After stripping the battlefield of every salvageable resource, I knelt by a trickling stream and thoroughly scrubbed the blood and grime from my hands.
"Hey, Loki!" Thorin’s voice echoed from a jagged outcropping of rocks bordering a nearby grove. "Over here. I found a cluster of glowing white flowers tucked behind this fallen log. You know if this stuff is worth anything? More importantly, can we brew wine with it?"
I smiled to myself. Thorin wasn’t exactly a scholar when it came to flora, but he possessed what I could only describe as absolute "Protagonist Luck."
The guy just naturally stumbled into valuable treasures without even trying.
I pushed aside a thick wall of tangled briars and knelt down to investigate. I pulled out my Hand Lamp—the world of Myst's answer to a classic Earth flashlight, consisting of a polished copper cylinder etched with containment runes and powered by a 1st Circle Light Core. I flicked it on, casting a steady beam over the flora.
Tucked into the damp soil were half a dozen exotic, luminous flowers. Their soft, pale glow cut through the forest's shadow, indicating they were fully matured and pulsing with concentrated energy.
"Cold witches' titties," I breathed, my eyes widening. "White Peony Root. And judging by the size of the stalks, they’re at least a century old."
Earlier, Shehuang had slipped me her spare personal Alchemy Kit—a compact cauldron forged for 1st-to-3rd Circle compounding—along with a miniature, mana-driven heating furnace. Thanks to the massive influx of Eastern knowledge she had shared through our soul bond, my mind automatically mapped out exactly how to process the find.
Snip. Rustle. Snip.
I pulled out my harvesting shears and began meticulously extracting the roots, ensuring the base stayed intact. Thorin watched me, his jaw dropping lower with every careful cut.
"Hey, Loki... since when do you know how to do herbalist work?" he asked, scratching his head.
"Shehuang has been teaching me the fundamentals of Eastern Alchemy and Pill Refining," I explained without looking up. "This specific root relaxes severe muscle tension and drastically accelerates physical recovery. Once we set up camp, I’m going to compound this into a concentrated medicinal bath for you. It’ll give your body the exact energetic push it needs to break through to a 2nd Circle Full Knight. You train multiple paths simultaneously, so your physical threshold requires a lot more external supplement than a normal warrior."
I stood up, carefully storing the roots away. Thorin suddenly grabbed my shoulders, shaking me with the unbridled excitement of a little kid.
"Brother, are you serious?!" he beamed. "The squires back at the base told me I’d have to wait until we reached the royal capital academy, just so a high-ranking Alchemist could synthesize an elixir tailored to my dual-aura matrix!"
I nodded, using the moment to explain a bit of the broader geopolitics I had parsed from my new memories. "Unlike Mages, who can simply sit still, meditate, and absorb ambient mana or beast cores directly into their hearts, Knights and Body Cultivators face a strict physical bottleneck. You can't just exercise and fight your way through the higher Circles. Your muscles and bones literally require external, medicinal catalysts to withstand the pressure of advanced aura."
I gestured out toward the dense expanse of the forest. "That’s why our kingdom is constantly fighting the Eastern Wastelands over territory. Those Eastern Cultivators don't call their homeland a 'wasteland' because it’s naturally a desert. It's a wasteland because for hundreds of thousands of years, their sects aggressively stripped the land of every scrap of natural resources without a single thought toward conservation or replanting."
Thorin listened intently, his usual boisterous demeanor fading into genuine curiosity.
"Because they completely depleted their own territory, they’re forced to launch constant incursions into the Demonic Beast Forests surrounding the Inner Sea," I continued. "They want the land protected by the Amazons, the Elves, and the Dark Elves. But Shehuang’s memories revealed an even deeper truth. The real prize isn't just the timber or the local herbs. It’s Yggdrasil, the World Tree."
"The World Tree?" Thorin repeated.
"It’s the cosmic anchor that physically links all thirteen elemental planes of Myst," I murmured, storing my tools. "The Eastern Immortals are desperate to seize control of the tree's roots because they act as direct gateways into pocket dimensions. The Cultivators call them 'Secret Realms,' and they're packed with ancient, untouched resources."
Thorin stared at me for a long moment, a comical look of profound confusion and sudden respect crossing his face as he processed the massive lore dump.
"I never knew you were so damn smart," he muttered, shaking his head. "I honestly just thought you were great at fermenting apple wine and got incredibly lucky with the Duchess. Now I see why Sylvia actually married you. But wait... if you know Eastern alchemy now, can you use those skills to brew some kind of magical alcohol for us?"
I froze, completely stunned. The concept hit my brain like a bolt of lightning. I had spent my life focusing on traditional brewing, and a month focusing on magical theory, but I had never thought to synthesize the two.
"Holy hell, Thorin," I grinned, a massive smile spreading across my face. "You’re an absolute genius. I can absolutely do that."
We swapped identical, mischievous smirks, already imagining the sheer potency of an alchemically synthesized spirit. Little did we know, testing that theory later in life would turn out to be a spectacularly chaotic mistake.
