Chapter 30: Spatial Artifacts!

Chapter 30: Spatial Artifacts!

This was originally a locally strong mercenary team, well-coordinated over time with a balanced composition of archers, mages, and knights, boasting high team stability in real combat.

They had indeed smoothly eliminated many troublesome dark creatures, which was why Martin was eager to experience being part of their team.

But today, they never imagined they would be plunged into such a difficult and bitter battle.

In the ruined cave, the witch, who should have been seriously injured, was now furiously attacking everyone.

Incredibly, her power seemed several times stronger than when she had fought the corpse monster!

The Mother of the Forest summoned vines to control Fieyi, but she transformed into flying insects and escaped in an instant.

The gap in magic power made her shield extraordinarily strong; the Lonely Knight's sword strikes bounced off, returning multiple times the damage.

Brilliant magic weaved a flowing tapestry of light. Fieyi, adrenalized from the bloody battle, heightened all her senses, her skill bar filled with high-damage abilities.

Dodging death blows time and again, her raised hand heralded a lethal strike the next second.

She harbored no thoughts of sparing anyone; all who raised a hand against her here must die!

Her young, frail face wore an expression of unrelenting ruthlessness.

The mercenaries grew increasingly terrified as they fought, realizing they couldn't advance even a step and were in fact being driven back.

They had obeyed orders, thinking their opponent was a half-dead young beast.

Yet, facing her directly, just the killing intent she emitted was enough to make them break out in cold sweats.

"We have probably... disturbed a true beast!"

"She, that witch, truly intends to kill us all here!"

"Pff!" The solitary mage was the first to succumb, spitting out a mouthful of blood amidst the vast expanse of icy frost, collapsing to the ground with his fate unknown.

But the others had no capacity to check on him, as the diminutive witch once again raised her arm!

The demon hunter frenziedly fired a volley of golden arrows, his eyes splitting with rage, bellowing, "Dodge! Everyone dodge!"

Familiar dark purple lightning crackled in her palm, casting a tumultuous storm in the depths of the young girl's eyes.

"You chose your path," Fieyi swept her gaze over every member of the Mercenary Guild, her initial intent only to kill the boss.

"You made your choice, now bear the ultimate consequence."

The faces of the few from the Mercenary Guild turned ashen! This magic...! It was the same as the final spell from before!

The Mother of the Forest withdrew her fingers, poised to strike a melody, and instead plucked the highest level protective rhythm on her harp.

Numerous magical forest creatures, infused with elemental magic, turned and formed a circle. Each exhaled a thin green smoke from their mouths, tightly protecting the Mother of the Forest at the center.

The other mercenaries also deployed their highest-level shields in an instant, with some even boosting their agility to the maximum, planning to escape the area before the witch unleashed her fury.

But it was too late to evade.

Fieyi clenched her fist tightly, "Thunder Blast!"

"Boom—!"

More intense and terrifying than before, the abyssal thunder indiscriminately struck down on all the mercenaries, conjuring a dark purple tsunami within the gloomy, narrow cave!

All defenses and shields were swept up in it.

Even the cave couldn't withstand it any longer, resulting in a massive collapse!

Large chunks of stone came crashing down, countless minerals mixed with dust buried beneath the ground.

Fieyi realized she had truly grown stronger; just minutes earlier, using Thunder Blast had depleted her mana completely, leaving her unable to even lift her arms.

But now, after casting a Thunder Blast, she still had enough magic power left to conjure a shield.

The black mist isolated all the falling debris.

But the mercenaries weren’t so lucky.

Direct hits from the Thunder Blast left them either dead or severely injured. Moreover, the [Stiffness] effect from the skill rendered everyone incapable of casting any magic, helplessly watching as the cave ceiling crashed onto their faces.

The mercenary squad was wiped out in a matter of seconds.

Including the noble young master Martin.

As she deployed her shield, Fieyi even heard the desperate scream of this young master.

He lacked the courage to escape the cave alone, yet dared to command a mercenary squad so boldly.

And those mercenaries followed his orders without question.

Fieyi shook her head; these people had really provoked the wrong person.

The collapse lasted only a short time, and when the moonlight shone through again, her magic was completely drained, and the shield formed by the mist instantly dissipated.

