The Legend of the Elven Chalice

"What do you mean, they aren't Redcoats?"

Fang Heng was quite surprised to hear this.

After the battle, the first person to find him was that cute, round-faced foreign girl—to be precise, a little French girl whose ID was as whimsical as her name, Sky Blue Fantasy. Her long eyelashes blinked like her dreamlike, azure blue eyes.

She looked at Fang Heng with curiosity—

Fang Heng felt extremely awkward under her bold and direct gaze, not knowing where to put his eyes.

"Pfft—" The little girl couldn't help but laugh at his embarrassed expression.

She wore a white shirt with puff sleeves, a shiny leather corset cinched tightly at her waist, threatening to burst the seams of her ample bosom. Below, she had on a brown-red checkered skirt and high-top boots. She wasn't old, with a face that wasn't beautiful but very likable, dotted with a few faint freckles, rosy like an apple.

After the summoner fled, the Red-brown Elephant-nose Beetles controlled by the other party soon disappeared as they exceeded the maximum range. Without the influence of the Crushed Red Crystal, the remaining Red-brown Elephant-nose Beetles went mad for a while before dispersing.

However, a few were still stubborn.

The others were still cleaning up the mess, so they asked this young lady to come over and express her thanks—after all, if Fang Heng hadn't intervened, these trainees would have died here today. Of course, the little girl was also full of curiosity about this Combat Artificer. But when she was the first to climb down from the giant rock, push aside the bushes, and see Fang Heng, she couldn't help but be startled.

Even Fang Heng felt a little embarrassed, touching his cheek.

To say his clothes were tattered now would be an understatement. His Alchemist's robe, stained ink-green by plant sap, was torn into strips hanging from him like a ghillie suit. If he had a forest longbow on his back, people might mistake him for a Tier 4 Ranger of the Dense Forest.

Fortunately, he still had clothes underneath, so he wasn't indecent, preserving the Alchemist's last shred of dignity.

"Wait a minute," Fang Heng said, confirming again, "Miss Sky Blue, those people really weren't from the Jefflitte Redcoats?"

Sky Blue nodded.

"But they were clearly wearing Redcoat uniforms..."

"These few people are quite famous in the Elpaxin area. Mr. Combat Artificer, you just need to ask someone to find out."

"Because they were impersonating the Redcoats?"

"No, because they have a notorious reputation," Sky Blue replied. "They often attack passersby. If it weren't for Mr. Combat Artificer's righteous intervention today, we would have been swindled by them too. I was so scared—"

She exaggeratedly patted her chest, causing a surge that made Fang Heng quickly look away.

Fang Heng remembered something. He walked to the corpse of the female Swordsman. The body was dissolving into specks of starlight, becoming untouchable. He bent down to examine the female Swordsman's left arm and noticed something unusual.

Although the female Swordsman wore the Jefflitte Redcoats' battle robe, her left arm lacked a copper badge.

This copper badge was made by Alchemists. A simple scan with the system would reveal the ID of the maker. These makers were core artisans of the major guilds, making them almost impossible to forge.

Fang Heng was now starting to believe Sky Blue's statement.

Sky Blue also followed curiously. Seeing the female Swordsman dissolving into light, she exclaimed dramatically, "Heavens, Mr. Combat Artificer, you actually killed their Big Sister! No wonder they ran away."

"Miss Sky Blue, do you know her?" Fang Heng asked, turning back to her.

Sky Blue shook her head. "I only know that the others among them called her 'Big Sister.' No one knows her real ID, but she was the most powerful of them."

Fang Heng finally understood. He had previously thought the Jefflitte Redcoats had fallen so low that their official members performed worse than their peripheral members.

However, he regretfully glanced at the video he had been recording, which was more than half done, and casually closed it.

Of course, he could have pretended to be ignorant and smeared the Jefflitte Redcoats. But Fang Heng believed that Mr. Quilod would certainly not support him doing such a thing.

Of course, as for Miss Scarpe... that was another matter.

Sky Blue watched the female Swordsman's corpse completely disappear before remembering something and telling him: the other party actually had a very formidable assassin whose ID was Twenty. These people were very vengeful—she reminded him tactfully that the other party might seek revenge.

An assassin? Fang Heng scratched his head. That was a bit too much. Who could defend against a powerful assassin? He recalled that he hadn't seen an assassin Chosen among the five people just now. He figured the person wasn't present; if they had been, his initial sneak attack might not have succeeded.

