Unwilling to meet Jefa directly, Romon applied to the Adventurer's Guild to act as an intermediary and repay Jefa's three hundred silver coins. Though it cost him an extra thirty silver coins, he did not care. After all, now that his money had been washed clean, he could produce thousands of gold coins without arousing suspicion.
With that, all his debts had been repaid.
Rika Town. Tax officer Bakasi hurried into the Temple of the Goddess of Agriculture, his face so gloomy it seemed water could drip from it. Along the way, anyone who failed to notice his mood and tried to greet him or flatter him was mercilessly berated. His reasons were endlessly varied: a vegetable leaf stuck between someone's teeth, the color of someone's clothes—anything could give the tax officer cause to fly into a rage.
"Priest Tennis!" After entering the temple, the tax officer removed his hat and bowed. "I have something to discuss with you in private."
Priest Tennis wore the standard priestly smile. "Of course, as you wish, Mr. Bakasi." He gestured for him to follow.
Inside a small room beside the temple, Bakasi carefully shut the door. Then he turned around and said in an extremely sinister tone, "Tennis, that little brat Romon has paid off his debt. Some uncle of his who came out of nowhere left him a huge inheritance. He has money now. Bali from the town's Adventurer's Guild told me so."
Tennis froze, then his face twitched involuntarily. After thinking for a moment, he roared, "Is that so? With money, he can gain legal residency in Aps City. That place is not Rika Town—it is not our territory. We cannot touch him there. We have to lure him back!"
Bakasi roared as well. "That damned Barnel actually dared to take Romon to Aps! The next time his caravan comes through, I'll make things difficult for him, levy heavy taxes on him. I'll let him know that if he offends Bakasi, he can forget about doing business in Rika!"
Tennis said coldly, "Bakasi, Romon's friend Nick and Fafier are both in town. Romon owed Jefa a large sum to treat Nick's injury. He is someone who values loyalty and affection. Cause those people more trouble. There are also Motte and his wife, who run the inn. They took Romon in and treated him well. You can trouble them too. But remember, just hurt them enough. Make them howl in pain and call Romon back!"
Bakasi looked at Tennis and suddenly sneered. "Tennis, are you asking me to play the villain again? Romon is an outsider with no real foundation in town, but good old Motte is different. He is Magistrate Galen's younger brother. Even Fafier's House is different—Fafier's father, Old Bernie, was once a squad leader who died fighting for the lord. I do not want to ruin my reputation in town and then get kicked out of my position as tax officer by the baron! Besides, Romon is a resident of Rika. If he wants to obtain legal residency in Aps, he must return to Rika Town to have the administrative officer process the paperwork. When the time comes, won't I have ways to deal with him?"
Having said that, Bakasi smiled. "Priest, I only came today to tell you this."
The tax officer bowed, put on his hat, and turned to leave.
Priest Tennis remained where he was, his expression dark and uncertain.
Noon arrived in Aps City. The sun hid behind lead-gray clouds, and when people looked up, they could see only a pale disk of light. Yvette did not come to deliver food. Someone else brought it instead. Alec said that Old Vilen had something urgent to do and could not cook, so he had temporarily hired someone to take over.
After finishing three potions, Romon simply returned to his little room and buried himself under the covers to sleep—in truth, he went into the Shennong Horn's space to study herbal medicine.
Night came in an instant. Romon turned over and got out of bed, studied for a while, then observed the space for a time. Gradually, he yawned.
He walked to the window. Outside, a sliver of waning moon hung in the sky. The month was nearly over. After checking the time and deciding it was already late, he climbed back into bed and gradually drifted off.
"Creak..." After an unknown amount of time, the door made an incredibly faint sound, then someone pushed it open.
"Who..." Romon's voice stopped abruptly in his throat.
The visitor wore a large yellowish-brown cloak, with the hood concealing her face. "Shh." She placed one finger against her lips.
"Yvette, what are you doing here so late?" Romon asked softly.
The hood fell back, revealing a cascade of golden hair and a face sculpted like jade beneath the moonlight. It was Yvette.
"Romon, I missed you." Yvette suddenly threw herself into Romon's arms.
"Yvette? What happened?" Romon was startled. He grasped the girl's shoulders, just about to ask more, when a small lilac tongue slipped between his lips like a fish.
"Romon, I love you." Her face flushed, yet she stared boldly into Romon's eyes and spoke with firm conviction, word by word.
"Yvette..." Romon cupped her face in his hands. Her face was flawless, like a full moon.
"Then, Romon, love me." As she spoke, the girl undid the buttons of her cloak, and it slid to the floor.
Romon felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his mind going blank. In the moonlight, the girl's exquisite, youthful body was exposed, like an elf who had stepped out of a classical oil painting. Somewhere in his mind, a string called reason seemed to snap. He stepped forward and pulled her into his embrace...
The night passed. Morning sunlight shone through the window lattice. Romon woke from a deep sleep and yawned. Then he suddenly felt something strange. What dream had he had last night?
It seemed to have been a very passionate dream!
Romon propped his head up with one hand and tried to remember. Then his gaze swept across the room, and he abruptly sprang out of bed. A parchment scroll lay on the table. He hurried over, picked it up, and opened it. There was only one simple sentence written on it: I'm leaving, Romon. If we can meet again someday, remember me.
So last night had not been a dream? Yvette had offered herself to him. The bar had not opened yesterday morning, and the father and daughter had been nowhere to be seen all day. Everything was like scattered pearls threaded together by a single string.
Romon hurriedly dressed and ran toward Old Vilen's bar. When he reached the entrance, the door was closed once again.
Romon wandered outside for a long time before finally sighing and slowly walking back.
