Traveler's Respite

A colossal structure loomed within the fog. Gloomy and ponderous, its reddish-brown birchwood roof sagged in layered sheets. About four stories tall, it lay across the swamp like a reclining giant, quietly deep in thought. A weathered boardwalk led to a row of mottled wooden walls, where swaying lights hung from sharpened stakes.

Bright light pierced the netlike fog, like a glow bursting from the giant's chest and cutting through the wilderness. A bonfire burned by the roadside, crimson flames swaying and spinning in the distance as sparks scattered like fragments.

The sight truly shook Fang Heng. Blue and gray seemed to melt into the night, streaked through with blood-red scarlet. It felt desolate and dim.

The inn called Traveler's Respite had stood at the border of the swamp and forest for thirty-three years. Seven years ago, it had passed from its previous owner to his son—the current proprietor. Iron Hammer Mazak was not only the master of this wilderness, but also a renowned blacksmith.

"They say flames seemed to come alive in his hands," Tianlan quietly explained to him. "The Golden Flame Ring was his legendary creation."

"And beneath those boardwalks, under the black swamp water, people say there are countless buried bones, along with tales of treasure and legend."

Fang Heng took a deep breath and looked around at everything with fascination.

A rust-covered sword had been thrust at an angle into the entrance of Egonen Forest. A simple line of words had been carved upon it:

'Mazak's Haven.'

Every word upon it was the law of this place.

Several guards sat around the bonfire. An elderly man nearing the end of his years sat beside the flames, which lit up his darkened face. He poked at the fire, then slowly transferred the tongs from his left hand to his right. Etila stopped by the roadside and greeted them. "Good evening, Mr. Minis."

"Good evening, Etila." The old man took off his straw hat and held it against his chest. His face was full of wrinkles, and his clouded eyes were dim and lifeless, though he wore a faint smile. "May Mirela bless you."

"May Ameya bless you." Etila returned the greeting with a hand over her chest.

Fang Heng looked up. Several sheets of iron had been nailed onto the wooden checkpoint, their surfaces covered in rust. In the flickering firelight, he could not make out what was written on them. Thick fog spread all around, and distant firelight flickered faintly. A bard played an organ beside a fire.

The music drifted through the air—

The group walked along a long-neglected boardwalk, its planks groaning under their weight. "Who is that?" Fang Heng asked quietly. Tianlan shook her head at him.

"Just a lonely old guard. I heard he's been stationed here for twenty years. His wife died, and his son died in the swamp too. It's really sad."

People came and went along the boardwalk. To Fang Heng's surprise, nearly everyone seemed to know the French girl and greeted them.

"You're back, Tianlan?"

"I heard you took down Big Sis?"

"Looks like our little princess came back with all her limbs. That deserves a drink."

Several adventurers playing cards on the boardwalk laughed and called out. They raised their flasks toward them in greeting. Some were natives, dressed in rags with scraggly beards, looking like beggars.

"Pah, get lost, you perverts," Tianlan said, wrinkling her nose at them. Then she turned to Ed. "Don't judge them by how they look. They're actually very dependable adventurers. Anyone who can travel alone from Elpaxin to Traveler's Swamp is at least Tier 2. They're nothing like rookies."

Fang Heng nodded. He knew that in Aethelria, adventurers could receive the blessing of a rank from their respective occupational temples once they met certain requirements. For example, warriors went to Oli and Marland, swordsmen to Aisha, naturalists and alchemists to Anjina, astrologers and elementalists to Eileen, and so on.

Since the prerequisites for ranks were generally closely tied to character level, people simply classified levels six through fifteen as Tier 2 ranks, sixteen through thirty as Tier 3 ranks, thirty-one through fifty as Tier 4 ranks. As for levels above fifty, one could only advance further after passing the trials of the Destiny Temple in the Second World.

Thus, there were effectively no Tier 5 ranks in the First World. Even the strongest Chosen who returned from the Second World had their levels suppressed below fifty.

Only Dragon Knights and Sky Knights were exceptions.

Tier 1 professions received natural blessings. This was what people called the beginner stage. The apprenticeship period covered the first two levels. Chosen needed one or two months to adapt, then another year or two to leave the beginner stage entirely. Natives could take even longer, needing three or four years. So these people truly could not be considered newcomers.

