bookbashuk Page 174
Page 174
"The days without you are unbearable. I spend more and more time reminiscing, and time is no longer my friend, but my enemy... So, my dear Latis, may I die with you?"
[You died, amidst the clamor, and also in the quiet vigil. A giant rose bloomed where it had been, just as you and the half-elf had first tasted the union of life, and together you tasted the union of death… Ah, to have such a confidant, what more could one ask for?]
[This simulation has ended. You are now proceeding to the settlement page...]
[Comment: Perhaps the main theme of this other world is adventure, an endless adventure. Once you set foot on this unfamiliar land, you are destined to spend your life on a dynamic journey. When the dust settles, even someone as powerful as you will eventually be buried in the dust of time… So, your adventure has only just begun, don't stop! Mr. Latis!]
In short, the secrets of this world have finally begun to emerge from your exploration. Perhaps it's like the blind men and the elephant, or perhaps it's the two sides of a golden house... In any case, from the story of Silver Hur to the past of the dwarves, from the gods of Anium to the journey of the magic network, you will eventually become adept at glimpsing traces of the past in the ever-advancing path, because no matter which path you take, it will have its origin.
Thinking about it that way, you've actually caught a good wave. You could miss the prelude to the great changes a century ago, you could miss the fierce clashes of decades ago, but you absolutely cannot miss the explosion of the present… Ah, the world is a grand education and training exercise!
You have gained 2150 Goddess Water points. Current balance: 2300.
You can redeem your currency from the following options:
1. Items obtained in this simulation (value: 700).
2. Skills learned in this simulation (Value: 700).
3. All memories from this simulation (Value: 850).
……
Several minutes later, Latis realized that the simulation had ended.
"What day is it? Oh, the day before I went out with Jennifer to carry out a mission..."
"The simulations are becoming increasingly rich in experience; sometimes it really feels like those adventures actually happened..." He let out a long sigh and glanced at the time. "Moreover, with the increased amount of text, the simulations are taking much longer..."
Latis glanced back at the simulation, pondered for a moment, and muttered to himself:
"This time, even with all the exchanges, there's a surplus, enough for future interdimensional travel or to assist in using integrated strategies in simulations..."
He nodded, considered it in his mind for a moment, and then said in a deep voice:
"Establish the simulators."
[You have obtained the Wind-Fixing Pearl, a photo of young Silver Shul, Musk's Demon-Gathering Tower, the history of the Gold-Eating Dog, the Magic Network Key (Void Ray), the Magic Network Key (Salk), the Shadow Cloak, "Grass Girl Flat-Chested Edition," "Grass Girl Big-Chested Edition," Silver Moon's Notebook, Milut's Necklace, an unknown forum beacon address, the God of Shadow's Divine Power Crystal, 2400 Gold Houses, Runetic's Demon-Gathering Tower, and the Goddess Church Priest's Attire.]
[You have learned the Level 1 combat skills: Dwarven Ultimate Invincible Emperor Storm Hammer, Iron Bull Hammer Forging Technique, and Fishing with Your Back to All Beings.]
[You have learned the following third-circle spells: Shadow Word: Death, Rain of Arrows, Daybreak, Fear, Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Greater Illusion, Slow, Succubus Summoning Circle; fourth-circle spells: Banish, Tentacle Blast; fifth-circle spells: Animate Objects, Force Circle, Dominate Man, Flame Strike; sixth-circle spells: Chain Lightning, Disintegrate, Petrify; seventh-circle spell: Firestorm.]
[You have obtained the Solidification Spell: Goddess's Priestly Ritual]
[You Gained Memories: Ending 1 of the Goddess of Magic Route]
A flood of complex memories rushed into Latis's mind in an instant, causing him to collapse onto the bed with a thud. After what felt like a long dream, he slowly awoke. It took him a while to figure out where he was before he came to his senses.
"Now it's really hard to tell the difference between simulation and reality..."
He covered his head and shook his head, but still didn't regret exchanging the memories.
"I've memorized the exact location of the Dwarven Tower, the map of Yanium's territory shows some shallow underground entrances, and I also know how to operate the Forum Beacon... I think I can even distinguish necromancy magic now? But there definitely isn't any near Lundia..."
Latis sorted through what he had gained from his memories, then looked at the items he had redeemed.
[Wind-Stabilizing Bead: Dwarven technology. It grows larger and taller when exposed to wind, forming a spherical shield to protect against storms. Initially one meter in diameter, it can be enlarged after being infused with magic.]
