It wasn't that Yu Yu's focus was odd—it was just…
Senior Chong's robe was way too lively!
Tendrils?
But so long? And right in the center?!
Could it be a tail?
Lynn only mentioned tendrils and eyes, not tails or feathers, right?
Yu Yu fought the urge to lift the robe. "Senior, what should I watch out for?"
Chong had led her to a small plaza behind the camp. Aside from casually crushing a night crow, this Senior seemed quite friendly. Of course, Senior Chang's influence might've helped.
"Watch out? Hmm, hold on, we're here."
Chong pointed, and starlight unfurled, forming a massive array in the plaza's center. Her figure vanished. Yu Yu blinked, hurrying after. Inside, the space resembled a vast garage—blindingly white, lights glaring. Yu Yu's eyes shot to Chong's robe.
It swayed, tail-like, with an idle grace.
Visible, untouchable—a cruel torment.
Yu Yu shut her eyes in agony.
"Come."
Reining in her emotions, Yu Yu jogged to catch up. This was likely a warehouse. Items lined the space, categorized, but Yu Yu recognized almost nothing.
"Here's a star chart. Keep it safe—losing it costs gold."
Yu Yu received a silver disc of strange material, intricately patterned but hollow in the center. Just… a disc!
"Star chart?"
Eternal Darkness was pitch-black. Stars? Where?
"Spirit."
Yu Yu fed it a thread of Spirit. The disc glowed, water surging within, filling it with silvery liquid that stayed put no matter how she tilted it. She tipped it, flipped it, then looked helplessly at Chong.
Chong: "Oh, forgot to teach you the spells."
As she spoke, notifications flooded Yu Yu.
[Star guidance]
[Stellar sanctuary]
[Void sanity]
Chong held small vials. "Here. Blue's for void sanity—keeps you perfectly rational. The more you take, the clearer your head."
"Red's for lowering corruption," she paused, musing. "I shouldn't need to say this, but since you're here, a quick word."
"Pollution is a stubborn thing. Drugs that reduce pollution have certain side effects and can cause dependence. If used too much, the effect will become weaker and weaker."
"My advice: don't use them unless you must. Use sparingly. Keep corruption below 20, and it'll fade naturally in Silver Moon."
"Unless critical, skip the drugs."
Yu Yu took two strips of red vials, startled. "Side effects? Bad ones?"
Chong glanced. "These are the mildest. Only side effect is craving more."
"…Well, maybe bloating if you overdo it."
Yu Yu, spooked, pouted. "Got it, Senior."
She counted—50 red vials.
That many for one trip?
Chong, casual: "No hoarding. Return leftovers."
Yu Yu: "Oh, oh."
Phew, not all for use.
Chong handed over a strip of blue vials. "This is 'Solanine.' Use with void sanity. Return every last one."
"Magic circle warning: spellcasters can't use Solanine in formal settings."
"Without permission, no spellcaster may brew Solanine."
"Break these rules, report to enforcement."
Yu Yu's eyes widened, clutching the blue vials. "…Senior, understood. Can you, uh, let go?"
Chong released her, exuding resignation. "In short, spellcasters still have to rely on themselves, taking drugs will not have good results."
"Don't get hooked on void sanity. This kind of reason is empty. If you use it too much, it will change your personality." She seemed to have a lot of complaints. "A lot of people in the magic circle are addicted to taking Solanine, which leads to us being misunderstood by the outside world. What cold and ruthless..."
"The reputation of the magic circle has been damaged, and every spellcaster who is addicted to Solanine is responsible."
Yu Yu glanced at the blue vials.
From Chong's tone, they sounded like alcohol—addictive, too?
Her, Yu Yu, hooked on Solanine?
Pfft, never!
Stowing the vials, she pressed, "Anything else?"
"Use star guidance with the star chart."
Yu Yu complied.
The silver disc's clear water rippled, unveiling a starry sky.
"So beautiful!"
Chong: "The red dot is your location, the green dot is the camp of the magic circle, and the yellow dot is the dangerous camp, which is an observation point for high-risk anomalies. Don't go there if you don't want to die."
"Do you see the starlight behind you?"
Yu Yu nodded repeatedly.
What an advanced map technology! It can even be divided into layers. Not only that, it seems to have a scale. It was clearly just a pool of water, but when she looked at it, she seemed to be able to see every path clearly.
