One hour later.
The same location, the same table and chairs.
Only this time, only Morpheus and Lin Gui remained at the table.
Lin Gui held an irregular chunk of ice condensed using the 【Freezing】 spell in his hand.
He was pressing it repeatedly against his swollen cheek, which had yet to subside.
A minor physical injury like this could have been restored instantly with a single healing spell from Eve.
However, the two “culprits” had slipped away without a trace long before he even woke up.
They clearly didn't have the courage to face their “victim.”
Looking at Lin Gui's depressed and helpless expression, Morpheus didn't know whether to find it amusing or to envy the young man's “troubles.”
He cleared his throat and decided to get straight to the point.
Before discussing business, there was one question he had to clear up.
“Are you...” Morpheus stared directly at Lin Gui with his blood-red eyes, “really just a High Rank mage?”
Hearing this, Lin Gui raised his eyelids to glance at him.
Without saying a word, he placed the ice chunk he was using on his face onto the table.
Then, he extended his right hand, palm facing upward.
With a slight thought, a clear, stable, and completely pure wave of mana slowly rose from his palm.
It was pure and gentle, its intensity perfectly matching the standard of a High Rank mage.
This kind of basic external release of mana was extremely difficult to fake.
Morpheus sensed it carefully for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly.
It was indeed at the High Rank level, genuine and authentic.
This made things even stranger.
He continued to ask, “Then what about that 【Holy Light Barrier】 from earlier? That requires at least the Transcendent Rank to cast.”
Lin Gui was taken aback.
“Holy Light Barrier?”
Immediately, he recalled the scene he had glimpsed before losing consciousness last night, where Eve had spread wings of light.
Lin Gui was indeed aware that Eve possessed this ability.
When they were fighting the rebels in the mines of the Carter Royal Capital,
Eve had briefly mentioned the spells she mastered, which included the 【Holy Light Barrier】.
And after arriving in Avalon,
Lin Gui had specifically instructed her to avoid using distinctive Light Magic if possible.
After all, the Holy Church of Light was the most resolute enemy of the Demon Race and half-demons, making her identity far too sensitive.
She must have been forced to expose it to keep him contained while he was unconscious.
Lin Gui understood what had happened, but he maintained a perfectly measured look of confusion on his face, which then transitioned into a look of “sudden realization” and “helplessness.”
“Ah... that.”
He sighed, rubbing his temple which was still throbbing with pain.
“My foolish companion probably used up the magic scroll I had been treasuring.”
His tone carried a mixture of heartache and exasperation, his acting natural and realistic.
“That was a life-saving item I bought at a premium from a destitute noble.”
“The spell sealed within it was a single-use 【Holy Light Barrier】.”
Morpheus's eyes still held a trace of doubt.
However, Lin Gui's explanation was logically sound.
Magic scrolls could indeed allow one to cast spells above their own rank, though they were extremely expensive and rare.
Furthermore, considering the characteristics of Lin Gui's trio—
Theia was a half-demon ranger, Eve was a Dark Priest, and Lin Gui was a mage with pure mana but a low rank.
No matter how one looked at them, none of them seemed capable of independently casting a Transcendent Rank Light Magic spell.
Most importantly, Lin Gui's mana level could not be faked.
This finally allowed a tightly wound string in Morpheus's heart to relax.
Since there was no hidden Epic Rank powerhouse, their crossing of the Wailing Corridor could only be attributed to the “Umbral Robe” artifact.
Morpheus pondered for a moment, deliberately letting a heavy expression of worry surface on his face.
He sighed deeply, his voice low and raspy. “Sigh...”
“Little mage, to tell you the truth.”
“Avalon... is likely facing an existential catastrophe.”
Lin Gui's movement of applying the ice paused slightly.
He raised his eyes to look at Morpheus.
A timely look of shock and unease surfaced in his gray eyes.
“An existential catastrophe?”
“How could that be... Isn't this place protected by Lord Gusion and the Demon King Pillar?”
His reaction was spot on, perfectly mimicking an ordinary traveler who had just learned that their sanctuary was about to collapse.
Seeing that Lin Gui had taken the bait, Morpheus felt reassured, and the sorrow on his face deepened.