[A photo of young SilverShuffle: A photograph of SilverShuffle taken around the age of six in front of the Dwarf Tower, with the words "Will this be the end of my journey?" written on the back.]
[Musk's Magic Gathering Tower: A standard, low-level Magic Gathering Tower with a weak ability to store and attract magic energy. It's inscribed with "Recommended Purchase: Special Reduced Version - 50% Off," which is roughly an advertisement from a shady manufacturer, possibly abbreviated as "Twitter."]
[The History of the Gold-Eating Dog: High-purity mithril ore in a solid-liquid intermediate state. Although its shape is not very elegant, it is very suitable for forging magical weapons.]
[Magic Network Key: A key that grants access to the Magic Network's underlying systems. Because it's a copy, it seems impossible for the Goddess to perceive it... Access includes: the Kingdom of Andora and the entire shallow underground region.]
[Shadow Cloak: A cloak for changing clothes, crafted by Holnet using specially made magical materials capable of holding the power of light, after he spent a long time researching the duality of light and darkness underground. Solidified Spell: Shadow Dash (3/3)]
[Grass Girl: Proof of the once-thriving underground idol industry among the dwarves. This magazine featured revealing photos of various types of dwarven female models, selling eight million copies in ten years—enough to circle the continent of Atlantis twice.]
[Silver Moon's Journal: A collection of notes taken by Silver Hugh during his childhood while accompanying his mother on field surveys and research trips. It includes a few diary entries.]
[Milt's Necklace: An ornament left behind by Silverhuel in the dwarven ruins, it was the only birthday gift Milt gave to Silverhuel.]
[Unknown Forum Beacon Address: A beacon address obtained while working at the Goddess Church, originating from the destroyed "Hand of the Mage" beacon, and currently undiscovered.]
[The Crystallization of the Shadow God's Power: A crystallization of divine power accidentally obtained during the purge of the gods of Yanium. Although the power struggles between the gods have nothing to do with you, that doesn't stop you from finding bargains at bargain markets.]
[Runetik's Magic Gathering Tower: A particularly advanced magic gathering tower, resembling a remastered and upgraded version of Musk's Magic Gathering Tower, possessing the functions of storing, attracting, and repelling magic energy.]
[Church priest attire: A heavy priest's robe, elaborately decorated, but thankfully doesn't hinder movement; it has numerous pockets, directly addressing a pain point for male travelers.]
"This trip has actually given me some new fashion items..."
Latis took out all the items and tried on the priest's robe.
"It fits quite well, but I still prefer the hooded coat that Art gave me... However, it looks even more sinister with the Shadow Cloak, like I'm about to shout 'I'm Batman'..."
Latis muttered a few words, took off his priest's robe, and after examining the other items, stuffed them all into the interdimensional rift, leaving only the Shadow Cloak on the table.
"I'm going to see the dwarf boss tomorrow, so I'll ask her if I can use the Gold-Eating Hound's spell... Speaking of which, my spells are getting more and more complete. During this simulation, Arte really did a good job of writing the spell formulas for me... But even for her, it would be difficult to find the formulas for spells above the sixth ring. So it seems that casting spells through the magic network is actually easier at this stage?"
He imagined the final battle between the Queen and the Magic Net, then shook his head.
"Even the magic network isn't necessarily safe; true security lies in possessing your own strength... Since things have come to this, let's go to sleep! Hmm?"
A fluctuation in the interdimensional space caught Latis's attention. He quickly pulled out the two vibrating objects and examined them closely.
"The Shadow God's divine power crystal and... Yashutia's lich phylum?! Why are these two reacting? I thought the phylum had become just a decoration after leaving the simulation..."
He scratched his head, picked up the divine power crystal, and circled it around the life box, actually feeling a trace of attraction.
"what's going on?"
Latis stroked his chin, carefully sensing the sensation.
"Never mind, I don't understand anything anyway, and I didn't feel any danger..."
He attached the divine power crystal to the life box, and the next second, the life box emitted a black wave that instantly absorbed the divine power crystal.
"Holy crap, Yashutia can even eat that much from the Life Box?"
Latis couldn't help but complain. He lifted the Life Box, shook it from side to side, and put his ear to it to listen for a while, but he didn't hear anything.
He looked at the Fate Box, which was still emitting a faint black fluctuation. Right under his nose, the Fate Box swelled up and exhaled a breath of black gas, like a burp.