Just as Fieyi was about to unceremoniously collapse to the ground, she paused, catching sight of something.

Nearby, Big Beard lay on the ground, staring at her in astonishment.

Mine #8 was designated as a forbidden zone by the mining district, and even those leading expeditions dared not approach. So, although the massive collapse was loud, no one would be brave enough to investigate in the short term.

Only Big Beard, who had been waiting here the whole time, had witnessed everything from start to finish.

He stared blankly at the only girl who had emerged alive, momentarily forgetting to compose his expression.

Fieyi: “…”

She brushed off the dust from her body with difficulty and slowly sat down, propping up her face. As if making casual conversation, she asked, "1 silver coin to the teleport station, shall we go?"

As if snapping back to reality, Big Beard scrambled up from the ground in a fluster.

“1 silver coin is too little,” he instinctively refused.

“Take it,” Fieyi looked at him calmly, “because this might be the last job you’ll ever take. After this, no one will come to this mine again.”

Big Beard’s expression went from initial confusion to shock, and finally, his mouth agape, “You mean—?! But, but how could it be you… No, no, no, those mercenaries…?!”

All the mercenaries are dead? Only this child survived?! How could this be?!

No, no! That’s not the point, the point is… the monster of Mine #8, completely eradicated?! They… they can leave now?!

Fieyi pulled out a silver coin from her pouch and tossed it into his hand.

“Uncle, could you help me up?”

Although leveling up replenished her status, the physical exhaustion was very real.

She was truly too tired, too weary to utter an extra word.

Big Beard stumbled and crawled over to help her onto the cart, then hurried back to the ruins to confirm.

His lips quivered continuously, boldly circling the ruins several times before finally realizing that Mine #8 was indeed gone.

The monster that had always loomed over their heads was gone forever.

"Thud!" Big Beard's knees buckled, and he suddenly fell to his knees.

Just as he was about to say something, he realized he was kneeling in the wrong direction.

Shuffling on his knees, Big Beard crawled towards Fieyi.

“You… you saved us… saved all of us! You… oh no, You! You must be an apostle sent by the deity to rescue us!”

“Ah? Of course not.” Fieyi struggled to lift her head, and recalling those mercenaries in the cave, she felt a mischievous impulse.

“I’m actually a witch,” she said innocently, tilting her face upward and chuckling.

Big Beard was briefly stunned, but only for a moment.

Then he instinctively pressed his forehead to the ground, “No matter who you are, whatever your identity, you saved me and everyone in the mining area, I owe you my gratitude!”

The holy monastery had trapped them here, leaving them to the mercy of the Mercenary Guild. Yet, a witch who had been spreading despair became the savior of the mining district, a great hero.

And this witch had generously paid for their departure.

Big Beard believed in fate; fate had led him to the mines, trapped him there. With only his strength and no other skills, he had no idea where to go upon leaving the mines.

Now, fate had made him a witness to everything, and he had to make a choice.

“You saved me and showed me true kindness and power.” Big Beard knelt sincerely, “So please allow me to follow you forever! You saved me, let me repay you! I am willing to offer everything I have to you!”

Fieyi saw a faint halo of light appear around Big Beard, the light of sacrifice. If she agreed, his soul would immediately become her possession, and her magical power would also be enhanced.

But the current situation wasn't suitable for this; she needed to investigate the Black Moon further. Having an ordinary person by her side would be dangerous.

Big Beard pulled the cart forward, moving on.

"I'm willing to follow you, whether it's to do menial tasks or anything else," he said breathlessly, "If it’s inconvenient for you now, I can find my own way until the day you need me. Please summon me anytime."

His words were sincere, but Fieyi still refused.

"Being trapped here has been painful enough. You should go and enjoy your freedom. Life doesn't offer many chances to choose where to go as one pleases. You've just got one, haven’t you?"

Big Beard's eyes moistened again; for the first time, he felt a deep resentment towards the monasteries that had portrayed witches so horrifically.

She was indeed a gentle yet powerful person.

In the end, he said, "I will carve out my own path and should you ever need me in the future, please use me at your convenience."

[And me as well.]