Yet after experiencing the Long Summer War, Fang Heng found it difficult to form any favorable opinion of these people's strength. In his view, one had to at least reach the level of Miss Scarpe and Mr. Quilod to barely gain a foothold in the First World—Scarpe was level twenty-seven, and Quilod level twenty-nine.

As for true strength—

The Night Hawk Chosen from the Silverwood Spear flashed through his mind, but in the end, the image that remained was that quiet, graceful Luotao girl with silver hair like radiant blossoms.

Fang Heng shook his head and let those thoughts fade away. He had not even passed his apprentice profession assessment yet. Even if Combat Artificers were somewhat stronger before reaching the Dragon Knight stage, his current combat ability only barely matched that of a Tier 1 professional.

Taking down Big Sis had been entirely the result of a sneak attack and a lucky coincidence.

At that moment, Tianlan was asking those people, "What's going on with Big Sis?"

"Haha!" They laughed. "Don't even think about denying it. Someone said they saw her resurrect at Shallow Water Temple, and she swore she'd make you pay."

They kindly warned her, "Little princess, you'd better be careful. That woman isn't so simple."

"I'm not afraid of her." Yet when Tianlan turned back, her brows were tightly furrowed. "Shallow Water Temple isn't far from here. She chose to resurrect there instead of Elpaxin. It looks like she really wants revenge on us."

"Soldiers come, generals block them. Water comes, earth dams it."

The one who said this was Luo Yu, who had always been quiet. Fang Heng could not help giving him a surprised glance.

The first thing adventurers did upon returning to camp was naturally deal with their spoils. Fang Heng had long looked forward to this, but strictly speaking, this was his first time taking part in it personally. Etila led them across the square. The plaza before the inn was paved with wooden boards. Not far away, a bonfire burned atop a stone platform, beside which a bard played an organ and sang.

Fang Heng listened curiously for a couple of lines, then nearly stumbled. The bard was singing about how the Jefflitte Redcoats had set up the Dawnstar Adventurer Group. It was recent news, after all, and bards had always enjoyed spreading fresh stories, so that was not particularly strange.

But the bard began singing something about a genius youth and a Clockwork Sprite. The more Fang Heng listened, the more wrong it sounded. The song described him as the fated enemy of the Descendants of Flor, an enemy granted by heaven. It was only missing a label declaring it a prince's tale of revenge.

Something's not right. How did these people even notice me? The theme of my post clearly wasn't this.

Etila steadied him and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing." Fang Heng answered guiltily.

He looked over there again. Fortunately, there were not many listeners around the bonfire—only a mistress and her maid. The maid wore a very traditional uniform, a black-and-white long dress falling below her knees. Her hands were folded together as she stood quietly behind her mistress.

The mistress herself was merely a young girl, not yet fully grown.

A beige long coat draped over her beneath the night sky, its capelet layered across the curves of her chest like a pair of wings. She wore a lady's bowler hat, and a thin veil beneath it hid her expression.

Only her soft golden hair, falling to her waist, was visible. Moonlight passed through the drifting mist and shone upon it, giving it a gentle glow. She wore hollow-patterned white gloves, and a huge leather suitcase rested beside her. Though she listened intently, her fingertips never strayed far from its handle.

The style of those two people was rather out of place here, and Fang Heng could not help looking twice more. The girl seemed to sense his gaze and turned back.

Her eyes pierced his heart like a sword.

Not sharp, but sorrowful.

He had never seen such a melancholy expression. It seemed to see straight through his heart. Even after entering the inn, Fang Heng only then came back to himself. "What exactly just happened?" He was utterly baffled.

Just inside the inn stood a boiler. Its mana furnace burned bright red, sending golden flames far into the room. Riveted iron pipes carried heat and aetheric energy to every room in Traveler's Respite.

Beside it stood a half-broken utility automaton—a non-Flexible Construct that also resembled a round, squat boiler. It clumsily waved at every guest entering the inn.

Its rusted arms creaked and squeaked as they swayed.

An old, poorly maintained sound-recording crystal also emitted a hoarse message: "Welcome... to Traveler's Camp—"

"Hello, Mr. Shayek," Tianlan greeted the automaton.