"Beyond the Silver Moon, the sky is not trustworthy, the earth is not trustworthy, and the stars in the sky are all false. Only the stars on the astrolabe are real."
"Don't trust the sky, don't trust the stars, don't trust the earth, and don't trust anything out there that can talk to you."
Chong placed her palm on the star plate, ripples appeared, and starlight rose from under her hand. Rays of starlight leaped, and soon a bright starry sky appeared in the warehouse. They are connected, shoulder to shoulder, and surround each other, turning the entire warehouse into a sea of stars.
"Gorgeous…" Yu Yu gazed skyward.
Chong looked up, pleased. "Since the Dark Age, countless Excellencies' (Legendary tier spellcasters) wills became these stars, shielding Silver Moon, you, and me."
"Of all things, only this sky is utterly true, utterly kind."
"When the star chart fails, use stellar sanctuary."
She said, "I don't know if it will succeed. After all, there are too many people in Silver Moon. Not everyone can be noticed by the Crowns and happen to be close to the Crowns."
She pinched her chin in distress. "Except for us spellcasters, the protection of other legends is more dependent on fate. Their spirits are not strong enough for them to listen to the call from too far away. Whether they can meet or not depends entirely on luck."
"As legendary spellcasters, we have too many people to protect. It may not be your turn."
She handed Yu Yu a small note with words written on it, "This is a relatively unpopular legendary crown that not many people know about. He only ascended to heaven in recent years. The possibility of your calling being successful is relatively high."
"Of course, I can't guarantee that they will all be available. Maybe they are all very busy at the time."
"Void sanity—you'll figure it out," she cautioned. "Don't get hooked."
She walked on. "These potions heal surface wounds, but most anomaly damage doesn't mend normally. If wounds gape, return."
"Else, corruption builds, and your wounds might… sprout things. No guarantees."
Yu Yu's eyelids twitched. "Understood."
She glanced down—50 extreme healing potions, priced in gold in Silver Moon, meant for high-tiers.
Chong pulled out a stack of scrolls. "Danger? Use these. Safety first."
[Improved flame burst] ×10, [Improved chain lightning] ×10, [Improved arcane blast] ×10, [Improved high-tier evil ward] ×10, [Improved spell distress] ×10.
Chong hesitated, then, wincing, handed over personal scrolls. "First mainland trips are deadly. It gets easier."
Yu Yu, dazed by the wealth, took them.
[Improved windriding] ×2, [Improved random teleport] ×2.
Unlike the magic circle's stack, these had gold borders.
Chong, pained: "Fourth-ring spells cost a fortune. The magic circle can't afford them."
"No such goodies next time."
She waved. "Got everything? Scram."
Yu Yu, reading her face, bolted. "Thank you, Senior, for your generosity. This junior's eternally grateful!"
Emerging, Yu Yu felt like a hamster stuffed from a rice hoard, eyes round.
Spotting Lynn, she realized she forgot to mention her.
But she'd gotten so much!
Yu Yu waved cheerfully.
Lynn's expression started natural, lingering on the red vials. "…Forgot, first-timers use different drugs."
As Yu Yu listed her haul, Lynn's face unraveled. "Star guidance? Heard of it."
"Void sanity? Oh, so that's why the magic circle seems nuts?"
"Spellcaster legends, obscure ones? Hmph, you're a spellcaster," her tone soured. "No surprise."
"50?" Lynn held it together. "…Just extreme healing potions. Fine."
"What? Scrolls…? Third-ring? Why?! They're hundreds of gold each!!!"
"Fourth-ring… random teleport…" Lynn collapsed.
"Lynn?" Yu Yu shook her. "Lynn? You alive?"
The half-elf sprawled, unresponsive even to ear pinching. After a while, Lynn dazedly gathered supplies: green anti-corruption potions, strong healing potions, a few extreme ones, antidotes, and miscellaneous trinkets stuffed in her small bag. Her bag held a temporary star chart scroll, 3/10 uses left.
Scrolls? Dream on.
Meager, pitiful, helpless.
That was Lynn post-Yu Yu's rundown.
Yu Yu eyed her gear. "Anything I need to prep?"
Lynn, still dazed, muttered, "…Prep what? Nothing."
"Spellcasters are already all-rounded." Dragged by Yu Yu, her ears drooped. "Why're magic circle scrolls so pricey? Us living longer doesn't benefit them?"
