“Um, excuse me, lad...”
A spirit of an uncle dressed as a farmer squeezed forward, looking slightly embarrassed.
Following behind him were a boy around thirteen years old and a peasant woman.
“I don’t have a reply letter. My whole family is here in Blackwater City.”
“I’ve never sent a letter through the post office either...”
Lin Gui stopped his work and looked up at him.
“Then why are you here?”
The farmer rubbed his hands, his soul light flickering.
“Well, it’s been sixteen years since I’ve been stuck here.”
“Every day I just float around; I’ve poked into every single corner.”
“It’s starting to feel... rather dull.”
He paused, his voice filled with expectation.
“So, could I ask you a favor...”
“Could you take our family to see some other city-states?”
The boy immediately floated forward in excitement.
“Like the elven city-states! I’ve never seen a treehouse!”
“Can you take us to see them?”
Lin Gui’s face turned black instantly.
So... they were here for a tour?
The glass beads gathered around the wooden box track heard this...
And their soul lights brightened in unison!
Countless “expectant” gazes focused on him.
Lin Gui’s face darkened even further.
“No.”
He spoke irritably, his tone categorical.
“I’m very busy. Aside from the Wall of Sighs, I have many other letters to deliver.”
“The borderlands, the Blackwater Corridor... the reply letters are piled up like mountains.”
“Making an exception to open this business was already trouble enough.”
“So I’m sorry, but if you aren’t here to find kin...”
He waved his hand.
“Please move aside.”
The farmer’s family immediately wilted, their soul lights dimming.
The boy’s eyes darted around, and he floated forward again.
“Big Brother Lin Gui! I have a relative in Shadowmoon City!”
“He was always so good to me; our whole family misses him!”
“Can you take us there to see him?”
Lin Gui’s mouth twitched.
...Like I’d believe you.
“Employees, get this line in order.”
He called out to the side.
Several spirits of Blackwater City warriors floated over helplessly.
They pushed the glass beads of the farmer’s family along the track...
And rolled them right out of the post office doors.
Lin Gui rubbed the bridge of his nose and reached out to press the calling bell.
A pale but slender hand suddenly pressed down on the counter.
It blocked his view.
Lin Gui looked up.
Hannah was standing before the counter, leaning over slightly.
Her red eyes watched him, a deliberately soft smile on her face.
“Can we talk?”
She kept her voice very low.
Lin Gui looked at her, expressionless.
Then, he pointed his right hand toward the door.
“Please get in line.”
Hannah followed his finger and turned to look out the window.
Through the glass, she saw it.
The wooden box track wound across the snow outside.
On both sides of the track, glass beads were lined up in a neat row.
The ghostly blue points of light formed a single line stretching deep into the ruins.
A rough scan suggested at least a thousand of them.
Hannah’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
If she had to wait in this line... who knew when it would be her turn?
She fell silent for two seconds before turning back.
The smile on her face became somewhat stiff.
“...Can I cut the line?”
Lin Gui lowered his head to continue attending to the next bead.
“You’ll have to ask them.”
He tilted his head toward the door.
Hannah followed his gaze.
In the next moment, a chill suddenly shot up her spine.
The thousands of glass beads lined up quietly on the track outside...
As if receiving a silent signal.
They all rotated at once, turning their “fronts” toward the post office window.
Glimmering blue light flowed quietly within the bead walls.
No sound, no movement.
But Hannah could clearly feel it.
It was as if every single bead contained a pair of eyes.
They were staring at her, silently and directly.
The pressure of being locked onto by countless gazes caused her throat to tighten slightly.
Hannah remained silent for a few seconds before pulling her lips into a rigid arc.
“...Never mind.”
She let go of the counter and stepped back.
Turning silently, she walked to an empty bench in the corner of the post office.
She sat down and waited quietly.
She was in a hurry.
Roger and the others were in the Voiceless Abyss with their lives on the line; every second could mean disaster.
But between her and Lin Gui... they really weren't on familiar terms.
In fact, there was even a bit of a grudge.
She had once attacked that white-haired elf.
Her man, Roger, had even dug a hole for the guy by giving him fake coordinates for Avalon.
The kind that could genuinely lead someone to their death.
At the time, Roger hadn't expected the other party to actually dare enter the Wailing Corridor, so he had just given him any coordinates.
Hannah was still curious even now...
How on earth did this guy manage to find Avalon despite having the wrong coordinates?
She leaned against the cold back of the bench and closed her eyes.
Her fingertips tapped her knee unconsciously as she waited anxiously.
Lin Gui had returned to Blackwater City at nightfall.
By the time he finished attending to all his “guests”...
Dawn had already illuminated the silent ruins.
The system notifications had long since gone quiet.
The sign-off rate for the reply letters sat steadily at one hundred percent.
Finally, he had received the reward he was truly looking forward to.
Magic Draw.
This time, it was different from before.
He would be randomly acquiring from the Mid-tier Magic Pool.
Mid Rank magic was of great significance to any mage.
It meant real lethality and true battlefield utility.
It meant he could actually call himself a mage, rather than a rookie Apprentice mage who was practically lower than a commoner.
It also meant that in the Adventurer's Guild, people might actually look him in the eye.
He would even draw the attention of those other rookie adventure groups.
This time, the number of reply letters was immense, totaling over four thousand.
Lin Gui was confident he could push at least one Mid Rank magic...
All the way to max Mastery Level.
The drawing process occurred in his consciousness.
It was the same familiar swirling flow of light.
The same familiar system notifications.
Then, the first things to emerge were a bunch of novice spells.
Lin Gui wasn't surprised.
The upgrade to the magic pool simply added Mid Rank magic to the existing novice pool.
He skimmed through those novice spells without stopping.
Aside from the increases in Mastery Level for Spatial Mark and Soul Attachment, which were worth noting, there was nothing particularly special.
Lin Gui’s gaze locked onto the Mid Rank magic further down.
The first Mid Rank magic:
【Mid Rank water-element magic: Water Prison】
【Effect: Condenses water to bind a target; strength increases with mana input.】
The second:
【Mid Rank earth-element magic: Sinkhole】
【Effect: Collapses a localized area of the ground; range is limited.】
The third:
【Mid Rank wind-element magic: Wind Pressure Bomb】
【Effect: Fires compressed air; impact is acceptable.】
Lin Gui’s brow furrowed slightly.
Bad.
Very bad.
Even with chantless casting and stacking them up, the damage wouldn't be as good as Shadow Pierce.
He looked at the final three Mid Rank rewards.
The light settled, and the information emerged.
At first glance, Lin Gui’s evaluation was the same as the three spells above.
Bad, useless.
But...
If he looked at them together...
It was very subtle.
Lin Gui believed the power would at least reach the Transcendent tier.
It might even touch the edges of Legendary magic.
Especially since two of these Mid Rank spells were at max Mastery Level.
It was just that...
If he used them together, while they would cause massive damage to the enemy, they would do the same to him.
If he wasn't careful, he might kill himself before he kills the enemy.
Rate on N.U.
