An Expected Visitor

That noon.

Linsey finished lunch on time and received a small bag of old copper coins.

Following the cultivation method for Life Source Material, he checked his status panel.

Sure enough, an Experience Bar had appeared beneath the Life Source Material entry, though its progress was barely noticeable.

"Cultivating Source Material isn't like learning to read. This is going to be a long, grinding process."

Linsey sighed, then headed out with the copper coins.

Although Red Moon had bought a blanket and snow boots two days ago, that alone was definitely not enough for the extra Linsey to get through the winter.

So she treated it as a small trial.

She had Linsey take the money and travel alone to the town in the Hidden Borderlands to buy the Supplies he needed.

Red Moon explained that someone was being buried today.

She had to watch over the graveyard and tend to the dead, so she could not leave easily.

At the entrance to the little chapel, Red Moon watched Linsey's figure recede down the road until he finally disappeared.

But as the seconds ticked by.

She did not return to the chapel behind her. Instead, she stood at the entrance, silently waiting for something important.

Half an hour later, the expected visitors arrived.

A middle-aged man and woman, along with an elderly gentleman, appeared on the road leading from town.

Their steps were steady, and before long, they arrived before Red Moon.

"Good afternoon, Red Moon Lady."

"Greetings, Lord Anrui, Finn, Dan."

Red Moon greeted the three people before her.

In order, they were Anrui, the town's Lord; Finn, the botanist responsible for the Crops; and Dan, captain of the Hunting Team.

"No need to be so formal. Just call me Anrui."

The town Lord waved it off, and Red Moon led them into the chapel.

The four of them took their seats, tacitly maintaining a distance of at least two meters between one another. An unspoken argument began.

As the local Lord, Anrui spoke first. "Everyone knows that ever since we lost contact with the outside world, the town has been short on manpower."

"And honestly, we don't have someone like an Organizer, the kind of person who can manage everything alone."

"So, to maintain the proper order and ensure everyone can live normally in the future, I believe this young man who arrived here by chance should study the War Arts under me, so he can deal with any crises that may arise."

The town Lord wore coarse cloth clothes.

Though no longer young, he was full of energy and powerfully built.

He sat ramrod straight, with a silver flask hanging at his waist. After finishing, he smiled at the other three, his expression brimming with heartfelt confidence.

But Dan, the Hunting Team captain sitting beside him, could not hold back any longer.

Though this hunter was a woman, her temperament was anything but weak. "Chief, I usually support you. But this time, I think you should give him to me!"

"The Hunting Team hasn't had any fresh blood in a long time. If this keeps up, the food we bring back from hunting will only keep dwindling. That grouse you had last night to celebrate for your child—I only found it after running all the way to traps far to the north!"

Anrui's smiling face immediately darkened.

With a bang, he slapped the chapel chair and rose directly to his feet.

"Hey, wasn't that grouse eaten to celebrate your child?"

"And during this year's Harvest Day, only three people in the entire town awakened. One of them was from your family!"

"You're still not satisfied? You want to steal people from me now?"

The Female Hunter turned away and rolled her eyes.

She no longer confronted her Lord head-on, but she still stubbornly said, "My son is perfectly suited to our family's inherited skills. I will never let him follow in my footsteps and become a hunter who only knows how to burrow into the woods."

"Who cares about your family business?"

Anrui cursed Dan again, then looked toward the silent Red Moon.

He knew she was the key to deciding the new Awakened's future.

"Red Moon, I know he has become your godson."

"But I promise you, that child can stay with me without worry. I'll teach him to the very best of my ability!"

The elderly Nun merely stated in an even tone, "Linsey is a self-awakened individual. He has great talent, and he possesses Life Source Material."

"Then he should follow me even more!"

The moment Anrui heard the words self-awakened and Life Source Material, he nearly leapt out of his seat in excitement.

"Life Source Material like mine, and self-awakened too! Heavens! As long as he walks the path of war, I'll teach him everything I know. I guarantee he can elevate his skills five times and achieve things ordinary people can scarcely imagine!"

