Messenger

Warm sunlight spilled through the crack in the door, casting a long strip of light across the floor. The rotten smell in the air had faded considerably, and the eerie chill of the darkness receded at this time as well.

Lincon jolted awake, his sharp eyes immediately surveying his surroundings.

The memories of last night surfaced in his mind, filling him with vigilance.

He had actually fallen asleep—and slept so deeply.

"Dave, how long was I asleep?"

"You slept for ten hours, sir." The same unchanging mechanical female voice came from his wristwatch.

"That long?" Lincon frowned.

Although he had not slept so comfortably in a long time, such a thing was absolutely unacceptable in this era.

Third Law of the Laws of Darkness: Remain vigilant at all times, even while sleeping.

But...

Lincon's gaze fell on the workbench before him.

In the earthen pot atop it, a cluster of golden flower buds stood proudly erect.

Faint motes of light in the air were being absorbed by them. The centers of the buds had opened slightly, as though they were about to bloom.

"What happened yesterday wasn't a dream."

Lincon's eyes lit up. He reached out and touched the buds, feeling a surging vitality from them.

A panel appeared before him, largely the same as the one he had seen last night. However, there was a slight change to the level beneath Plant Cultivator.

It now read "Beginner Level 1."

"My Plant Cultivator level rose because I used Accelerated Growth to ripen the plants?"

"No wonder I feel unusually energetic."

Lincon pulled up the notification log and checked the attributes that had increased after leveling up.

Then he turned his attention back to the plants.

The Sunlight Sunflowers were packed tightly together, looking extremely crowded.

"The pot's too small. I need to plant them outside."

Lincon pushed open the door, allowing the sunlight outside to flood the room.

He picked up a hoe and went outside. In the yard of the house where he lived, he planted the Sunlight Sunflowers and the Sunlight Man-Eater.

The moment the Sunlight Sunflowers came into contact with sunlight, their buds swayed as if alive. Their petals unfurled one by one, revealing the golden stamens within.

Lincon stared at the Sunlight Sunflowers as faint streams of consciousness emerged in his mind.

Happiness, warmth...

These feelings constantly flowed toward him, with the Man-Eater Flower's being the most distinct.

The Sunlight Man-Eater seemed to gleam with golden light. Under the sun, it grew at a visible rate until it was nearly as tall as a person.

The Man-Eater Flower looked somewhat like the man-eating plants from movies, but it was more inconspicuous. Its stem was as thick as an adult's forearm, with leaves as large as banana leaves growing from it.

As long as its mouth was closed, it merely looked like a huge, strange plant.

The Sunlight Sunflowers gradually grew to half a person's height as well, facing the sun overhead and continuously absorbing and condensing Sunlight.

"Looks like you really suffered in that little pot last night!"

Lincon let out a soft breath. After washing up, he moved quite a few things from the workbench into the yard, preparing to begin his daily shrine-making.

He took out his carving tools, found a roughly regular stone, and used a hammer and chisel to shape it. Then he carved a large hole in the middle, just big enough to hold an oil lamp and wick.

Suddenly, a notification appeared before Lincon's eyes.

[You have completed a Shrine. Shrine-making experience +10, Longwind Fortress Guardian experience +5.]

[Crude Shrine: Created by a Lord gathering their thoughts. It can serve as an anchor for territory, provide illumination in the darkness, and weakly repel darkness.]

Seeing the notification, Lincon could not help raising an eyebrow. He extended his right hand, wanting to see whether the Shrine could be upgraded with Seed Mark.

The result was a failure. As the talent of the Plant Cultivator secondary profession, Seed Mark had no effect on non-plant items.

It was like how accelerating plant growth could increase secondary profession experience, while making Shrines could only increase main profession experience.

Only things associated with a profession could increase its corresponding experience.

Once he understood that, Lincon became rather energized.

He used to make Shrines merely to pass the time, but now they could grant experience. That gave him plenty of motivation.

There were plenty of stones that could be used to make Shrines.

Under the erosion of darkness, the buildings in Longwind Fortress had aged rapidly. Many had already become ruins, and stones could be picked up anywhere outside.

So Lincon picked up his stone hammer and prepared to search through some of the fortress's ruins for suitable stones.

