That noon.
Linsey finished lunch on time and received a small pouch of old copper coins.
Following the cultivation method for Life Source Material, he checked his Attribute Panel.
Sure enough, an Experience Bar had appeared after the Life Source Material entry, though its progress was barely noticeable.
"Cultivating Essence isn't like learning to read. This is going to be a long, grinding process."
Linsey remarked, then left with the copper coins.
Although Red Moon had bought a blanket and snow boots two days ago, that alone was nowhere near 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 head alone to the town in the Hidden Borderlands to purchase the supplies they needed.
Red Moon, meanwhile, said 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 vanished from sight.
Yet as the seconds ticked by.
She did not return to the chapel behind her. Instead, she remained 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 from the road leading to town.
Their steps were steady, and before long, they arrived before Red Moon.
"Good afternoon, Madam Red Moon."
"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 who tended the crops; and Dan, captain of the Hunting Team.
"No need to be so formal. Just call me Anrui."
The town's Lord waved a hand, and Red Moon led them into the chapel.
The four took their seats, tacitly keeping at least two meters apart. A dispute that everyone understood without saying so began.
As the local Lord, Anrui spoke first. "Everyone knows that since we lost contact with the outside world, the town has begun running short on manpower."
"And frankly, we don't have an Organizer-type person who can manage everything alone."
"So, to maintain the necessary order and ensure everyone can live normally in the future, I believe that young man who arrived here by chance should study War Arts under me, so he can face any crises that may arise."
The town's Lord wore a coarse linen outfit.
Though he was no longer young, he was full of energy and powerfully built.
He sat ramrod straight, with a silver flask hanging at his waist. After speaking, he smiled at the other three, his expression brimming with genuine confidence.
But Dan, the captain of the Hunting Team seated beside him, quickly lost patience.
Though this hunter was a woman, she was anything but soft-tempered. "Boss, I usually support you. But this time, I think you should give him to me!"
"The Hunting Team hasn't had any fresh blood join in a long time. If this keeps up, the food we get from hunting will definitely keep dwindling. That grouse you ate last night was something I found only after going 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 to his feet.
"Hey, wasn't that grouse eaten to celebrate your child?"
"And this 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 snatch people from me now?"
The Female Hunter turned her face away and rolled her eyes.
She no longer confronted her Lord directly, but she still stubbornly said:
"My son is perfectly suited to our family's inherited craft. I absolutely won't 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 at the silent Red Moon.
He knew that she was the key to deciding where the new Awakened would go.
"Red Moon, I know he has become your godson."
"But I promise you, the child can stay with me without worry. I'll teach him with everything I have!"
The elderly Nun merely stated in an even tone:
"Linsey is a Self-Awakening individual with great talent, and he possesses Life Source Material."
"Then he should follow me even more!"
Hearing the terms Self-Awakening and Life Source Material, Anrui nearly jumped up in excitement.
"Life Source Material just like mine, and he awakened on his own! Heavens! As long as he takes the path of war, I'll teach him everything I know. I guarantee he'll elevate his skills five times and achieve things ordinary people can scarcely imagine!"
Anrui looked at the other three and stressed his words. "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 Essence, 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, "Fifth Stage? If a genius like this were at the headquarters of the War School, even Nal Kebandek's Seventh Stage Martial Refinement would probably be willing to teach him personally. Elevating his skills five times—how is that some achievement beyond ordinary people?"
Anrui had sharp hearing and immediately shot her a fierce glare.
"Dan, how many times have your hunting skills been elevated?"
The Female Hunter answered righteously:
"Three times!"
"Then you can shut up. He won't become a hunter whose limit is merely being a Forest Guest!"
"For the next month, don't expect to get a single strip of dried meat at 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 an elderly man with graying hair.
He looked at the arguing Anrui and Dan, rubbed his temples, and gave Nun Red Moon a gentle, bitter smile.
"Madam Red Moon, I only hope that my knowledge will not end here."
"And everyone in town needs the crops to grow healthily as well."
When the good-natured Finn joined the competition.
Anrui immediately broke away from the argument and hurriedly objected to the latter half of Finn's statement.
"Finn, haven't you already improved the new crops?"
"As long as the townsfolk cultivate them properly, the grain produced at your level will be more than enough to feed everyone here. Besides, farming has always depended 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 do want my craft to be passed down."
"After my teacher left from here, I became the sole inheritor of his knowledge. If he cannot return and I die here as well, then this technique will truly have no one left to inherit it."
Anrui saw things entirely differently.
"If we all die, your teacher won't."
"Those brave warriors who went on an expedition beyond the Great Hollow are all Sixth or Seventh Stage Ascenders. They're tough as nails!"
Finn's wrinkled face formed a bitter smile, and he said nothing more.
At this point, Anrui felt that he held an absolute advantage, so he looked to Nun Red Moon again. "See? Both of their needs can be solved. Only the continuation of the town truly needs someone this talented."
As always, Red Moon shook her head. "My godson is still young. If he only comes into contact with War Arts at this age... I fear that with a weapon in hand, he may become easily angered and violent. He could easily be controlled by the arrogance that strength brings."
"You think I would 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 entire town could stop me?"
Red Moon replied steadily:
"You are a good person. But a child's growth is never just that simple."
"I'd rather not be a good person!"
Anrui was helpless before the Nun.
He removed the silver flask from his waist and took a fierce swig. Then he leaned back in the chapel chair and narrowed his eyes.
By this point, the three had basically concluded that the purpose of their visit had ended in failure.
After all, Nun Red Moon's attitude was far too firm.
They had shared hardship and relied on one another in the Hidden Borderlands. No one wanted to cause a major conflict over something like this.
But just as the three were ready to give up, Red Moon suddenly spoke.
"My godson is a very intelligent child, blessed with extraordinary talent. Each of you may teach him separately."
"If he truly wishes to take a certain path, I believe he will make the right choice."
The chapel fell silent.
The three Awakened seated in its corners all sank into thought at once.
Under normal circumstances, out of pride in their own crafts, they certainly would not have accepted such a proposal.
But the town's current shortage of Awakened.
And their individual needs.
Forced them to seriously consider this choice.
Before you continue