Suddenly, a line of blue starry text appeared before her.

[Thank you, I feel much better now, like my nose clearing up after a cold.]

Recognizing the familiar words, Fieyi finally smiled.

She lay on her back in the cart, listening to the dispersing clouds outside, teasing in a low voice, "What good are words? Can’t you offer some practical thanks? To correct your world line, I, an eight-year-old child, have endured the pressure of a 996 work schedule."

[I’m sorry for bringing you a series of troubles, but I had no other choice at the time. My power was near collapse after reversing world time, unable to offer more explanations or help. I’ve always felt distressed and guilty about this.]

Fieyi blinked and tilted her head, "This is the first time I’ve seen you talk so much."

"What?" Big Beard asked hastily from outside the cart, "Did you... did you just ask me something?"

"No," Fieyi raised her voice, thought for a moment, and then said earnestly, "I hope everything goes well for you in the future, and that you won't be dragged into similar dangers again."

Big Beard fell silent.

She really was a kind-hearted witch.

The carriage picked up speed.

Inside, text from another world floated in mid-air.

[Because of you, my power has been restored. I don't know how to thank you, so I've decided to give you a gift, sincerely hoping you'll like it.]

Fieyi's eyes sparkled with curiosity. A gift from the small world? What could it be? Something more powerful than the abilities of the modifier?

She suddenly felt a surge of anticipation.

Soon, the small world provided her with coordinates in the city of Alaraph. Like in a game, a detailed map of Waxma Town turned into a small circle, floating in the upper right corner of Fieyi’s vision.

By focusing on those coordinates, she could see the exact location on the map.

“It seems you've really recovered a lot,” Fieyi nodded, “You can even do this now?”

Moreover, communicating was effortless, without any of the previous glitches or sudden disappearances.

[It's all because of you, your kindness and strength saved many people, including me. Of course, I'd like to do something for you.]

Fieyi was slightly excited, eagerly asking, “What's there? Something of yours? Or something else?”

The next second, she shook her head, her lips curling into a somewhat childish smile, “No, don't tell me. Joy should be reserved for the moment of unwrapping the gift.”

This time, the small world was silent for a while before saying, [If this gift brings you happiness, then it will have served its purpose.]

The carriage soon arrived at the teleportation station.

Big Beard shouted to the other miners, “Mine #8 is gone! The monster is gone! We can get out now!”

“Has he gone mad?”

"Another one's gone mad."

"So, can we grab the gold coins off him now?"

People sneered at Big Beard, not believing a word of his 'nonsense'.

But Big Beard didn't care at all.

He let go of the reins, and the emaciated horse charged towards the teleportation point as if mad.

The other coachmen were completely dumbfounded.

“Have you lost your mind?! Even the monastery couldn't do anything; how could Mine #8 just disappear like that!”

“Hey, get back here! You still have a magical mark on you; if you force your way out, you'll die—”

However, in the next second, a flash of blue light, and Big Beard along with his carriage vanished on the spot.

A deathly silence spread all around.

Two or three seconds later, a massive shout tore through the mining area's sky!

“The monster of Mine #8 is gone!!”

“Someone has cleared the mine! It's a blessing! A gift from the deity!!”

“Quick, tell everyone! We are free! Someone has saved us all!!”

*

Without a pre-set destination, the teleportation station defaults to the last address.

When Big Beard opened his eyes, he didn't have time to check where he was and hurriedly turned to knock on the carriage door.

“Wit... Miss, we've made it out.”

Fieyi struggled to climb out of the carriage, her gaze settling on a potion shop not far away.

She hoped they sold potions to restore physical strength.

But someone tugged at her as she disembarked.

The girl turned around, knowing she really couldn’t take another person with her now.

Big Beard immediately understood her expression, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not insisting on following you. I just... I just thought you should at least take this.”

He bowed his head and pulled out a neatly folded paper from inside his clothes.

“This is a mission paper from the Alaraph City Mercenary Guild, found on a dying mercenary. I occasionally heard them say that by taking this paper to the guild and submitting the mission, you’d get the reward stated on it after verification.”

Scratching his head sheepishly, he continued, “Initially, I thought of redeeming it myself, but then I saw you… performing such powerful actions, and I felt it rightfully belonged to you.”