Anrui looked around at the other three and emphasized, "And think about it. With that guarantee, even if I die of old age fifty years from now, with this child here, the town can at least endure another two hundred years!"

Among all types of Source Material, Life Source Material was the only kind that could increase one's lifespan early on. Its significance was extraordinary.

Hearing this, Dan immediately muttered from the side, "The Fifth Stage? A genius like that, if placed at the War School headquarters, even Nal Kebandek at the Seventh Stage of Martial Refinement would probably be willing to teach him personally. What kind of extraordinary achievement is elevating skills five times?"

Anrui's hearing was sharp. He immediately shot her a fierce glare.

"Dan, how many times have you elevated your hunting skills?"

The Female Hunter answered righteously, "Three times!"

"Then you can shut up. He won't become a hunter whose upper limit is nothing more than a Forest Guest!"

"For the next month, don't expect to get a single strip of dried meat from your estate!"

"You're threatening me?"

"Where do you expect me to hunt in winter?"

"What about your skills?"

"With only three elevations, of course you can't catch any prey!"

Apart from the two who were bickering.

The botanist Finn was a white-haired old man of advanced age.

He looked at the arguing Anrui and Dan, rubbed his temples, and gave Nun Red Moon a gentle, bitter smile.

"Red Moon Lady, I only hope that my knowledge will not be cut off here."

"And everyone in town needs the Crops to grow well."

Hearing easygoing Finn join the contest.

Anrui immediately broke away from the argument and hurriedly objected to the latter half of Finn's words.

"Finn, haven't you already improved the new crops?"

"As long as the townsfolk cultivate them properly, the grain produced with your skill will absolutely be enough to feed everyone here. Besides, farming has always relied on people's own hard work. The abilities of the Life School are only supplementary."

Finn nodded, acknowledging this, but still did not want to give up. "But Anrui, I truly want my skills to be passed down as well."

"Ever since my teacher left from here, I have been the sole inheritor of his knowledge. If he cannot return, and I die here as well, then this knowledge truly will have no successor."

Anrui saw things completely differently.

"If we all die, your teacher still won't."

"Those heroes who set out on expeditions beyond the Great Hollow are all Ascendants of the Sixth and Seventh Stages. Their lives are tough!"

The wrinkled Finn gave a bitter smile and said no more.

Anrui felt he now held an absolute advantage, so he looked at Nun Red Moon once again. "See? Both of their needs can be solved. Only the town's continuation truly requires a talent like this."

As always, Red Moon shook her head. "My godson is still very young. If he is exposed only to the War Arts at this age... I fear that holding a weapon will make him quick to anger and violence. He could easily be controlled by the arrogance brought by force."

"You think I'd raise someone like that?"

Anrui found this utterly unreasonable.

"If I were truly controlled by desire, then if I insisted on taking that child away today, who in the whole town could stop me?"

Red Moon replied steadily, "You are a good man. But a child's growth is never just that simple."

"I'd rather not be a good man!"

Anrui was helpless before the Nun.

He took the silver flask from his waist and gulped down a mouthful of liquor. Then he leaned back in the chapel chair and narrowed his eyes.

At this point, the three of them had basically concluded that their purpose in coming had ended in failure.

Nun Red Moon's attitude was simply too firm.

They had all shared hardships and relied on one another in the Hidden Borderlands. No one wanted to create a serious conflict over something like this.

But just as the three were ready to give up, Red Moon suddenly spoke.

"My godson is a very clever child, blessed with exceptional talent. Each of you may teach him."

"If he truly wishes to set foot upon a certain path, I believe he will make the right choice."

The chapel fell silent.

The three Awakened seated in separate corners all fell into thought at once.

Under normal circumstances, out of pride in their own skills, they certainly would not have accepted such a proposal.

But the current shortage of Awakened in the town.

Along with each of their own needs.

Forced them to seriously consider this choice.