An Unforgettable Night

"Hey, hey—the big brother with no shirt on—" Grand Duke Veil Nas called out to Tiadam. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"W-What?" Tiadam looked toward Veil Nas and saw a noble "young lady" who was both adorable and somewhat willful. Her oval face retained a trace of childishness, her mismatched eyes gleamed like gemstones, and pale lipstick coated her rose-petal lips.

"Big brother—" Veil Nas waved at Tiadam. "You're amazing—want to be my boyfriend?"

"Huh???" Veil Nas's words left Tiadam both startled and flattered. After pausing for a moment, he glanced at the Forest Elves lying on the floor and realized that this noble young lady was anything but ordinary.

"Sorry, but I already have a girlfriend—" Tiadam picked up his clothes from the floor and called out to Veil Nas. "And I need to find my brother now. Let's talk about this another day—"

"Is that so?" Veil Nas gave a strange smile, then unsteadily climbed onto the balcony railing. Pale gauze wrapped around her beneath her dark gold gown, while her pink heels glimmered with an unusual color under the banquet hall lights.

"Oh dear—" Veil Nas theatrically fell from the balcony.

"Hey—" Tiadam rushed forward and caught Veil Nas as she fell from the second floor.

"What are you trying to do? Kill yourself?"

"Sir Hero... I wasn't trying to kill myself..." A blush rose to Veil Nas's face as she gently rested her head against Tiadam's chest. Then the man's throat bobbed...

"Lady Dilanna—" The two maids guarding the banquet hall entrance folded their arms over their chests like a pair of door guardians. "Hello—"

"Has the descendant of the Hero arrived?" Dilanna asked from her wheelchair.

"He has—"

"Arrived—"

"The Grand Duke is—"

"Personally receiving him—"

The way the two maids spoke truly left Deanna helpless. She complained, "Could you two please consider other people a little when you talk? That way of breaking up your sentences is really painful to listen to."

"Mm—" After exchanging looks for two seconds, the two maids said, "We can—"

Deanna: "Uh..."

"Very well. Since the descendant of the Hero has arrived and the Grand Duke is receiving him, I shall not intrude any longer..." Dilanna handed the golden spider hairpin in her arms to the two maids. "Once everything is over, report to the Grand Duke that Lady Oyana has visited. Lady Oyana hopes the Grand Duke will keep this hairpin as a token of friendship between them."

"Yes—" The two maids knelt on one knee and accepted the spider hairpin Dilanna handed them.

A shooting star streaked across the pitch-black sky. The faithful knelt devoutly outside the church, lighting their prayer candles and reciting the grace of the Supreme God.

"May the Supreme God bless us—may the Supreme God bless us—our city and our homes will surely remain safe." The faithful bowed their heads and prayed. "I have seen mountains and rivers turn into ravines. I have seen river water flow backward. All of this is the wrath of the Supreme God... The Supreme God said one must not be greedy, for the greedy shall be burned. The Supreme God said one must not steal, for thieves shall be drowned..."

"May the Supreme God bless us—"

The chains inside the church were unlocked, and priests and monks emerged gracefully from their private quarters. They held domed crosses and holy books in their hands—noble and sacred. Their white vestments seemed dyed with milk, and under the dim candlelight, the priests appeared to possess extraordinary divine power as they shouted, "In the name of the Supreme God, we are all newly spared from disaster—"

"Priests—"

"The priests have appeared—"

"Everyone, look! The priests have brought us the revelation of the Supreme God—" The arrival of the priests stirred the commoners praying at the foot of the church steps.

"The Supreme God has bestowed divine will upon His Eminence Cardinal Labrador—" The priests' voices echoed through the empty church. "A Hero shall emerge from within Canfor! He was once a bandit, scum, a poor man—"

The priests' voices were far closer to the Supreme God than the prayers of the poor...

"But the Supreme God forgave him—and bestowed upon him the supreme mission of driving back monsters—"

The Cardinal's hands were far closer to the Supreme God than the faith of priests and monks...

"With a voice more pleasant than that of a bard, the Supreme God told His Eminence Cardinal Labrador the Hero's name—"

"Tiadam—" The name of this bandit echoed throughout Canfor.

"Like a game of cat's cradle..." Eliyi sat atop the towering city gate, observing the abnormalities both inside and outside Canfoer City.

Decayed, rotting undead monsters shuffled toward Canfor's interior. They clung to the Holy Wall in clumps like insect eggs, while their source was a filthy yellow-green swamp.

This place, which continuously hatched monsters, was less than a kilometer from Canfor. Leichina was submerged within it.

"Monster—"

"Monster—"

"Monster—"

The two words echoed endlessly through the deep mire. Leichina kept his eyes tightly shut, his entire body curled into a ball. He could neither believe nor accept this reality.

When everyone encounters advertisements like "Are you a real person?", there is no need to pay attention to them. Just close them. Do not scan codes or send text messages!

"Fanafuna... where are you..." Leichina could feel the abnormality within himself. Those terrifying things were crawling out of his body. They had no emotions, no consciousness, and were forever hungry. They hated all living things and swore to chew apart, bite to pieces, and swallow every person they saw.

"Fanafuna... where are you... where are you... I'm scared... I'm scared... scared of becoming something so terrifying—"

"Leichina—" Denolan jolted awake from his nightmare.

"Strange... why... did I dream about Leichina..." Denolan pressed a hand to his forehead, trying hard to recall the dream he had just experienced.

