Is There No Happy Ending?

A heartfelt shout echoed in the skies above Irithyll of the Boreal Valley.

"No!"

Snowflakes fluttered down, the north wind howled, and the world was shrouded in a vast expanse of white.

Fingel is now only one call away from perfection – calling out "Qiu Ya" again.

"What's wrong, brother?" Tus was clearly at a loss, looking at Matilda and Aleya with a pleading look.

"Sigh, this guy." Matilda helplessly covered her forehead, the gesture made by her huge body made of steel armor look a bit silly.

She knew her captain's character, or rather, personality, very well; Fingel was the kind of person who easily got into character.

Take watching a play as an example. Although he wouldn't get so caught up in the drama that he would go on stage and beat up the actor playing the villain, he would genuinely cry his heart out for the tragedy, sometimes in a way that seemed inexplicable to others.

However, in his daily life Fingel appears very rational and normal. At most, he does things in a quirky and eccentric way, making it impossible for people to tell that he is the kind of sentimental person.

Fingel once explained this point:

"My parents used to be stage actors. They told me that whether watching a play or enjoying other stories, I should wholeheartedly immerse myself in the story. This is not only a sign of respect for the creators, but also a way to make my money worthwhile."

It seems like the last sentence is the key point, but it doesn't matter. In any case, Fingel can get into character instantly whenever he encounters a story.

Moreover, he is a fan of happy endings, believing that life is already bitter enough, and at least the story should be a little sweeter.

So he must be regretting now that his wrong decision killed the little boy, right?

Matilda has extensive experience in handling such situations.

She nudged Aleya, who nodded, took out a seed of unknown effect, tiptoed closer to Fingel, and was about to shove it into his ear with lightning speed!

"Whoosh—"

Fingel suddenly disappeared, and when she turned around, she saw him appear behind Aleya, holding the seed in his hand.

He looked both regretful and angry, clenching his teeth as he crushed the seed and said:

"Don't plant Sedative Vines on me, I don't need them this time! It must be because I didn't do a good enough job just now, I must ensure the child's survival tomorrow!"

"He died not far from the church; it was just a few steps away. He was killed because of that dog-or-crocodile bastard!"

"And I was the one who let that monster go; I have to take full responsibility!"

"Well, brother," Tus thought Fingel's words were a bit too serious; it was just an afterimage.

Maybe this little episode was just Sion using it to place some rewards and mess with people's mentality? Maybe there's no perfect ending at all?

Matilda pressed down on his shoulder and said helplessly:

"It's too late, he's already made up his mind."

As if to convince herself, Matilda muttered to herself:

"There might be an extra reward if we manage to get that child to survive, which aligns with the mindset of us adventurers, so I can join the captain in his craziness."

This was the first time Tus had ever seen someone speak their mind so openly. He then looked at Aleya, who was always indifferent and would only follow her teammates.

"I can roughly guess what we're going to do in the next few days."

Tus scratched his beard, suddenly becoming interested in whether the little boy could survive.

What would happen if he were to survive?

Before long, midnight quietly arrived, and Master Sain, who had been busy all day, was ready to go home.

Fingel walked toward the hotel near the portal with his hands in his pockets, his expression indicating that he was deep in thought.

Originally, the portal to the Eagle Capital Dungeon suddenly appeared on a plain some distance from the Light Eagle Legion's base, surrounded by nothing but rocks and grass, and the main road built by the Leyndell didn't pass through this area. However, as the fame of the Zane Dungeon gradually increased, the location of the portal naturally attracted everyone's attention, and thus, under the organization of some nobles and merchants, infrastructure construction began.

The main materials are rock giants and slime tentacle monsters that have not had any experience with the opposite sex in the past fifty years. The builders are senior Construction Magician who are over forty years old and still "have not lost their virginity". Bald or Mediterranean heads are preferred.

Find a few more safety supervisors under the age of ten who possess earth and wood magic talents to sign the project documents. This way, even if they are sentenced to decades in prison, they can learn earth and wood magic while incarcerated and become seasoned Construction Magician upon their release. Once they start working, find new safety supervisors.