He pointed a finger toward the towering, pitch-black pillar outside the window.
“Look at that pillar... Its light has been flickering inconstantly lately, and its fluctuations are chaotic.”
“This sign... means that something terrible has likely happened to Lord Gusion, or he might even... be in mortal danger.”
His voice grew heavier as he painted a terrifying picture. “If Lord Gusion falls, the Demon King Pillar will lose its source of power.”
“When that happens, the Veil of Concealment enveloping Avalon will completely dissipate.”
“Those Epic Rank spectral demons outside will swarm in like sharks smelling blood.”
“This city, and everyone here...”
He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing, leaving a vast, bleak space for imagination.
“...will be completely swallowed by an endless tide of demons.”
All of this, in truth, was a lie.
Even if Gusion truly died and the Demon King Pillar completely failed,
Avalon would absolutely not perish because of it.
A city could exist in the heart of such a perilous land for so many years.
How could it gamble its entire survival on a single pillar and a single person?
Naturally, they had various backup plans prepared.
And these were precisely what Lin Gui had learned from sneaking around and eavesdropping every night over the past week.
He had not only overheard secrets regarding guardian demons like “Crimson Thorn” and the movements of Avalon's potential enemies,
he had also learned of the recent anomalies of the Demon King Pillar, as well as...
those trump cards sufficient to temporarily maintain the city's safety should anything happen to Gusion.
Since he knew Avalon was in no immediate danger of collapsing and had ample contingencies,
Lin Gui could have, and should have, taken those twenty-odd letters and set off on his return journey.
But he didn't.
Aside from wanting to spend more time with Theia—even though he had almost been “forced” by her—
he also harbored a selfish motive.
If he could seize this opportunity to perform a great service for Avalon,
it might make Theia's position here more secure and highly accepted.
At the same time, this was also a test.
A test to see if he possessed the “qualification” and ability to intervene in deeper whirlpools.
At this moment, looking at the perfectly measured “panic” on Lin Gui's face,
Morpheus believed he had fallen into the trap and continued in a deep voice:
“Therefore, to prevent Avalon's destruction,”
“we must go to rescue Lord Gusion.”
“But we... cannot leave.”
“And currently, the only ones who might be able to cross the Wailing Corridor...” He paused deliberately, his gaze landing on Lin Gui. “...are you and your companions.”
He cautiously avoided the sensitive word “artifact.”
“We do not know what method you used.”
“But we implore you to help us.”
“Escort our representative across the corridor.”
“We have... something of extreme importance that must be delivered to Lord Gusion.”
He did not explicitly state what it was.
But Lin Gui knew.
It referred to the Demon King's exclusive artifact, which shared the same origin as the Demon King Pillar and could only be fully driven by Gusion.
The Demon King's exclusive artifact:
The Eleventh Demon King Pillar—Veil of No Doubts.
Lin Gui fell silent.
He did not reply for a long time.
Morpheus thought he was struggling, weighing the risk of exposing the “artifact” against the responsibility of saving Avalon.
In reality, Lin Gui was waiting.
He was quietly waiting for that familiar prompt to sound in his mind,
waiting for the system to determine if this was a triggerable “escort quest.”
An opportunity that would allow him to intervene in this matter in a perfectly justifiable manner.
However,
after a long silence, what sounded instead was the system's flat, almost exasperated voice:
【Host, stop overthinking it.】
【Triggering a quest must be based on your current strength and capabilities.】
【You are currently just a High Rank mage.】
Lin Gui let out a soft sigh in his heart.
In the end... he was just too weak.
But this was fine too.
No matter what kind of dangerous game Gusion, Jesse, and the Demon Hunter were playing,
after confirming that Avalon had backup plans for self-defense and that Theia could live here safely,
none of this had anything to do with him anymore.
In that case...
it was time to set off.
He raised his eyes and looked at Morpheus, who was waiting for his answer.
The panic in his black eyes gradually receded, returning to his usual calm.
“Coincidentally, I also plan to leave Avalon to deliver letters. You can send someone to go out with me.”
After hesitating for a moment, Lin Gui added, “Once I bid farewell to my companions.”
Rate on N.U.