Fieyi hadn’t expected this; she took the paper and realized it wasn’t ordinary, but special siren skin.

This material was identical to the magic scroll materials in the dormitory, papers with special abilities.

Indeed, the moment Fieyi took the mission paper, the siren let out a tiny shriek.

[Congratulations! The task of clearing Mine #8 in the Southwest region of Alaraph has been completed! Please fill in your mercenary nickname below and proceed to the Alaraph City Mercenary Guild to claim your reward!]

[We sincerely thank you for everything you’ve done for peace.]

[Attached: A map of Alaraph City.]

It had a magic circle attached, likely designed to detect the life or death of the Corpse Pit King, though it was unclear how they determined who had slain it.

On the back, there were details of the reward.

Fieyi scanned through the list.

The Mercenary Guild was, indeed, quite generous.

Besides the fixed reward of 3000 gold coins and a mercenary rank upgrade, there was an option to choose one from a high-grade shield cloak, a Kokoro swift horse, or an advanced potion formula.

But these weren't the most important.

Fieyi's gaze drifted down, finally resting on the last item on the reward list.

[You may wish to know about the next mission. The Mercenary Guild will answer one question for you without charge.]

Information, intelligence.

Her eyes brightened instantly, and she decided to make a trip to the center of Alaraph City.

Information obtained from the Mercenary Guild would certainly be safer than personally inquiring about the Black Moon in Elbire City.

And the gift from the small world was located in the suburbs of Alaraph City, where she currently was.

After getting the gift, she planned to swing by the guild.

Big Beard could tell by her expression that he had made the right choice, “It seems you got what you wanted; that makes it worth it. I hope to have the opportunity to offer even a little help to you in the future.”

After a long silence, Fieyi couldn't hold back.

“If you truly have nowhere to go, you can choose the largest potion shop in Niniwei Town. Ask for the owner there; she'll provide you with a job.”

Big Beard paused, then laughed in relief, “You've already helped me so much. I've decided to venture out and strive to one day be of some assistance to you.”

Bowing deeply, Big Beard turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Fieyi carefully stored the mission paper, gently pulled down the brim of her transforming hat, and turned to walk northward, following the directions on the map.

Alaraph City, an ancient city teeming with diversity and a dense population, saw no one take notice as an inconspicuous girl suddenly vanished around the corner of an inn, leaving only a beautiful pony trotting away from the spot.

The pony, carrying a bulging cloth bag, trotted past the bustling teleportation station and headed straight for the sparsely populated outskirts.

Marked on the map was a small grove, a place far from any roads and seldom trodden by humans.

Fieyi entered stealthily, reassured of her solitude, and then transformed back.

With the panoramic map provided by the small world, she needed neither to remember the way nor identify directions, speeding along leisurely.

After another fifteen minutes, a robust tree appeared in Fieyi’s view.

Its trunk was as thick as five people embracing, quite conspicuous. However, the tree was devoid of leaves, its branches drooping limply as if exhausted, with no wild grass around it, signifying its withered state.

[You should recognize this tree.]

"Yes, I do," Fieyi responded to the small world, "It's a dead Treant."

Treants usually pull themselves out of the soil and wander through the woods. As guardians of the forest, wild grass doesn’t grow on or around them.

Typically, there are only 1-2 Treants in a forest.

While living Treants are valuable potion ingredients, dead ones are not as useful.

Circling the Treant, Fieyi indeed found its hollowed trunk on the other side.

The scene was gruesome, akin to a human being cruelly stripped of vital organs while still alive.

Fieyi frowned, recalling how she had once saved a young Treant in the game. These beings were naive and pure, not only willingly offering themselves but also often bringing pretty flowers from the forest as gifts.

She looked around, walked a circle in the vicinity, and gathered many beautiful wildflowers and vines. Using magic, she wove them into a lovely floral cloth, which she then draped over the gaping hole in the Treant.

Raising her hand, black mist entwined around the floral cloth, stretching it until the magic covered the entire tree with beautiful flowers.

"Next life, choose to be something else," Fieyi patted the tree trunk.

The small world seemed to want to say something, a dialogue box flickered and then disappeared.

