Hope

"According to the records, most of the main members of the Expedition Team were at the sixth or Seventh Stage. Even the awakened ones who led the team were clearly at the Eighth Stage."

Linsey murmured to herself.

Under the watchful eyes of the Stellaris in the night sky, he walked westward into the town.

Night had fallen, and a bright moon cast its radiant light on the town's cobblestone streets. The pure white and the dark cracks in the stones overlapped and spread, creating a quiet corridor dappled with light and shadow.

Linsey's mind suddenly calmed down.

The bright moon guided him among the countless Stellaris, and the houses in the towns on both sides seemed to breathe.

My truest thoughts just came to mind.

We must find a solution to this problem as soon as possible.

Otherwise, everything Hidden Borderlands, everything Linsey knew and was familiar with, and even himself, would perish.

Linsey couldn't even confirm the current situation of Anville Village, let alone another Border Town! At this moment, Linsey only had one thing on his mind.

In people's current understanding, no one in the Hidden Borderlands could defeat the Dragon Beast of Black Mountain, and the Expedition Team that had been gone for a hundred years could not be the one to ask for help.

Can the Expedition Team deal with the Dragon Beast? Of course they can.

According to records, in order to ensure the success of the expedition as much as possible, they did not leave behind any powerful weapons that could be used to deal with the Dragon Beast.

But this does not mean that the Expedition Team left no physical remains here.

There's one right in Linsey.

Under the pitch-black night sky, the Lighthouse Clock Tower stands majestically on the World's Edge, like a giant that has been sleeping for a hundred years, waiting for the Expedition Team to return, and then opening its bright single eye to guide them.

"Isn't this Lighthouse something left behind by the Expedition Team?"

Linsey recalled her experience three years ago when she first arrived in the Hidden Borderlands.

I also remembered the crystal core that served as a beacon, placed atop the Lighthouse.

Linsey didn't even touch it with his hands; the crystal gave him a sense of destruction that could burn everything.

The winter night was bitterly cold.

There was no one guarding the Lighthouse below, and Linsey easily broke the lock before walking up.

Before him, the beige crystal remained within the silver lamp.

It is exactly the same as it was three years ago.

[Rare Item: Ancestor Spirit Core]

[The Ancestral Spirit failed to advance to the Seventh Stage and died, leaving behind Source Material Core containing boundless energy. This Ancestor Spirit Core is extremely dangerous; any awakened being below the Sixth Stage will die upon touching it.]

This core is inscribed with a special incantation, transforming its internal energy into a perpetual coordinate system that provides guidance. It is recommended that this product be sold to a buyer who can access the Ancestor Spirit Core.

"The core left behind by a failed Seventh Stage Ancestral Spirit advancement. Anyone below the Sixth Stage of awakening will die upon touching it."

Linsey murmured the product description that appeared before her eyes.

This Ancestor Spirit Core, which serves as a guiding beacon, was once left here by a prominent figure in the Expedition Team. Its inherently violent nature prevents any weakling from touching it.

But this also means one thing—power.

Linsey, at only Third Stage, certainly wouldn't recklessly try to grab the Ancestor Spirit Core with his bare hands, and automatic pickup wouldn't be able to capture the rare object either.

Linsey casually took out wood and iron pipes from her bag.

He tried to use these tools to contact the Ancestor Spirit Core, but the moment he touched the crystal, the power on the surface of the crystal instantly incinerated the object in Linsey's hand.

It seems that only the silver lamp attached to the Lighthouse can bear its existence.

Linsey used her skill to examine the Silver Lamp again and found that it had also been modified; once its position was moved, its function of binding the Ancestor Spirit Core would be lost.

"How is this thing normally stored and transported?"

Linsey scratched her head.

Just then, a dark cloud drifted by, obscuring the moonlight above the Lighthouse.

Standing atop the pitch-black Lighthouse, Linsey saw only the Ancestor Spirit Core gleaming before him, seemingly foreshadowing some kind of change.

"Call--"

"Can this thing be used to deal with seventh-tier Dragon Beast?"

