Chương 80: Gone Away

By the time Zelier returned to Blackstone Town, the final traces of sunset had just disappeared behind the mountains. Lanterns along both sides of the streets flickered to life one after another, and the entire town seemed to become lively in an instant. The charming tavern owners stood outside their establishments, calling out to passing customers. The aromas of various street foods drifted through the air as crowds moved back and forth, shoulders brushing against each other.

At the corner of the street, a bright-eyed bard sat on a small stool, cradling a weather-worn lute in his arms. Tonight, he was telling the tale of The Fell Dragon of the Shattered Mountains. It was everyone's favorite story. Half the street had gathered around him. People stood on their tiptoes, stretching their necks desperately to get a better view. The lute's melody flowed through the night. Then, accompanied by the bard's hoarse yet captivating voice, the story began.

"The dragon's breath scorched the earth, its claws tore apart the heavens... The hero drew his holy sword, shining with divine radiance, and stepped forward without fear! He crossed the swamps of endless mire and climbed the frozen peaks of the snowbound mountains. Thorns tore his armor apart, but they could never break his unwavering resolve. The hero declared:'For the smile of my beloved, for the peace of my kingdom!' Before the dragon's lair, he roared. His sword light rose like the blazing sun!

The evil dragon screamed in agony. Dragon blood rained from the skies!" At the climax of the tale, the bard suddenly swept his fingers across the strings. The lute erupted into a passionate melody. The surrounding crowd felt as if they had been transported into the battlefield itself. They could almost see the hero clashing against the ancient dragon. Thunderous applause and cheers immediately erupted. The bard stopped playing at the perfect moment. With a smile, he removed his hat and placed it in front of him.

"Clink. Clink. Clink..." Copper coins rained into the hat like droplets of rain. Even Zelier was caught up in the atmosphere. He pulled out two copper coins from his pocket and casually tossed them inside. At that moment— A flash of lightning tore across the sky. Thunder exploded overhead. Heavy rain poured down. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Streams of water cascaded from the rooftops. The tightly packed crowd instantly scattered.

People rushed beneath nearby roofs to escape the storm. The bard quickly packed away his lute and hat before disappearing down an alley in a hurry. A black stray cat suddenly shot out from behind a wooden barrel at the end of the street. With several agile leaps, it landed on the windowsill of a nearby house. In just moments, the once-bustling street became empty and silent again. Only the rain-soaked blue stone road remained.

Zelier pushed open the door of the Nightflower Inn, shutting out the wind and rain behind him.

"Good evening—oh my... Zelier, you're soaked!" The familiar energetic voice belonged to Auro. She had returned to working the night shift again. Auro hurried over with a clean towel in hand.

"Come warm yourself by the fireplace first. What would you like for dinner tonight?"

"The usual." Zelier smiled.

"Beef shank in red wine sauce."

"Coming right up!" The next morning. The sun had already climbed above the windowsill. Birds chirped endlessly outside. Zelier sat up in bed. After several minutes of light meditation, the last traces of sleepiness vanished, leaving him refreshed and alert. He opened the window. The sky was a clear blue. The fresh air after the storm rushed toward him. Yesterday's rainfall seemed to have washed away all the dust covering Blackstone Town. The scenery outside looked as if it had gained a natural filter.

Even the colors appeared brighter. After a night of extremely high-quality, dreamless deep sleep, Zelier's condition had fully recovered. The exhaustion accumulated from his previous battles had completely disappeared.

"Alright..." Zelier stretched lazily. His joints cracked with a series of pops.

"It's time to prepare for the path of advancement." His eyes flickered. The attribute panel appeared before him. Level: 8 (55/275) STR: 65 AGI: 61 CON: 68 SPI: 71 INT: 90 PER: 30 CHA: 51 LUK: 41 Talent Skill: Matrix Deduction Source Overload and Mana Compact were both currently locked. In his analysis queue, Healing Spell had already reached 83%. Extraction Spell had reached 72%. These two Tier-4 spells would likely be completely analyzed within two or three days. As for Great Creation Spell— Analysis Progress: 1%.

Zelier shook his head and stopped thinking about something so far beyond his current reach. Right now, he was only 220 experience points away from leveling up. That wasn't an impossible amount.

If he could kill two [Difficult] -rated monsters in a single mission, that should be enough. It was roughly the level of a two-star Lower-Rank commission. If that didn't work... He could simply complete another mission. Taking things step by step was not a bad approach. Once he had a goal, Zelier stopped hesitating. The first teammate he thought of was Cyr. With Cyr's assistance, his available mission options would expand significantly. Even three-star Lower-Rank commissions would no longer be impossible.

After washing up, Zelier ate Auro's specially prepared breakfast of fried eggs and salted meat pies before leaving the Nightflower Inn. Since it was broad daylight, Zelier estimated that nothing unexpected would happen. So he went alone to No. 7 Dark Lane. Even beneath the bright midday sun, the entrance of the alley still carried a gloomy atmosphere. The rain from last night had not completely dried. A sharp, fermented stench lingered in the air.

From beneath a pile of discarded wooden crates, a filthy rat suddenly darted out. It rushed past Zelier's feet before disappearing into the darkness of another corner. Zelier frowned slightly. Following his memory, he found No. 7 Dark Lane. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. The same five-knock signal. After a moment, a faint click came from the door. The familiar small viewing slot slid open. A pair of wary, scrutinizing eyes appeared behind it.

"I'm here to see Cyr." As he spoke, Zelier handed over the Black Feather token. But the person inside did not take it. Instead, a cold voice replied:"She's gone away. Messages won't reach her. Don't bother looking."

"Gone away...?" Zelier froze.

"May I ask when she'll be back?" The person behind the door clearly had no interest in answering. The viewing slot snapped shut. Silence returned once again.

"What kind of attitude is that..." The corner of Zelier's eye twitched. For a moment, he genuinely felt tempted to blast the door apart with an Arcane Missile. Gone away... Who knew what Cyr had gone to do? Could she have accepted some mysterious assassination mission? Or maybe she had gotten herself into trouble and was hiding until things cooled down? Zelier's thoughts wandered wildly for a while before he sighed. Looks like he wouldn't be able to recruit her for this mission.

With no other choice, Zelier turned around and headed to the Redbeard Inn to find Marcus. The two of them then went together toward the Adventurer's Guild. Amid the bustling crowd, Zelier spotted a particularly obvious figure. Gark. He looked exactly the same as before. A mountain of muscle standing among ordinary people. The broadaxe on his back, however, had been replaced with a new one. Judging from its appearance, the quality was clearly much higher.

Although Zelier had already gained some understanding of a warrior's incredible recovery ability, seeing Gark looking so energetic once again still shocked him.

"Are warriors basically able to recover as long as they're still breathing?" Zelier couldn't help turning to Marcus and asking.