Crackle. Pop.
The steady snapping of the campfire was the only sound echoing through the darkened grove. Thorin was already fast asleep, wrapped tightly in his heavy bedroll with his back turned to the flames. The rich, savory scent of roasted rabbit still lingered in the crisp night air. Lacking high-end spices out in the wild, I had relied on basic survival seasoning—a simple skill, but enough to keep us fed.
[Lord Loki, I am returning to your side.]
A cool, melodic voice whispered directly into my mind via a localized thread of utility magic. A second later, the shadows beside the fire shifted, and Taki Tsuki stepped into the light.
"My Lord," the Dark Elf murmured, bowing her head slightly. "I managed to locate several rare herbs that escaped your initial sweep. They were masked by localized illusions."
She reached into the folds of her midnight-indigo robe, pulling out a small, neatly tied cloth bundle. I accepted it, untying the knot to inspect the contents. Because Taki was a direct summon of Shehuang, she inherited the exact same baseline of operational skills and assessment criteria that had been transferred to me.
"Unbelievable," I muttered, looking at the vibrant roots. "Thousand-year Safflower and Dipsaci. This is perfect. I can definitely construct the physical tempering bath for Thorin now. The only things I'm still missing for my own progression are a batch of 2nd Circle Demonic Beast blood and a few supplementary catalysts for a Bone Tempering Pill."
The blue-skinned beauty offered a subtle smile, her stark white eyes remaining closed as she reached back into her robes. With a fluid, mysterious flick of her wrist, she produced a pristine white porcelain vial. I had a sneaking suspicion she was pulling it from a concealed spatial ring rather than her cleavage, but she clearly enjoyed maintaining an air of mystique.
"I took the liberty of compounding this earlier today, testing the limits of the local flora," Taki said softly, holding the vial out with both hands. "A specialized Bone Forging Pill. It will perfectly stabilize a 2nd Circle Vanguard breakthrough."
"Taki, you're incredible—"
I reached out to take the vial, but with a dizzying display of sleight of hand, she pulled it just out of my reach.
"My Lord," she whispered, her head tilting slightly. "When I glimpsed the echoes of the dreams you hold within your soul... I could not comprehend the foreign language you spoke, nor the strange city you inhabited. But I saw that you frequently sang to the human incarnation of myself. She appeared deeply at peace."
She stepped closer, the faint, intoxicating scent of honeysuckle drifting off her skin. "Perhaps... my Lord would grant me a similar favor tonight? A song or two?"
I chuckled nervously, looking over at the sleeping form of my brother. This girl is dangerously smooth, I thought.
"I don't mind singing at all, Taki," I replied in a hushed tone. "But we're sitting in the middle of an unsecured, wild forest. Belting out a tune right now is basically ringing a dinner bell for every predatory beast within five miles."
She conceded with a graceful nod, apparently satisfied with the logic, and gently pressed the cool porcelain vial into my palm.
"I will hold you to that promise when we return to safety, Lord Loki," she murmured. Then, her posture shifted, becoming infinitely softer as she let one side of her dark robe slide slowly down her shoulder, exposing a smooth, flawless expanse of cerulean skin. "Master Shehuang informed me that it is the duty of a loyal shadow to warm her master's bed... assuming a Dark Elf does not displease you?"
My breath hitched, and a sudden, highly localized surge of blood pressure firmly contradicted any idea of displeasure. But I took a deep breath, forcing my racing thoughts to calm down, and gently reached out to pull her robe back up over her shoulder.
"Taki... you are absolutely stunning, and I'm incredibly flattered," I said, offering her a genuine, quiet smile. "But first of all, we're in the middle of active monster territory. Second... Shehuang doesn't exactly operate on human morality, and I don't blame her for that. But for me... I can't just dive into something intimate with someone I've only known for a few days. Up until very recently, I fully intended to spend my entire life devoted to just one woman."
I caught her chin gently, guiding her closed gaze to meet my face. "I'm not rejecting you, Taki. I just want us to actually get to know each other first. Okay?"
Taki Tsuki stared at me through her closed eyelids for a moment, a sudden, deep purple blush staining her blue cheeks. A look of profound respect crossed her features.
"It is because the human woman in your memories held your entire heart," she realized softly, her voice filled with a strange warmth. "I am not slighted, Lord Loki. If anything, knowing the depth of your loyalty only makes my spirit glad. Go to sleep and rest. I will stand guard through the night. If it pleases you... you may use my lap as a pillow. I promise it is comfortable."
She sat cross-legged by the fading embers, patting her thighs. Realizing there was no harm in a little comfort, I stretched out on the bedroll and rested my head on her lap.
I closed my eyes and began softly humming the low, rhythmic cadences of an old Earth melody. Taki’s slender, dedicated fingers gently threaded through my red hair, soothing the lingering tension of the day as the forest faded into a peaceful silence.
