【Ding! Long-term commission—Escort the Elven Ranger Theia Windrunner to Avalon, completed.】
【Distributing rewards...】
【Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Spatial Magic: Storage.】
【Functional Overview: Opens a stable alternate dimension attached to the host's soul, used for storing non-living objects.】
【The capacity of the storage space expands as the host's strength increases.】
【Current capacity assessment (based on the host's High-tier High Rank strength): Approximately 5 cubic meters.】
【Ding! Rewards for reaching a critical node are being distributed.】
【Detected that the host has crossed the high-risk area "Wall of Sighs" and arrived at the commissioned target area.】
【Distributing node reward: +600 Mana.】
【Note: This reward is a milestone incentive for the long-term commission and is independent of the Weekly Commission rewards.】
【Mana Reserves: (923/7856) - 12,144 Mana points required for the next rank breakthrough】
【The Spatial Magic branch has been unlocked.】
【The power of space has integrated into the host's body.】
【Description: This energy branch is similar in nature to the already unlocked demon energy branch.】
【It is the sixth type of energy, existing outside the five current energy systems of the Akara Continent.】
【Detected spatial power within the host's body.】
【Spatial magic has now been added to the Weekly Commission's random magic reward pool.】
【The host will now have a very low probability of drawing related spells from it.】
【All rewards have been distributed.】
【.......】
【.......】
【......】
【Congratulations, Host... You have crossed mountains and seas to reach the end of this long journey.】
【Avalon.】
【......】
【Rest well, and then set off once more.】
...
The system's reward notifications echoed in Lin Gui's mind.
Within his body, a strange and subtle “presence” had appeared.
He could not actively summon it, yet it was clearly perceptible—it was spatial affinity.
And besides that, the growth of his mana was the most direct change.
Although he was still a considerable distance away from the Transcendent Rank, Lin Gui believed that it would not be long before he stepped into that realm of a truly powerful expert.
Clenching his fists, he felt the power flowing within him.
Lin Gui looked down at Avalon, a faint glimmer in his eyes.
It would not be long...
before he could return to the Magic City.
Only this time...
he would no longer be that coward who silently hid in the corner, powerless to do anything but watch as everything beautiful was destroyed.
Lin Gui suppressed the fire reflecting in his eyes.
Then, he steered the flying vessel toward Avalon.
Behind him, Theia was in a bit of a daze.
She stared blankly at the flickering lights in the dark night below, her silver hair slightly disheveled by the wind.
There was no anticipated ecstasy in her eyes; instead, there was only a blank, dazed expression.
It was as if she could not believe that what lay before her was real.
Had she really... arrived at the land of freedom described in the nursery rhymes?
Behind them, Eve had already wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
The healing magic in her right hand was soothing the injuries caused by the sudden interruption of her spell earlier.
Her purple eyes gazed at the small city below, flickering with a complex light.
There was surprise, understanding, and a deeply hidden sigh of emotion.
She had never expected that, in a terrifying, desolate place like the Wailing Corridor, surrounded and watched by more than ten Epic demons, there would actually be a small city existing completely intact right in their midst.
In the center of this death basin, which even a High-tier Legendary Knight could not cross, it existed in peaceful serenity.
Was this small city... the very place that the High-tier Legendary Holy Knight had been willing to bear the brand of a traitor to find and protect, the place he called “Eden”?
The flying vessel finally landed on a patch of soft grass not far outside the city walls.
The hum of the engine died down completely.
The three of them disembarked from the vessel and stood in the knee-high grass, looking ahead.
Before them was a low, somewhat rough stone wall.
It was only about three or four meters high, with moss growing in the gaps between the stone bricks.
A heavy wooden city gate stood half-open, casting a warm light from within.
They stood there like that, watching for a long time.
None of them made the first move.
In the end, Lin Gui was the first to take a step forward.
He turned around and smiled at the still-dazed Theia, his tone light:
“Alright, let's head in first.”
With that, he naturally took hold of Theia's wrist.
Her skin felt slightly cool, and she was trembling a little.
Lin Gui pulled her along, taking the lead toward the half-open gate.
Behind him, the oddly shaped flying vessel and the several wooden supply crates sitting on the grass nearby vanished without a trace in an instant, as if wiped away by an object eraser.
Only the bent blades of grass remained where they had been.
Eve and Theia caught sight of this, but they were not overly surprised.
They had long since grown 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, at this very moment, within Lin Gui's perception, both the flying vessel and the wooden crates existed perfectly intact in a peculiar “corner” attached to his soul.
A stable, empty alternate dimension of about five cubic meters.
He could clearly “feel” their presence, as though he could retrieve them at any moment with just a single thought.
This experience was incredibly novel to Lin Gui.
A completely private, absolutely secure “storage room” that belonged solely to him.
However, he did not have the time right now to meticulously study this newly acquired spatial magic.
He pulled the still-dazed Theia along, while the pale-faced yet calm-eyed Eve followed closely behind.
Together, the three of them passed through Avalon's low, half-open gate, leaving the deadly mists of the Wailing Corridor and the terrifying 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 currently around four in the morning.
The sky was on the verge of dawning, and the air was crisp and cold.
On both sides of the street, most of the low houses had their doors and windows shut tight, their lights extinguished.
Only a few scattered windows cast a warm, dim yellow glow.
Lin Gui held Theia's hand, walking with Eve along the dirt-and-stone road of Avalon.
Their footsteps fell upon the rough gravel, making a soft rustling sound.
They looked around with curiosity.
The scene inside Avalon was quite different from what they had imagined.
There were no towering, magnificent buildings, nor were there neatly aligned streets.
Most of the houses were simple one- or two-story structures built from stone and wood.
The roofs were covered with thick thatch or gray tiles, and a faint wisp of cooking smoke occasionally drifted from a chimney.
In front of almost every house was a small yard enclosed by a fence or a low stone wall, inside of which grew common vegetables, or lay a few simple farming implements and carpentry tools.
The streets were not very wide, winding and curving as they followed the natural rise and fall of the terrain.
The road surface was a solid mixture of dirt and stone, packed flat by many footsteps.
The entire city-state was not large; one could see the outline of the opposite wall at a single glance.
It was quiet, simple, and even... somewhat ordinary.
Had they not just crossed through that deadly wasteland outside, Lin Gui would have almost believed this was just an ordinary village in some remote corner of the continent.
Yet, the air was filled with a peculiar sense of “peace”.
There was no tension, no prying eyes, and no malice hiding in the shadows.
There were no magnificent castles or beautiful, luxurious noble villas.
There were no filthy, chaotic refugee slums filled with constant despair.
It was just like... a tiny village.
With nothing but morning mist, soil, plants, and the simple warmth of human life.
They walked slowly along a main street.
Just then, the gate of a yard in front of them creaked open.
A figure stepped out, carrying a wooden basin.
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