However, Fang Heng quickly realized he was scaring himself. Elpaxin was vast, and the other party might not be able to find him. Moreover, those people earlier hadn't even seen his true form.

He couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

"But you're really amazing, Mr. Combat Artificer," Sky Blue said loudly beside him. "Their Big Sister is quite famous in the Elpaxin area—a Tier 2 Swift Swordsman at Level 7. In fact, even without the Red-brown Elephant-nose Beetles, Miss Etila might not have been able to defeat her head-on, yet you took her down in just a couple of moves, just like that, crack—crack!"

She also gestured dramatically, imitating the sound of a Walker, which was truly amusing.

The little girl's eyes were full of curiosity. "Are all Combat Artificers really this strong?"

"Call me Ed," Fang Heng said, sweating profusely. "And who is Miss Etila?"

"Okay, Mr. Combat Artificer—no, Mr. Ed," the little girl winked playfully at him. "Then, in exchange, you have to call me Sky Blue."

But she suddenly stopped, her gaze shifting behind Fang Heng.

Fang Heng followed her gaze and turned around, immediately feeling embraced by an immense force. However, it wasn't that the person holding him was strong, but rather because she was too excited, so excited that she was almost trembling.

The feminine fragrance completely enveloped him, a faint scent like laurel.

He felt as if he had run into a soft wall, a gentle ocean, with a powerful heart beating wildly beneath. He could even feel the trembling bosom through a thick layer of fabric. Compared to this, the French little girl was nothing.

But Fang Heng felt no lust; his mind went blank, and he felt like he was suffocating from lack of air.

A red warning popped up on the system, telling him his vital signs were becoming unstable due to hypoxia—

He could completely feel the excitement of the lady holding him, unwilling to let go. Then, a trembling voice filled with emotion came from below—excitement, relief, sorrow, and disbelief. Fang Heng had never imagined so many emotions could be contained in a single soft cry:

"Kid, is it really you?"

"..."

Fang Heng wanted to speak, but he couldn't utter a single word.

It was fortunate that Tian Lan was also nearby. She cautiously reminded, "Miss Etila, I, I think you've mistaken him for someone else..."

"Huh?" The girl hugging him paused.

Only then did she release him, pushing Fang Heng away slightly. She lowered her head to examine his face closely—Fang Heng saw her captivating emerald green eyes and realized the other person was the elven girl hunter he had met earlier. However, she was a forest elf and much taller than him.

Deep within the girl's wild, emerald eyes, her expression gradually solidified.

This is bad, Fang Heng thought. He had personally witnessed how powerful this elven girl was. He obediently closed his eyes in advance, ready to be slapped.

He was very familiar with this process; it was a standard soap opera trope.

But strangely, nothing happened for a long time—

Until he heard a choked sob. He narrowed his eyes curiously and was surprised to see that the girl gripping his shoulders had already broken down into tears on her own.

"What is...?"

"Miss Etila probably mistook you for her younger brother, the Combat Artificer," Tian Lan thought of something and sheepishly stuck out her tongue. "...Sorry, it's Brother Ed."

After Tian Lan's explanation, Fang Heng finally understood what was going on.

The elven girl was named Etila, a forest elf born in the seventh generation, meaning she was born on Giant Tree Hills about 130 years ago—naturally, she was a native of the First World.

She had come to Elpaxin to find her younger brother, who had run away from home half a year ago.

Tian Lan finally said in a low voice, "...Actually, Kid's body was discovered last month, along with the same group of adventurers in the ruins beneath the Traveler's Forest."

Fang Heng couldn't help but look at the elven girl not far away with some sympathy, thinking she must be unable to accept this outcome.

But Tian Lan shook her head. "It's not like that. Miss Etila has been tracking her brother's whereabouts all the way from Giant Tree Hills to here. However, she only found one record of Kid's resurrection in the temple records from various places."

"Huh?" Fang Heng was stunned. "How is that possible? Natives can revive five times, right? And the Zone of Silence doesn't affect them, does it?"

"That's why Miss Etila is still here," Tian Lan replied. "She won't leave until she understands the truth—" She paused. "And we just happen to be investigating the Obelisk here, completing our Trainee graduation exam. Miss Etila is truly a kind person. She and Mr. Parker are willing to help us with our three-month pilgrimage free of charge. We're all helping each other out—"

"Wait, what's an Obelisk?"

"Brother Ed hasn't heard of the Obelisk?" Tian Lan looked at him strangely.

Fang Heng shook his head blankly.