However, just then, another notification appeared on his main profession panel.

[A stranger has entered your territory.]

Seeing this message, Lincon could not help feeling startled. A trace of excitement appeared on his expressionless face.

Could they be back?

Lincon quickly looked toward the fortress entrance.

At the nearly ruined city gate, a figure was swaying as he walked this way.

The man carried an enormous backpack and wore an old leather jacket and hiking boots. His hair was disheveled and his eyes lifeless, as if he had traveled for a very long time.

Just as the other man was about to collapse, Lincon stepped forward and caught him by the arm.

"Water!!"

The man said only those words before his body went limp.

Lincon looked at the man's face and found that he was not one of the comrades who had left before. He turned and walked away, allowing him to fall to the ground.

Not long afterward, Lincon returned carrying a bowl of water and fed it to the man.

Feeling the moisture on his lips, the man unconsciously gulped down several large mouthfuls. Only after finishing all the water did he slowly regain consciousness.

"Who are you?"

Staring into Lincon's emotionless eyes, the man caught his breath and replied, "My name is Zhang Rui. I'm a messenger from Black Iron City, mainly responsible for traveling between places to deliver messages. Of course, if I come across villages or towns, I also bring some goods from Black Iron City to sell."

"A messenger?"

Hearing those words for the first time, Lincon could not help giving Zhang Rui another look.

"Did you come looking for me?"

"No. I just happened to pass by this place and noticed the Shrines that had been set up around the area, so I came to investigate."

Zhang Rui sat on the ground and sized Lincon up.

He was equally shocked by Lincon's presence.

The place where Lincon was located did not appear on the map at all.

And if it was not marked on the map, that meant the people here had long since died and the place had been completely consumed by darkness.

If he had not gotten lost and discovered those Shrines on the outskirts, he would never have believed that anyone could still be alive here.

After all, this place was not far from the abyss where darkness had first appeared.

But when Zhang Rui learned from Lincon that this was Longwind Fortress, he froze on the spot.

Zhang Rui's face was filled with shock as he muttered, "Wasn't Longwind Fortress gone three years ago? Everyone inside died while resisting the Black Tide, so you..."

"Are you a soldier of Longwind Fortress?"

A trace of respect inevitably entered Zhang Rui's gaze as he looked at Lincon.

"More or less." Lincon spoke blandly. "What's the situation outside now?"

Zhang Rui sighed. "After the outbreak of darkness, there was massive turmoil throughout the country. The old government no longer exists. Now there are new cities formed by groups of survivors."

Lincon was somewhat surprised. "But don't Dark Creatures form Black Tides to attack densely populated places? That was why the government ordered large numbers of city residents to relocate to the countryside."

Zhang Rui shook his head. "Times have changed. Ever since ability users appeared, the rules have long been rewritten."

"For example, Black Iron City, where I come from. Its city lord is a high-level ability user capable of easily resisting ordinary Black Tides. Everyone survives under his protection, so more and more people joined, forming the Black Iron City of today."

"But outside the cities is still Dark Creature territory. Most people can only huddle within the cities and struggle to survive."

"This time, I was originally following the map to Flint City. I accidentally took a wrong turn along the way, and I never expected to find you."

Zhang Rui grabbed Lincon's arm, his face full of sincerity. "I know Longwind Fortress used to be the frontline against the Black Tide, so I admire every soldier here."

"Come with me. I'll take you away from here. With your achievements, whether in Flint City or Black Iron City, you can be assigned a decent job. You won't have to worry about Dark Creatures anymore..."

Lincon pushed Zhang Rui's hand away and shook his head. "Thank you for your kindness, but I'm used to staying here alone. It'll be dark soon. Leave while you can still see the road."

Looking at Lincon's expression, Zhang Rui knew that nothing he said would work. He solemnly clasped his hands in salute, then turned and left Longwind Fortress.

As a messenger, he did most of his traveling during the day, so daylight was especially precious to him.

Besides, he had gotten lost and needed to correct his route and return to the road marked on the map.

But Zhang Rui would not simply watch this former soldier remain buried in darkness forever.

He planned to mark Longwind Fortress's location on the current map and tell every other messenger he encountered, so everyone would know.

Someone still lived here.