Time passed, and spring quietly entered Aps City. Old Vilen's bar in the eastern district had long since changed owners. Though some still remembered Old Vilen's fruit wine and coyote meat, news of Vilen and his daughter's disappearance no longer interested the city's people.
Perhaps Old Vilen had discovered treasure in the bar's cellar and fled overnight with his daughter and the treasure. Perhaps Old Vilen had once been a master thief wanted by another city, and his whereabouts had been exposed, forcing him to flee overnight. Perhaps... perhaps it had nothing to do with Romon at all.
Pasterfield Bay. Once his one-month contract expired, Romon chose not to renew it and simply left Sackville's workshop.
He then found a small inn in a village outside the eastern district near the bay. Like a druid, he meditated on nature and practiced asceticism.
Time flew by like that, and in the blink of an eye, it was January of the following year.
That day, Romon was in a forest by the sea, lying on the grass.
Inside the Shennong Horn, golden radiance bathed everything, while the Light Orb still hung thirty meters in the air.
The entire space was roughly two mu in size, shrouded in a beautiful halo. A small stream divided the field in two. Romon noticed that the fish had not grown much. Perhaps they lacked food?
Maybe I should plant some aquatic grass or something? Romon considered.
The two mu of land were clearly divided in half. One side held thirty fruit trees. As for the genetically modified wheat he had once planted, it had already been harvested. He had not taken it out, merely stored it away. As long as he did not plant it, the seeds could remain viable for a very long time.
The other half was entirely planted with Bluegrass. A faint, barely visible mist with a fresh fragrance drifted throughout the space, nourishing the Bluegrass as well. The Bluegrass grew exceptionally lush and had already matured.
A translucent information panel automatically appeared, floating in his field of vision with a faint glow. A vast amount of data surfaced before Romon's eyes. "Second Level space has reached the requirements for advancement. Advance?"
"Advance!" Romon said excitedly.
The moment the words left his mouth, green light surged forth. The green barrier at the edge of the space suddenly expanded, land emerging from the void. At nearly the same time, the Light Orb grew brighter, and the space expanded upward to fifty meters. The Light Orb rose higher to illuminate the entire space.
Romon examined it and discovered that the space had expanded to around five mu, gaining more than twice as much land.
"Space advancement complete. Plant growth effectiveness increased by five percent. Synchronous resonance initiated. Modifying the master!" As the voice spoke, green light spread again and extended into Romon's body.
When green light appeared around Romon's body, ripples spread through the forest as well. Spring plants stretched their stems and leaves, swaying as tiny motes of green light floated out.
A gentle breeze passed through, and the forest rustled.
It was this rustling that formed a resonance. However, unlike last time, Romon was awake this time. He saw not only the green light from the space, but also threads of green light from the forest slowly flowing into his body.
The green core rapidly revolved, absorbing the green light. Upon reaching a certain limit, there was suddenly a boom, and the green core expanded.
For an instant, Romon felt his green light merge with the entire forest, but it was only an instant. The sensation quickly faded. Once he steadied himself, he heard another voice: "Unknown Bloodline detected within the body. Activate?"
Romon was immediately startled. "What bloodline?"
Another faint point of light suddenly appeared before his eyes and rapidly expanded into a translucent information panel. It floated in his field of vision with a faint glow, but it contained only one sentence: "Unknown Bloodline. Beneficial to natural attributes. Activate?"
Romon scratched his scalp. Could I have the bloodline of some god or demon? His heart filled with anticipation. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Activate!"
His body trembled. The translucent information panel slowly unfolded. "Because you activated the Unknown Bloodline, excessive energy has been consumed. No new skills will be granted by the space this time."
Romon felt somewhat regretful, but he immediately checked.
Name: Romon (Qian Pinji) Race: Human (Unknown Bloodline) Attributes: Strength 11 (10), Agility 15 (10), Constitution 11 (10), Intelligence 13 (10), Perception 15 (10), Charisma 15 (10) Class: First Authority Master of the Space, Second-Level Druid Skill List: Permanently Fixed—Detect Aura Basic Footwork Level 2 Basic Swordsmanship Level 2 Space's innate ability: Can accommodate herbivorous animals!
To test it, Romon later caught a wild rabbit and placed it inside. It could indeed be stored there. He also checked his Heart of Nature. The green light barrier had expanded to around five centimeters, and the core could now generate many more spells. Each day, he could cast five First-Level Druid spells and four zero-level druid spells.
Romon's heart immediately filled with joy. After a long while, he looked at his right palm and slowly clenched it into a fist. "I'm finally a Second-Level Druid."
Every advancement in level brought entirely different influence and status.
Romon got up and went to the Adventurers' Guild in the city to receive certification. He passed without issue. Yet as he left the city with his new class emblem, there was not the slightest joy in his heart. Instead, melancholy surfaced.
Yvette had indeed left without a sound. He had once asked Mage Sackville about it. The old mage had shaken his head with a bitter smile and told him that Vilen had once gone off alone to train for a period of time. When he returned, he had brought back a daughter. As for what had happened during that time, Vilen had never mentioned it.
"One day, we'll meet again," Romon murmured to himself. No matter what, after that strange night, her image had become especially vivid in his mind.
"At Pasterfield Bay, I'll remember practicing swordsmanship with Yvette. I'll remember her wiping my sweat with a handkerchief, and how she used kisses as rewards. In Aps City's eastern district, I'll remember the first time I saw her. I'll remember her bringing me meals and rushing to wash my clothes. At the city market, I'll remember buying her gifts and her look of surprise. I'll remember holding hands with her and wandering aimlessly down the streets..."
"Yvette, I won't forget you. I'm leaving Aps, this city that holds too many memories."
Romon raised his head and strode toward Aps City. Today, Barnel's caravan bound for Rika was waiting for him at the Cramp Trading Company.
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