This is the perfect cycle!

Thanks to the efforts of many people, a small town was quickly built around the portal, and construction and expansion continue to this day. Construction only stops when the dungeon is closed, from midnight to 3 a. m., because adventurers also need to rest during this time.

Building an inn in this area is a sure-fire way to make money. Adventurers can certainly choose to live in Lake Liurnia, but only a few specific campfires can teleport them to each other. Many people can't get to Lake Liurnia when the dungeon closes, so they have to stay outside.

Moreover, it's not just adventurers who live in this area; merchants looking for business opportunities, onlookers, and other people with various purposes also make up a stable customer base for the inn.

"We can't give a child armor, or he'll turn into a monster. If we give him two sets of monster armor, he'll become a monster that combines the characteristics of two different monsters. But what if we only give him one set? Which monster will he become? What if we go even further and equip three Pontiff Knights with the equipment of a Fire Witch?"

"Wait, what the hell am I thinking?!"

Realizing that what he was thinking was a bit too hellish, Fingel scratched his head in frustration and quickly corrected his train of thought.

"The little boy died because of the monster, and I let the monster escape. So if I had killed that guy beforehand, wouldn't the little boy have survived?"

"That must be it! I'll go and take down the monster tomorrow!"

Just as he was thinking this, Fingel bumped into Leon and his group. The atmosphere in their group didn't seem too good either, and it was obvious why without even asking.

Leon noticed that Fingel's complexion was also not good, and immediately guessed what was going on. He asked:

"You failed too?"

"Um"

"Shall we do a debriefing?"

"Good."

The next day, Fingeri, with dark circles under his eyes from staying up all night but looking quite energetic, bumped fists with Fingel and then Malu Leon.

After a night of review, they have put aside their past grievances and are now determined to save the little boy!

The exploration can be put on hold, but the little boy's ending must be perfect!

They split into two groups: Fingel and his group went to try to get the little boy safely to the church, while Leon and his group went to try to see what would happen if they gave the little boy different armors. What if giving him a whole set of the same type of armor could prevent him from turning into a monster?

Fingel led his companions into the dungeon first, while Leon went to the market to buy sets of Pontiff Knight, Fire Witch, and even Battle Knight.

"We meet again."

On the bridge in Irithyll, the moment Crocodile Sunlight King appeared, Fingel remembered what he had seen the day before and, unable to restrain himself, swiftly and mercilessly Execute him.

After that, they used their Flight Spell to jump from the bridge into the lake. This little "skipping class" was nothing and wouldn't offend or punish Sain.

They hadn't had a chance to explore the lake area properly yet. Just standing there, they saw several points of light and corners that piqued their curiosity, but that wasn't their focus for the day.

"Where are the other two crocodile monsters?"

They searched the lake but saw nothing but the humanoid centipede, let alone the two larger Crocodile Sunlight King.

"No way," a bad thought popped into Fingel's mind, "If we kill the monster on the bridge beforehand, the other two won't appear in the lake?"

Does "won't appear" mean that the monster no longer exists, or that it's hiding in some corner they haven't discovered?

If it's the former, that's fine; if it's the latter...

"It should be nearby, it won't have gone too far."

Fingel circled the lake, searching for any corner where monsters might be hiding, and even dived in to see if any were lurking underwater.

But to no avail.

Meanwhile, Leon was searching the market for a set of monster armor from the Irithyll of the Boreal Valley faction, but so far, very few adventurers had been able to enter Irithyll, let alone obtain the equipment.

He and his companions split up and wandered around in circles, searching from dusk till dawn, until noon, and only managed to buy the Pontiff Knight Armor from one team.

Just then, a familiar voice appeared.

"Leon? What are you looking for in the market?"

The speaker was Bei Er Tuo from the Skyrim Strategy Team. Leon didn't hide anything and told him about the little boy's afterimage.

"So that's how it is. Captain Lu Lu Wo is currently exploring the Irithyll Underground Jail and has neglected to explore the surface city. We haven't discovered this yet."

