, within Lin Gui's perception,
The vessel and the wooden boxes were perfectly stored within a strange "corner" attached to his soul.
It was a stable and empty extradimensional space of about five cubic meters.
He could clearly "feel" their existence.
It was as if with a mere thought, he could take them out again.
This experience was incredibly novel to Lin Gui.
A completely secure "storage room" that belonged solely to him.
However, he had no time to carefully study this newly acquired spatial magic right now.
He led the still-dazed Theia.
With Eve follow behind, her face pale but her eyes calm.
Together, the three of them passed through Avalon's low, half-open gate.
Leaving the deathly mist of the Wailing Corridor and the horrific whispers of the Epic demons
Completely behind them.
There were no guards behind the gate.
The arrival of three strangers did not trigger any alarm.
It was roughly four in the morning.
It was the time just before dawn, and the air was crisp and cold.
On both sides of the street, most of the low houses had their doors and windows tightly shut, their lights extinguished.
Only a scattering of windows leaked a dim, warm yellow glow.
Lin Gui led Theia, walking along Avalon's mud-stone road with Eve.
Their footsteps fell on the coarse gravel with a soft rustling sound.
They looked around with curiosity.
The scenery inside Avalon was different from what they had imagined.
There were no towering, magnificent buildings, nor were there uniform streets.
The houses were mostly simple one or two-story structures built of stone and wood.
The roofs were covered with thick thatch or gray tiles, and faint cooking smoke occasionally wafted from the chimneys.
Most houses had a small yard enclosed by a fence or low stone wall in front,
With common vegetables growing inside or a few simple farming and woodworking tools laid out.
The streets were not broad, winding and curving with the terrain.
The road surface was a solid mixture of mud and stone, worn smooth by footsteps.
The entire city-state was not large; one could see the silhouette of the city walls on the other side at a glance.
It was quiet, simple, and even... somewhat ordinary.
If they hadn't just crossed through that deathly peril outside,
Lin Gui would have almost thought this was just an ordinary village in some remote corner of the continent.
But the air was filled with a strange "tranquility."
There was no tension, no prying eyes, and no hidden malice lurking in the shadows.
There were no golden castles or beautiful, extravagant noble villas.
There were no filthy, chaotic refugee districts filled with constant despair.
It was like... a small village.
Filled only with morning mist, soil, greenery, and the breath of everyday life.
They walked slowly along a main street.
Just then,
A courtyard door of a house ahead opened with a creak.
A figure carrying a wooden basin walked out.
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