Linsey took a deep breath.

He asked himself the question and received an affirmative answer.

"If I take it away, will the Expedition Team lose the coordinates when they return?"

Linsey asked herself the question again and received an affirmative answer.

"But if I do nothing and leave it here, letting the Hidden Borderlands perish, can it still serve as a Lighthouse?"

Linsey finally asked herself a question and received a vague answer.

"..."

"Yes, that's where hope lies."

After asking herself three questions, Linsey had no more hesitation.

While other items couldn't help him retrieve the Ancestor Spirit Core, Linsey's equipment, including the Eight-Claw Spider Silk Hook belonging to the [Game Player] system, had the ability to grab items.

So he waved his hand, and white spider silk shot out from behind him.

Snap—

Boom! In an instant, the white spider silk ignited in the air.

He quickly removed the Eight-Claw Spider Silk Hook and threw the functional device on the ground.

Swoosh—

Almost the next second, the [Eight-Claw Spider Silk Hook] turned to ashes.

Even with only a brief contact, the faint power leaked from the Ancestor Spirit Core was enough to destroy the equipment, while also leaving a spiderweb-shaped flame mark on the floor.

"But it's worth it."

Linsey didn't care about the loss.

Because the moment the spider silk made contact with the Ancestor Spirit Core, the crystal also disappeared from the silver lamp and is now lying obediently in a compartment of the baggage.

Dark clouds drifted across the sky.

The moonlight shone on the Lighthouse again, and Linsey's surroundings turned white.

Right there on the Attribute Panel, he tried to transfer the [Ancestor Spirit Core] to the Workbench.

[1 Ancestor Spirit Core + 10 Advanced Metal + 3 Constellation Fragment = Eternal Solar Corona Sword]

[1 Ancestor Spirit Core + 3 Advanced Metal + 1 Divine Statue + 3 Advanced Gem = Ancestor Spirit · Ancient Crown]

[1 Ancestor Spirit Core + 15 Titanium Alloy + 1 Advanced Gem Powder = Ancestor Spirit's Death · Ascension · Splendor Bullet]

[1 Ancestor Spirit Core + 1 Nature Core + 1 Divinity + 30 Advanced Metal + 7 Advanced Gem = Faith · Eternity · Full Authority Domain Staff]

"..."

What about the Eternal Solar Corona Sword, the Ancient Crown, or the Staff of Total Authority?

Linsey paid no attention to any of these extraordinary items just by their names; he focused solely on one of the synthesis formulas.

[1 Ancestor Spirit Core + 15 Titanium Alloy + 1 Advanced Gem Powder = Ancestor Spirit's Death · Ascension · Splendor Bullet]

Just from the name Linsey, you can tell that this is a type of ammunition.

Moreover, it is a super ammunition transformed from the Ancestor Spirit Core that failed to advance to the Seventh Stage!

"Black Mountain... Dragon Beast... Seventh Stage"

Linsey clenched her fists.

He looked around, his lips moving, but he didn't know what to say.

There was an urge to shout it out.

He then walked to the edge of the Lighthouse, turned over and sat down, looking towards the empty World Border to the west.

The edge of this world is only two hundred meters away from where he is now.

A hundred years ago, the Expedition Team members who left this place must have left behind the Ancestor Spirit Core simply as a beacon for their return. After all, Black Mountain had not yet been occupied by the Dragon Beast, let alone any tools to deal with them.

However, in a coincidental and wonderful way.

This strange object, which serves as Lighthouse and coordinates, has become the greatest hope for killing the Dragon Beast at this moment.

Linsey gazed at the boundless sky.

But as his gaze fell upon the ground below the Lighthouse, a new question arose in his mind, "This distance... something's not right."

This morning, Linsey was still looking through materials, searching for hope of dealing with the Dragon Beast.

One passage in particular is very clear.

Before setting off, the Expedition Team built this Lighthouse a little over a hundred meters from the World's Edge. But now, Linsey is looking down.

At the World's Edge, the distance to the Lighthouse is clearly more than two hundred meters!