She trudged, faith shaken. Yu Yu sensed Lynn's high hopes for the magic circle.
Without expectations, why such despair?
Yu Yu: "Maybe there's a reason? Seniors are smart—they think further than us."
"Really?" Lynn's emerald eyes glistened, pitiful.
Yu Yu, firm: "Really."
Leaving Withered Wood Town, they were far from the mainland's gate.
"Broken Blade Cape," Lynn said. "Legend says Excellencies fell defending the Allen Peninsula, forming a sword-shaped cape."
"That battle nearly severed the continent from the peninsula. Seawater flooded, almost making the peninsula an island."
"Almost?"
Lynn's tone was complex. "Not fully broken, but that side's a defense hotspot. Easier to cross by sea."
"Upwind Isles, and Machili Isles folk say the magic circle abandoned the mainland and them."
"They guard only the Allen Peninsula, ignoring other isles' fates."
Yu Yu: "…Maybe consolidating defenses?"
Lynn shook her head. "The farther away from the main continent, the less interference you will receive from anomalies. There are still many people in the archipelagoes and islands."
"Theoretically safer."
They did not ride horses, but walked slowly. This dock is also guarded by a magic ring, and there are a large number of magical creations that Yu Yu has never seen before.
"Then why complain? Isn't it safer?"
Lynn mused, "But the aura of abnormality is everywhere. There will be followers of the evil god traveling thousands of miles overseas, and there is also the threat of mutant assimilation."
"Without the protection of magic ring, their living environment is worse than ours," she whispered. "The Allen Peninsula can still maintain its pure bloodline, but they are already unable to protect themselves due to various incidents."
"Where's the 'safer'?"
Lynn paused, then said, "If the magic circle went, wouldn't it be safer?"
She added, "The magic circle doesn't tolerate arrogant nobles, chaotic factions, or strongmen. They can't defy them."
"Their rules are strict. Those folks," Lynn shook her head, "wouldn't adapt. They'd die, die, die…"
Muttering "die, die, die," she sounded gleeful, not sympathetic.
Yu Yu, waiting for the ship, pondered. "Maybe the magic circle's ambitions are bigger?"
"The Allen Peninsula is at least connected to the main continent, so maybe we can fight back someday," Yu Yu said, "If we retreat overseas, we have to take a ship to fight back, right?"
Yu Yu thought about it and shook her head, "That won't work."
Lynn, blindsided by the angle, stared, eyes wide.
Yu Yu: "What? Sounds plausible to me."
There weren't many people on board, but there weren't a few either.
Without noticing, Yu Yu became the focus of the crowd.
Lynn's voice carried, and here, no one hushed for the magic circle. They spoke freely.
Their words were overheard.
"Indeed, an unforeseen angle…" a raspy voice murmured. "The magic circle harbors such ambition?"
"They hold many mainland outposts. Only they can establish them."
Yu Yu's back chilled, but she didn't turn, sidling closer to Lynn.
Lynn also snapping back, muttered, "Could it be?"
"Maybe only spellcasters understand spellcasters?"
"Ship's here," she perked up. "Let's go."
As they boarded, Chong stretched, smirking, "Intriguing, truly."
"This Yu," she chuckled, "many high-tier spellcasters never considered this, yet she nails it."
"Does she think like the council?"
What kind of person, when faced with this problem for the first time, would take it for granted that magic circle doesn't want to go far away because they wants to counterattack the mainland?
Curious indeed.
Chong: "I need to ask what this kid's been up to. Why did Chang vouch for her?"
Between peninsula and mainland, the distance was short—no deep sea, logically.
But gazing at the water, Yu Yu saw not shallow azure but bottomless ink-blue, flickering to pitch-black.
Deep-sea hues.
Did that battle carve a deep sea here?
"Don't stare at the sea. Scary things lurk." Lynn pulled her back.
The ship's passengers were those waiting at the dock.
In twos and threes, none alone.
Most wore heavy black robes, barely speaking, standing or sitting in cold silence.
Yu Yu felt out of place.
NPCs needed players' warmth to liven things up.
She missed players' carefree chaos.
The Federation hadn't confirmed Eternal Darkness's nature. Without declaring it a world, players leaned toward it being high-tech, urging the Federation for open testing.
However, players are still being generated continuously, and they have basically no combat effectiveness before reaching the initial stage. After the discovery of the function of bronze ware, the safety of ordinary people was greatly improved again.