Fang Heng froze, thinking that was its name. But then another aged voice replaced the first one and came through the speaking tube from inside the automaton's body:

"Hello, Tianlan. Welcome back."

Only then did Fang Heng understand that the automaton was also a voice channel.

The elderly voice asked again, "The usual?"

"Of course! Please prepare a hearty dinner for us, and hot water too—ah, I'm exhausted. We were gone for an entire week this time, and I'm covered in stinky sweat."

But Etila looked at the girl and shook her head. "We don't have much money left, Fuli."

"Ah..." Tianlan let out a dejected sigh, her tone going flat as she drooped her head. "But, but as adventurers, we should at least get to enjoy this tiny little luxury, right?"

She gestured with her hands, showing that it was truly only a tiny bit, then looked at Etila pitifully. "Just this little bit, Sister Etila."

Etila looked at her indulgently and shook her head. "Just this once."

"Yay!" The girl leaped with joy.

Jita frowned. "Miss Fuli is wasting money again."

The tall trainee boy, carrying the unconscious Paparal crossbowman on his back, nodded fervently from the side.

But as Fang Heng watched these people, he was reminded of his own days with the Dawnstar Adventurer Group, and he could not help smiling slightly. I wonder how Miss Scarpe and Mr. Quilod are doing... After Scarpe's Glowstone had been recovered, he could no longer log into the community, so he had no idea what was happening outside.

Only then did he realize that his most pressing task was to get a communication device. He wondered whether such a small camp could sell one.

Past the main hall, a small room at the back served as the Kaolin Merchant Alliance's local office.

As mentioned earlier, the Kaolin Merchant Alliance monopolized nearly ninety percent of trade in the Sea of Clouds region. Therefore, materials could only be handled through them at Traveler's Camp—though they could also be sold to adventurers who urgently needed them.

But the latter was uncommon.

When they pushed open the door, a faint fragrance of incense washed over them. Thick handwoven carpets covered the floor, and a flowerpot sat nearby with a succulent growing inside. A tiny figure sat on the counter, occasionally tossing bread crumbs down. The succulent's bulbous stem swelled, split open like a gaping mouth, and swallowed every scrap of food.

The little fellow seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. Only when he saw someone enter did he hurriedly brush the crumbs off himself and stand up.

He was a gnome.

He had a pointed nose and pointed ears. Though he was about the same height as a Paparal, he was much thinner and smaller. Gnomes had lived alongside dwarves for generations in the underground tunnels of Eldron. Because of their innate shrewdness, they had become the merchants and bankers of dwarven society.

Fang Heng curiously looked away from him. Gnomes were rarely seen in the Rodell region or eastern Kingdom of Kaolin, and their Chosen were even rarer. This was his first time seeing this remarkable race.

Then he surveyed the room. Just as he had expected, it was filled with all kinds of miscellaneous items. A stepped shelf stood to the left, packed with jars and bottles. Transparent glass containers of every size held solutions of many colors, within which floated bizarre animal organs.

Jita also curiously examined the containers. Not far from him was an eyeball wrapped in a silver membrane, stored in a palm-sized glass bottle filled with green liquid.

Then, all at once, the silver membrane over the eyeball blinked.

His hair stood on end in fright. After letting out a scream, he turned and ran, crashing straight into Fang Heng's arms. Fang Heng had not expected this at all, and he grunted as he doubled over.

Only then did Jita realize he had caused trouble. Her face flushed, and she stammered an apology. "S-Sorry."

"It's all right..." Fang Heng bent over and reached out to turn the bottle around. "Don't be afraid. This is only an eye from the Silver Blaze Forest. That movement was merely its instinctive response to the aetheric energy on you."

Upon seeing it, an idea suddenly occurred to Fang Heng.

Hain-Fam's concept in the Type I Crystal blueprint was that, to further improve the crystal's mana performance, one first had to change the Attribute-less Crystal's sensitivity to aetheric energy.

And the eye of the Silver Blaze Forest could react to even the slightest fluctuation in mana. Wasn't that exactly what he needed?

But this thing... seemed rather expensive.

Thanks to god Bian for carrying me yesterday. After playing DOTA2 for so many years, I finally got to ride the coattails of a real powerhouse. So happy.