Raya

"Lin Luo..."

After leaving the church, Melina finally appeared beside Lin Luo.

"Your teacher... doesn't know him, does he..."

"Mm..."

Lin Luo nodded.

"Teacher Topos isn't very confident in himself. He's overly insecure... Maybe it's because of what he went through at the academy. I don't want him to end up with a bad ending..."

"Teacher Topos definitely likes Teacher Sellen... He just doesn't dare admit it himself. After all, the difference in their status is far too great. How could someone others call a worthless stone dare profane a talented sorceress whose portrait deserves to hang in the academy's halls?"

Lin Luo smiled helplessly.

"Only by putting it that way could he better focus on developing his magic..."

"When the time comes... hopefully Teacher Topos definitely won't exhaust himself to death either..."

That last sentence was what Lin Luo thought to himself...

"Is that so..."

Melina wore an "I see now" expression, looking utterly adorable.

"It's getting late. Time to set off. Let's try to reach the academy before nightfall."

Melina nodded and returned to the Site of Grace first.

At that moment, Lin Luo took out the Longtail Cat Charm from his inventory bag. Its effect was simple: it could negate almost all damage from falling. (Definitely different from the game.)

He fastened it to his chest, looked at the cliff dozens of meters below, and jumped without hesitation.

This was actually Lin Luo's first time doing something like this. He wasn't afraid of falling to death; with his demigod physique, it was impossible for a fall to kill him, right?

But the instant he leaped down, Lin Luo regretted it. He had originally planned to do a cool flip in midair before landing gracefully...

The moment he jumped, however, Lin Luo realized he couldn't maintain his balance at all...

Lin Luo flailed his limbs wildly in the air. After a while... he hit the ground... ass-first... The immense impact smashed a deep crater into the earth.

That was with Lin Luo doing his best to control himself. Otherwise, he probably would have landed face-first...

"Hiss!..."

Lin Luo immediately sucked in a sharp breath. Damn, that one really got him... Lin Luo would bet that this hurt worse than the injuries he suffered fighting Godrick before! Ah, no, he hadn't been injured when fighting Godrick.

But that wasn't the point. Melina had seen the whole thing clearly!

There were many ways to die, but this was the most terrifying one!

Lin Luo felt his face heating up, but his intense embarrassment forced him to remain silent...

"Mmgh..."

Lin Luo grunted and struggled to climb to his feet. He grabbed the Longtail Cat Charm on his chest and viciously slammed it onto the ground.

"Pah! Useless piece of junk!"

(Longtail Cat Charm: "I protect you from falling to death, not from doing stupid things!")

Lin Luo slowly took out the Spectral Steed Whistle. Yeah... better ride a horse... otherwise, his butt might not survive.

Naturally, Melina saw everything... But she also understood how embarrassed Lin Luo was right now... so she didn't come out.

Lin Luo took out a bottle of Crimson Tear and drank it. Only after the pain in his butt eased somewhat did he climb onto Torrent's back.

If Lin Luo remembered correctly, one of the academy's keys should be in northwestern Liurnia. A giant dragon guarded that place, a Glintstone Dragon named Smarag.

It wasn't exactly guarding it. Rather, the sorcerer carrying the Glintstone Key had died there, leaving the Glintstone Key behind.

Lin Luo's goal was simple: get the key, storm the academy, and obtain the Great Rune of the Unborn from Rennala...

Lin Luo couldn't be bothered to explore the caves around him. There was nothing good in them anyway.

Hooves raced freely through the shallow pools, splashing sprays of water.

Along the way, quite a few giant lobsters and demi-humans noticed Lin Luo. But after only one glance, they gave up on chasing him. Torrent's speed was no joke.

Before long, Lin Luo passed by a pavilion.

A voice from inside stopped him.

"Hello? You over there?"

The voice was soft, but Lin Luo sensed it clearly.

"Hm?"

Lin Luo pulled on the reins and jumped off the horse. He had to admit, Crimson Tear was very useful. At least his butt didn't hurt as much anymore.

Only when he approached the pavilion did Lin Luo see what the person looked like.

She was a girl, or at least she looked rather young. Her fair face was tinged with two rosy blushes, making her look very cute.

The only flaw was that the girl seemed to be a little hunched over? She bent at the waist and leaned against the pavilion as though she had lost all her strength.

Seeing this familiar person, Lin Luo recalled the memory of this scene.

She should be Raya, the Serpent-man from Volcano Manor...

"Hello... It's a little cold around here..."

Raya looked at Lin Luo, seemingly a little happy.

"I was traveling outside on my mistress's orders... but I was attacked by a thug... I've been worrying about it."

"...Could I trouble you with something?"

Raya looked at Lin Luo, her eyes carrying a trace of pleading.

Lin Luo's expression did not change. He merely nodded lightly.

"That thug I mentioned... he took my necklace... That necklace is very important to me... Could you please help me get it back..."

"However... he is also Tarnished. I'm truly sorry to ask you to fight one of your own kind... If you don't wish to, I won't force you..."

"I can."

"Thank you so much... I'm very happy to have met you..."

"That thug should be resting in the shack up ahead... Please, help me retrieve my necklace..."

"If that's the truth, then I'm certainly willing to help... But! I hope you aren't lying to me... Otherwise..."

Lin Luo only said it calmly. He didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was obvious.

He wasn't the sort of man who couldn't move when he saw a woman, aside from Melina, of course.

Raya was actually a rather innocent girl. Perhaps she was only doing this for her mission, but Lin Luo had to admit that he hated the feeling of being deceived.

If he wasn't mistaken, Raya had likely guided that thug into stealing her necklace... Her purpose was to test passing Tarnished before bringing them back to Volcano Manor.

"This..."

Raya was clearly a little confused. Lin Luo didn't know whether he had exposed her lie or whether she simply didn't understand what he was saying...

He hoped it was the latter...

(Just a guess. The author really likes Raya, and I also really like Shrimp Bro, so don't flame me.)

Lin Luo gave Raya a deep look before finally leaving the pavilion.

"Forget it, I'll help her get the necklace first... That necklace... probably really is important to her..."

Lin Luo sighed. Thinking of Raya's final ending, he felt it was rather regrettable.

"Lin Luo... You seemed... a little angry just now..."

Melina's voice sounded in Lin Luo's mind.

"Not really..."

"I simply hate being plotted against..."

Lin Luo sighed. After being manipulated by the Greater Will so many times, he naturally loathed this sort of thing...

Still, his attitude just now had indeed been a little too extreme.

"Forget it... She's just a little girl. Why argue with her..."

"Melina is still the best to me..."