One to contain the birth of anomalies, and one to expel formed anomalies, which is exactly what the Federation needs. If we can stabilize the situation, we may be able to return to the way things were before.
The prerequisite is that there are enough bronze ware.
Musing, Yu Yu asked Lynn, "Got any ancient relics here?"
"Like, group-will auras that curb anomaly births and repel formed ones?"
"You mean 'Stars'?"
Yu Yu froze, recalling that starry sky. "…Right, a massive bronze artifact."
Made of people…
But their Stars were legendary wills? The Federation couldn't replicate that.
She asked, "Can Stars reduce corruption?"
"Of course, or why would Silver Moon lower corruption?"
Yu Yu, half-getting it, said, "No wonder."
Her twig had been with her a while, no corruption yet. She'd snuggle it later.
A twig's corruption reduction surely paled next to Stars.
The ship docked.
Guards stood watch.
The vibe was too grim. Yu Yu missed players again.
Players wouldn't be this dour.
They'd joke and laugh, maybe one swimming ashore after falling.
Lost in thought, Lynn said, "Let's go."
The mainland was bleaker than Deadwood Town—a ghostly wasteland.
Ruins, withered earth, relics, and mud stretched endlessly.
The sky hung lower, darker than the Allen Peninsula's. If before was a stormy overcast, now it was twilight's last glow.
Sun set, a faint light lingering.
Yu Yu couldn't resist, casting candlelight.
"Too grim. No wonder folks go nuts."
"When outsiders arrive, we'll revamp this."
Lynn glanced at the bright orb, her mood easing. "The mainland's like this. Who'd return if not for survival?"
"You got a mission? I didn't."
Lynn: "Big one's excavating Lynx Capital, once a major factory hub—one of the magic circle's."
"They're recovering important stuff, and everyone's cooperative," Lynn griped. "Centuries of fetching their junk."
"We risk our lives, and they share nothing. The magic circle's inhumane."
She scowled, "Yu, is that fair?"
"Digging up tons, they never explain, never ask, never tell—just dig, dig, dig," her frustration boiled. "If elders didn't say it's good, I'd skip their missions!"
"They're so smug, like I'm unworthy," Lynn fumed, bristling. "Trash magic circle. I'll teach them someday."
Yu Yu sidestepped, soothing, "There, there. If I learn anything, I'll spill, okay?"
Lynn huffed, aloof. "I don't care to know."
"Let's go, teleport array."
Yu Yu blinked. "Teleport array?"
"Of course," Lynn said. "The mainland's huge. We walking?"
"Don't worry, the magic circle maintains these. Nearby anomalies are cleared."
Yu Yu couldn't help it: "The magic circle's awesome."
Lynn shot back, "But we run missions for materials, locations, prep."
"They just cast spells and set frames. What's awesome?"
Yu Yu tugged her. "Hush, let's go."
Please, they're listening by the array.
The high-tier spellcaster, aloof, glanced once, activated the array, and said nothing.
Yu Yu opened her eyes to a vast city… ruin.
"Huh, they're not with us?"
"Of course not. Lynx City's fresh—unexplored anomalies. I'm not taking you there."
"Then where?"
Lynn, smug: "Endea, dug for two centuries. Anomalies mapped, beasts and gods long gone. We're scavenging."
Yu Yu deflated. "What's to scavenge?"
Lynn: "You're an outsider. Who knows?"
"What's your mission?"
Lynn: "Underground mapping. Endea's a third-rate city, but its nobles left rich underground structures, mostly useless."
"The magic circle loves total control. Mapping's grueling, but rewards are solid."
"Spellcasters should breeze through, right?"
Yu Yu rallied. "Let's do this."
She launched a mage eye overhead.
Its perspective—wide, top-down, sweeping—was odd but ideal for scouting. She'd adapted.
If the Federation had this spell, no more whining about jammed instruments or magnetic fields.
Once mastered, she'd enchant mage eye gear for them.
Following Lynn, Yu Yu stepped cautiously into the silent city.
Or rather… ruin.
First second in, she spotted a massive rat…
"Why rats here?"
Lynn, unfazed: "Where aren't rats?"
Yu Yu mused.
Shu Tu had a beast skill, Rat King Authority. Bring her next time—faster mapping?
She'd skipped it, grossed out by rats…
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