Bei Er Tuo suddenly said, "Since you're researching this, how about we cooperate? I happen to have the equipment you need, and I'll provide it to you for free. Just tell us the final results."

"Sure, it would be a pleasure to work with you."

After dark, Leon, wearing the full set of Pontiff Knight equipment, entered the Zane Dungeon and found the little boy.

Meanwhile, Fingel searched for Crocodile Sunlight King in the lake to no avail, and finally had no choice but to go to the little boy and tell him the location of the church.

The two little boys from different worlds said at the same time, "Thank you, big brother!"

Leon couldn't manage a smile. He and his companions rested for a while by the nearest campfire in the kitchen, their hearts filled with trepidation.

They discovered that the little boy wouldn't do anything as long as the adventurers were nearby; things would only happen once they were far enough away.

"Let's go."

He patted Malu on the head, and everyone deliberately slowed their pace on the way to the little boy's house, as if they didn't want to see the scene there too soon.

Even though they had slowed their pace, they still heard the low growls of wild beasts.

A short, wielding Pontiff Knight stood before the little boy's door.

"Damn it, I failed again!"

Meanwhile, Fingel led his men along the West Avenue leading to the church, praying that everything would go smoothly this time.

However, when he saw Crocodile Sunlight King Cinder reappear, turning its back to him and gnawing on something, he finally couldn't hold back his emotions.

"Bastard, I'll kill you!"

Late at night, near the portal, Fingel and Leon met again.

They exchanged a glance and knew that the other had both suffered a crushing defeat.

Without saying much, we reviewed the situation together and will continue our actions tomorrow.

On Monday

Fingel used the monsters on the bridge to lure out two more, and killed a total of three Crocodile Sunlight Kings. As a result, the little boy was killed by the Pontiff Knight on his way to the church.

Leon gave the little boy the Fire Witch suit, and the boy became the Fire Witch.

Why?!

Tuesday

Fingel cleared the monsters from the West Avenue, but the little boy was killed on his way to the church by Battle Knight in the cemetery who resembled his brother.

Leon gave the little boy the Battle Knight suit, and the little boy lost his mind and became the Battle Knight. He fought with Duo Er Bo, who was chasing Leon, and was eventually killed.

"Damn it!"

Wednesday

Fingel completely cleared the monsters from the West Avenue and cemetery. The little boy was killed by monsters that had come from elsewhere on a business trip.

Leon had no other suits to experiment with, so he tried to break down the door, but the little boy behind the door simply vanished.

"Where did this monster come from?!"

Thursday

Fingel vowed to wipe out all the monsters in Irithyll, but he failed before the dungeon closed.

Leon gave the little boy the "Irithyll Jailer" outfit that Bei Er Tuo had kindly gifted him, but the little boy, who had turned into a jailer, drained his life force and was eventually killed by a branding iron that looked like a toilet plunger.

"You bastard!"

Friday

Fingel and Leon fell into an endless silence, back to back.

"Well"

Why do monsters always seem to pop out from some hidden corner?

"Why does just being watched by the prison guards drain your life force?"

They both sighed at the same time, their eyes filled with exhaustion.

"Isn't there a way to achieve a good ending?" Fingel said wistfully.

"We didn't find a good ending, but we did lose a lot of good equipment," Leon said helplessly.

In the past few days, he discovered that any equipment worn by the little boy had a chance to be enhanced and gain special effects. For example, the Pontiff Knight's equipment was imbued with cold air, and the Fire Witch was imbued with flames.

He could foresee that someone would take advantage of the little boy's characteristics to create better equipment in the future.

Thinking about it that way makes it even more hellish.

"We still don't have enough people to experiment with everything we can think of."

Suddenly, Fingel thought of something, clapped his hands, and said:

"We need to bring more people into Irithyll!"

Saturday

The Hasawi Squad, in conjunction with the Strategy Team, launched an event.

"A seasoned adventurer will guide you into Irithyll and have a chat with the beautiful goddess Gwyndolin!"

The reward is a positive outcome: helping them search for the possible afterimage of the little boy.