He had spent the entire long summer in the Sea of Trees in central Taren, his mind filled with Descendants of Flor, the Rainbow Alliance, and Elven Ruins. Suddenly hearing about other things, he realized that Aethelria was more than just Taren.

Of course, the long summer war between the Descendants of Flor and the Rainbow Alliance was a major event among the Chosen of the First World. But from Tian Lan's tone, it seemed some other more eye-catching major events had occurred during this time.

"There's a legend about seven Obelisks. It started circulating in the Rainbow Bay area about half a year ago. You haven't heard anything about it, Brother Ed?" Tian Lan frowned. "...Wait a moment, let me think about how that ballad goes?"

As if answering the question, someone began singing a soft ballad from not far away: "Beneath the seven Obelisks, lies the secret of the Numenor Elves' Elven Chalice. Where the twelve stars shine, eternal life, endless wisdom."

The other two also emerged from the bushes. The tall trainee carried the unconscious Paparal Crossbowman on his back, and the one singing softly was the youngest trainee beside him.

The latter, holding a large book, awkwardly adjusted his glasses. His voice was crisp and pleasant, but a little lacking in breath. "...This poem was first sung in the Rainbow Bay area. Later, people actually followed the ballad's guidance and discovered an Obelisk in the Abyssal Sea, which indeed had a fragmented map on it."

"Yes, yes, that's right—" Tian Lan quickly nodded and replied, "The secret of the Elven Chalice is buried beneath the seven Obelisks. This rumor has spread among the Chosen in the Sea of Clouds area, and everyone is rushing to Rainbow Bay."

"Elven Chalice?"

Fang Heng had never heard this name before. Of course, Aethelria was a world full of secrets. It was normal for him not to have heard of some treasures from a few eras ago.

But judging by the name of this Chalice, which shared its name with the Numenor Elves, if it truly existed, it should be a symbol no less significant than the Sea Forest Crown and the Holy Sword of Morning Light.

However, Fang Heng was skeptical—he had personally witnessed the appearance of the Sea Forest Crown. If the Sea Forest Crown existed, its counterpart, the Holy Sword of Morning Light, should also exist in this world.

The simultaneous appearance of two supreme treasures would already be a very rare occurrence.

As for this Elven Chalice, which was currently still in the realm of rumor, although the existence of the Obelisk proved something, it wasn't much. Aethelria had too many similar legends and rumors, circulating in the vast region from Rainbow Bay to the south of the Sea of Clouds, in bars and alleyways, whispered under eaves, passed down by bards, too many to count...

Tian Lan seemed to read his thoughts and said softly, "It is said that Miss Etila's younger brother ran away from home to search for the Elven Chalice. He joined the adventure group that first discovered the Obelisk in the Abyssal Sea and left a resurrection record in the temple there."

Fang Heng finally understood.

He looked in that direction again and asked softly, "So, there's also an Obelisk in the Traveler's Forest? Was your younger brother looking for it? And you are also here to investigate this Obelisk?"

"Wow, you're so smart, Brother Ed, you guessed it right away," Tian Lan said exaggeratedly. "We are here to investigate this matter, and we've even decided to make it our graduation exam content. Right, Tata?"

"Tata?"

Fang Heng was stunned, thinking she knew his Dragon Soul. He subconsciously looked at his left shoulder, only to find that the fairy lady wasn't there. Come to think of it, she had disappeared earlier. Was it because she didn't want outsiders to see her?

He was completely confused.

But the little boy holding the large book nodded. "We heard that there is an Obelisk in the Traveler's Forest. The Adventurer's League has also posted relevant quests, giving any adventurer who finds a clue to it one hundred points."

"Tata's name is Jita," Tian Lan whispered to him. "Don't let his small size fool you; he's a genius with an incredible memory, and he aspires to be a Scholar in the future."

"Ji, Jita?"

"H-hello, Mr. Ed," the little boy said shyly, quickly returning the greeting. "Thank you for your help earlier—Ah!" In his haste, he dropped his glasses as he looked down.

He then frantically fumbled on the ground.

It was Tian Lan who kindly picked them up for him. The little boy took his glasses, and with a red face, apologized to both of them.

"Wait, your name is Jita?" Fang Heng looked at him curiously.

"I-is there something wrong, sir?"

"No," Fang Heng scratched his head. "I just feel like I've heard that name somewhere before, and it vaguely makes my liver ache—"

The little boy looked at him doubtfully.

Undoubtedly, this was the prelude to the protagonist's liver failure.