"That... felt so... real..." Denolan slowly rose from the ground. All around him were mirrors that had been smashed to pieces.

"Yo—good morning, friend." Eliyi came from the side with the door.

Bright yellow sunlight shone upon the mirror shards, illuminating the entire room. The pale blue door had a golden handle, and within those shattered mirrors seemed to lurk another face.

"How did you sleep last night?" Eliyi tossed Denolan the Twin Lantern he had bought earlier.

"I feel like... I slept terribly..." Denolan caught the Twin Lantern and walked out of the room full of glass shards. "Yesterday, Archmage Dilanna locked me in this room... and never came back afterward..."

"I don't know whether my business deal went through..." Denolan rubbed his eyes, but the exhaustion refused to fade. "Could it be that the Archmage doesn't want to do business with us..."

"Tiadam has already settled the business for us, so don't worry." Eliyi spoke with some satisfaction. "As for you... being trapped in that room was Dilanna's test for you."

"A test... what kind of test?" Denolan was utterly confused. "Was it a test related to business?"

"Your imagination is terrible. There are other things besides business that can be tested..." Eliyi leaned against the door. "The door behind me is called the Chaos Mirror. The space inside it is a tool specifically used to test human magical aptitude."

"Testing magical aptitude?!" A glint flashed through Denolan's eyes. "Then the Archmage's purpose in testing my magical aptitude is—"

"She wanted to see whether you have enough magical aptitude for her to take you as an apprentice..." Eliyi opened the Chaos Mirror door again, and the space within returned to its former state.

"The mirror space inside was created by Dilanna in imitation of Elemental Wonderland in the magical city of Mitilous. Through these mirrors, one can discover the source most compatible with them. The amount of time you take to pass through the mirror space represents how much magic you can obtain from that source, and magical capacity is what is known as spell strength."

"Oh~" Denolan nodded as if he understood.

"Generally, the greater someone's spell strength, the less time they take to pass through the mirror space." Eliyi closed the Chaos Mirror. "Conversely, the longer someone takes to pass through it, the weaker their spell strength."

"But... I slept in there all night..."

"Then rest assured—most people can't use magic anyway, so there's no need to feel inferior." Eliyi patted Denolan on the shoulder in consolation. "But most of the people you deal with afterward will be mages... You'd better be careful."

Denolan: "Eh..."

"There may also be some high-level demons or witches..." Eliyi said with a sincere gaze.

Denolan: "Then I..."

"Enough. Your task now is to find Tiadam. He's in the banquet hall, and he should be about awake by now—" Eliyi said as he turned his back.

"Then where are you going? Aren't you coming with me to find Tiadam?" Denolan asked.

"I have something to discuss with the owner of this estate. After you find Tiadam, I may have to trouble you to carry him back."

"What happened to Tiadam... Why do I have to carry him? Don't tell me!!!" Denolan's heart sank as he involuntarily imagined the worst.

"You'll know when you see him in person. After all, 1v51 is quite a feat for a man." Eliyi turned and left.

"Quite a feat for a man..." After hearing Eliyi's words, Denolan immediately realized that the Forest Elves from last night were no ordinary people.

"Those Forest Elves hate humans... and they're skilled in magic..." Remembering what those elves had looked like last night made Denolan shudder. "They had such cute faces, yet such terrifying eyes. Those eyes... those eyes looked like they wanted to kill every human..."

"Tiadam couldn't have been killed by them already, could he..." Denolan began analyzing things to himself. "No... no... Mister Eliyi came here, which should mean the Forest Elves have reached an understanding with him. If they reached an understanding, then Tiadam, as Eliyi's subordinate, should still be alive..."

"But 1v51 means..." Denolan suddenly understood. "It must be... it must be... Tiadam must have covered his friend's retreat, holding off fifty enemies alone. Then some representative among the Forest Elves admired his courage and invited Mister Eliyi, the one behind the scenes, to discuss the Dragonblood Gem."

"Yes—it has to be that!" Denolan felt that he was getting closer and closer to the truth. "That so-called Archmage Dilanna is merely a puppet of the Forest Elves. The one truly establishing a cooperative relationship with us must be some important figure among the Forest Elves."

"If that's the case... then Tiadam really... you've suffered..." Denolan wiped the tears from his eyes. He could vaguely sense how much Tiadam had sacrificed for this cooperation. "Thank you. Whether your arms and legs are broken or you've been beaten into a cripple, I... I'll definitely carry you back! I'll definitely, definitely hire the best witch and buy the best healing scrolls to treat your wounds. Wait for me—Tiadam, my good brother!"

Nolan followed the route in his memory back to the banquet hall. Before opening the doors, he took a deep breath.

"Phew—judging by what those Forest Elves were like yesterday, Tiadam must have been beaten half to death by now. Maybe it's even worse! Covered in shit and piss, his guts spilling out..." Denolan imagined Tiadam's miserable state so that he could be mentally prepared for every possible emergency once he opened the doors.

"Tiadam—Tiadam, I'm here to save you—" Denolan shouted as he threw open the hall doors.

"Then thanks, brother—" Tiadam replied to Denolan's goodwill as he lay sprawled in the middle of the Forest Elves. "Last night was really exhausting."

Holy light surrounded the red-haired man, his face was covered in lip prints, and the scent of Nanstone Grass filled the air.

"1v51... so that's... what it meant..."

"Denolan, my legs are numb. Please carry me for part of the way back to the inn."

"Oh... o-okay..."