When my eyes blinked open the next morning, the campfire was nothing but cold ash. Thorin was already groggily stretching his limbs, and Taki was nowhere to be seen.
Yet, I knew she had stayed until the final moments of dawn. The makeshift pillow beneath my head was still warm, retaining the distinct, sweet scent of honeysuckle. Furthermore, my skin, clothes, and armor were completely pristine. She had quietly cast her Water Utility magic while I slept, effortlessly lifting away a day's worth of travel dust. Note to self, I thought, Water element utility is hands down the best magic for staying clean in the wild.
I stood up, rolling my shoulders, and looked over at my brother. "Hey, Thorin. I’ve parsed all the ingredients we harvested. We have everything we need for your Full Knight medicinal bath. Once we finish today's hunt and clear a secure perimeter, we’ll find a secluded spot to trigger your breakthrough."
Thorin's eyes lit up. He pointed a heavily armored gauntlet toward the eastern tree line. "There’s a small river feeding into a series of isolated hot springs about a half-day's trek that way. If we clear out whatever's nesting there, it'll make the perfect staging ground."
We quickly packed up our gear, stored our heavy travel saddles inside our respective spatial rings to let our Clydesdales graze comfortably near the forest edge, and ventured deeper into the wild.
By three in the afternoon, our scavenging run had yielded an incredible haul: Bone-Repairing Herb, Psoralea Corylifolia, Blood Ginseng, and even a specimen of rare Eastern Foxglove. Ironically, these were the exact high-grade materials I would need to fuel my own 3rd Circle Vanguard promotion in a month or two.
The low, rhythmic rushing of water echoed through the trees as we approached the waterfall. We dropped into a low crouch, moving with practiced stealth through the dense underbrush until we reached the edge of a wide waterhole.
I silently unslung the Elven Longbow from my back. Up close, its otherworldly craftsmanship was breathtaking. Forged from the ancient, living branches of Yggdrasil itself, the dark wood possessed a natural luster that caught the dappled sunlight, pulsing with faint, emerald-green Elven runes.
It was lighter than air, yet virtually indestructible—capable of parrying a steel broadsword without taking a scratch. The bowstring, woven from the enchanted hair of an Elven High Priestess, hummed with latent power.
I gripped the frame, channeling a precise blend of my Air aura and Life magic into the draw. A translucent, whistling arrow formed out of pure atmospheric pressure and vital energy, locked and loaded without a physical shaft.
"Can you actually bring down a 3rd Circle Ogre from here?" Thorin whispered, peering through the leaves. "The bastard is massive."
Perched on a rocky ledge at the apex of the twenty-foot waterfall was a hulking, fifteen-foot monstrosity. It had a thick, heavily calloused hide, a flattened, pig-like snout, and brutal yellow eyes. It was currently entirely occupied with tearing into a giant fish it had scooped from the river, its broad back completely exposed to our position.
"Shush," I hissed, closing one eye to calibrate the wind resistance. "He's completely distracted. Let me focus on the track..."
BURP.
A massive, echoing, Apple Mead-scented belch ripped through the silence right next to my ear.
At the top of the ledge, the Ogre’s massive, pointed ears instantly twitched. It dropped the fish, its heavy head snapping toward our bush.
"You idiot brother!" I yelled internally.
With our stealth completely blown, I abandoned my careful calibration, muttered a curse, and let the string fly.
Twang!
Fueled by the bow's innate amplification, the localized sonic boom of the Air aura launched the arrow like a railgun. But because the Ogre had violently shifted its weight to stand, my rushed shot missed his vital spine—and slammed directly into the side of his massive, boulder-like kneecap.
Thwack!
"GRAAAAAAH!" the beast roared, the localized burst of compressed air shattering the joint from the inside out.
The sudden, catastrophic loss of support caught the giant entirely off guard. It stumbled blindly forward, its massive momentum carrying it right over the lip of the slippery wet cliff.
Whoosh—THUD. CRACK.
The fifteen-foot Ogre plummeted straight down, executing a clumsy, terrifying headfirst dive onto a cluster of jagged, razor-sharp boulders lining the bottom of the deep pool. Its skull split open with a sickening crunch, and the giant went entirely limp, its dark blood rapidly staining the churning froth of the waterfall.
The forest fell silent once more.
Thorin stood up slowly, staring at the floating corpse in utter disbelief. Then, a massive grin broke across his face, and he slapped my shoulder with enough force to dent plate armor.
"Holy hell, Loki! When we get to the royal capital, I am hitting every single tavern on the strip to tell the story of how my scrawny little brother assassinated a 3rd Circle Ogre with a single arrow! That was legendary!"
I groaned, wiping a splash of river water from my face as I unstrung my bow.
"That wasn't an assassination, Thorin," I sighed, looking at the dead giant. "That was more like... assisted suicide."
Thorin just laughed, drawing his hunting blade. "A win is a win! Let's harvest the core so we can start setting up your alchemical breakthrough station."
I shook my head, a smile finally cutting through my annoyance as we walked toward our prize.
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