Fieyi stretched lazily, her eyes sparkling, "Alright, let's get to work."

She compared her location with the map, confirming that the spot was right at the base of the Treant, then chose a suitably shaped stone to start digging.

Occasionally checking the map to ensure she wasn’t off course, nearly an hour later, she finally hit something hard.

Wiping her sweat, Fieyi exerted more force to unearth the box.

Upon seeing the box’s surface, she paused.

It was a well-crafted box, palm-sized, simple yet exquisite in design, made from high-quality material, clearly not something from an ordinary household.

More importantly, in the lower left corner of the box, there was a moon emblem.

Fieyi was currently very sensitive to any "moon" symbols. She examined it and found that the moon, after years of burial, was rough and colorless, making it difficult to confirm if it was the familiar “Black Moon.”

She tried to ask the small world.

The small world provided part of the answer.

[The owner of the box lost it in this forest during a pursuit and the Treant picked it up and buried it here. Unfortunately, he was eventually slain by the sword.]

Sword?

She urged the small world for more information, but it only displayed another line.

[I am sorry, I cannot divulge more. I earnestly wish to help you, but the forces of the rules bind me.]

Is that so?

Fieyi didn’t dwell much on it, nor did she rush to check the contents of the box. She noted the information provided by the small world and examined the small box carefully.

After scrutinizing it for a while, she felt the combination of the box and the moon emblem seemed familiar, reminiscent of something belonging to Hill Wyatt.

All of Hill's belongings bore a common emblem, the family crest of the Wyatt clan – a proud and pure white swan.

Whether it be clothing, jewelry, stationery, or other items like toiletries and tools, anything that belonged to Hill would certainly feature the mark of the white swan.

Just like the moon engraved on this box.

Could the "moon" also be a family crest of some clan?

Fieyi thought she could look into this.

Investigating the identity of a mysterious, well-connected bar owner was difficult, but tracing a well-documented noble family was much easier.

Moreover, events like "pursuits" and "escapes" were not something ordinary people would encounter.

After recording every detail and piece of information, Fieyi finally sat down and slowly opened the box.

Inside the palm-sized wooden box was an inconspicuous bracelet.

The bracelet appeared quite ordinary, even less valuable than the box itself.

Fieyi found it strange, picked up the bracelet for a closer look, and cast a detection spell on it.

Upon examination, the bracelet suddenly emitted a red glow, indicating that there indeed was a layer of disguise on it.

Energized, she adjusted her modifier’s panel values to the maximum and then channeled a surge of magical power into the bracelet.

"Crack!" A transparent shell instantly split apart, revealing a shimmering silver light within.

"This is...!" Fieyi gasped in surprise!

She sprang to her feet, her eyes glued to the contents of the box.

Inside, the silver light gently twined around the bracelet, which was bright white all over, dotted with tiny diamonds.

Astonishingly, the bracelet had the ability to automatically adjust to the wearer's size.

Once worn, it would shrink to the perfect fit.

She couldn't believe it – this was the [Sage's Bracelet], the space artifact that had accompanied her for a long time in the game!

To ensure she wasn’t mistaken, Fieyi quickly tweaked a small diamond, just as she did in the game.

The next moment, a peculiar space unfolded before her eyes.

The interior of this space was about 5x5 square meters, exactly matching the game's specifications.

But experiencing this extradimensional space firsthand, physically placing and retrieving items from it, was nothing like controlling a character in a game.

It was like actually holding a Poké Ball or hanging a T-Rex machine around her neck – the feeling of happiness was overwhelming.

She never expected the small world to gift her a space artifact, and of the most familiar kind!

With this, infiltrating Elbire City to investigate the Black Moon Bar would be a breeze!

But before that, gathering information about the family with the "moon" emblem was crucial.

But whom to ask? Who would be most knowledgeable about the upper-class families?

Blinking, Fieyi pocketed the box and headed towards the central district of Alaraph City.

She casually entered a magic supply store and lavishly bought a stack of paper pigeons that could deliver messages automatically.

To learn about the history and details of upper-class families, naturally, one would turn to someone from an upper-class family themselves.

“I wonder what Hill has been up to during this long vacation?”