"Forget it, never mind. Although this thing seems just as unreliable as Yashutia, it shouldn't be dangerous..."
Latis placed the life box on the table for easy observation, then yawned and lay down on the bed.
Goodnight, Lundia!
He glanced at the deep night outside the window, grinned, and silently recited to himself.
Chapter 193 A Day in the Life of Artemis
Artemis suddenly woke up from her sleep.
"what……"
The throbbing pain felt like ice had formed on her chest. The beating of her heart forced the cold blood to every part of her body, and the affected veins, besides trembling, were left with only a gradually cooling, itchy sensation.
Artemis collapsed by the bed. She took a deep breath, propped herself up, stumbled to the table, tore open the magic notebook, and began writing furiously, almost pressing her entire upper body against it.
Only when the remaining images in her mind seemed to have been drained away did she finally give up the tug-of-war with the memories that were frantically slipping away from her consciousness. After choking back tears and trying to calm her intermittent breathing, she opened her eyes.
"I am..."
The half-elf hastily wiped away the tears on his face, then lowered his head blankly to examine the words he had just written.
“What do these words mean: ‘Latis,’ ‘future,’ ‘Queen,’ ‘dilemma,’ ‘bloodline,’ ‘death’? Why am I dreaming about these things…”
She picked up the magic notebook, sat down in the chair, lowered her eyes, and silently recited:
"It seems I had a similar experience before, but I had almost forgotten about it... Could the content of these two dreams be the same? I have no idea..."
“But it’s certain that they’re all related to my elder brother.” The half-elf’s eyes sharpened as she thought of this; for her, anything related to Latis was the most important thing.
She closed her notebook, walked to the window, looked at the still-dark sky, and murmured:
"Is it a prophecy or a warning? Is it an ability that unexpectedly appeared in me, or is it because my older brother did something that made me perceive these things?"
The half-elf recalled the many wonders that had happened to Latis, a slight smile playing on his lips, convinced that these were the mysterious abilities of his beloved.
“This is not a prophecy,” she told herself firmly. “I will give my brother the best future I can give him, even if it means sacrificing my soul.”
She remained silent for a while, sorting through her conjectures from the meager information available. Just as she was about to go back to bed and wait for dawn, she suddenly leaned over and looked out the window, as if sensing something.
In the dim light, the existing flowers and grasses, the buried ancient tree species, and the already lush trees were growing rapidly. The magical mist that filled the sky above the mage territory was slowly fading, only to be filled again by the magical mist released from the spire walls.
"Eh?"
The half-elf stepped out of the room and was momentarily stunned to see that the roses he had planted on the mage's leaning tower flower stand had begun to grow rapidly.
"I can't sleep... so let's tidy up the mage territory before it gets overgrown with messy vegetation."
She made a decision immediately. The magic book on her waist moved automatically without wind, and a pair of magical wings appeared on her back. She then flapped her wings and flew rapidly towards the forest in the mage territory.
……
……
"Gaia! Didn't we notify them in advance to remove the Nako-bud flowers from the house?! This is already the third mage tower to collapse! Refuse to accept the report, refuse to accept the report!"
"Did Mage Tower 2345 register beforehand that it would be conducting plant experiments? Someone has already reported that the tower is spewing out graffiti like crazy! Go and clean it up!"
"Wait, why would they plant so many Ghost Head Mushrooms in their own mage territory? Are they trying to hybridize them into Ancient Vajra Giant Mushrooms? Just send these mage territories to be cleaned up, don't upload magical images to pollute my eyes!"
The monk at the front desk of the Dharma Association, grumbling and cursing, picked up the next application form. After reading only a few lines, he slammed his fist on the table, stood up, and started yelling:
"Trying to plant potions during a magic surge, only to unearth a magic network node's cable? Is this something a normal mage would do? What kind of plant requires digging five meters underground? Damaging a magic network node and illegally altering the terrain of Lundia—two crimes combined, get him in jail!"
The receptionist's chest heaved, clearly angered by the Lundian mages. After trying to calm herself down for a few seconds, she was about to sit down and continue her work when a black hooded coat suddenly appeared in front of her.
She looked up at the person's face, and when she saw the pointed ears, she was immediately startled.
Descendants of the Elves?
The receptionist, his expression hardening, asked with a mixture of curiosity and caution:
Hello, how can I help you?
Artemis withdrew her gaze from the interior decorations of the Mage Guild and said with a smile:
"I am the owner of Mage Tower No. 3610. I am here to register."