Chapter 11

After the initial round of understanding, the atmosphere relaxed considerably.

Leo was also given permission to heal his facial injuries, and the Silence was lifted.

However, Perila remained on high alert. The instant he saw Leo was about to speak without thinking again, he’d smack Silence right back onto Leo’s head.

Qin Lang was quite envious.

If he chose a magic-based class, he could slap a Silence buff on Xia Xifeng.

But then he thought about how Xia Xifeng would just spam the chat even worse if silenced, and Qin Lang sighed inwardly.

Why wasn’t there a temporary block or ignore function in the system?

Though Qin Lang was stone-faced, Xia Xifeng could tell what petty schemes he was cooking just by glancing at him. He promptly bombarded Qin Lang in the system chat with a string of “Pfft pfft pfft” and “Hahahaha.”

“You’re going to be Pioneer Knights? Then we have to hurry back to the village and tell everyone the good news! Let’s have another feast!” Leo’s voice pitched higher when he could talk.

A feast! A feast! Halflings never missed a single chance to throw a feast!

Perila said, “They just became Pioneer Knights. Feng and Lang are bound to be very busy.”

Leo immediately corrected himself: “We’ll go back to the village and have everyone come help! Once Feng and Lang are done with the busiest part, we’ll throw the feast then!”

Perila thought for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.”

It wasn’t just Qin Lang whose head was full of question marks. Even the gregarious, outgoing Xia Xifeng was completely baffled.

You two just decided on your own? What about our opinions?

Leo and Perila, seemingly completely oblivious that Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang might object, were already excitedly discussing how they’d help them settle the wilderness.

Perfect timing too—it was the farming off-season. The whole village was so idle they’d be itching to throw a feast every single day.

If there was no feast, then what Halflings loved most was labor.

Farming! Farming! Farming!

Cultivating every last corner of uncultivated land!

Leo patted his chest to Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang. “Don’t you worry. We’ll only work. Whatever way you say to do it, we’ll do it!”

Amuruo gleefully watched Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang’s predicament. He saw how awkward these two juniors were getting.

Suer waited for Amuruo to step in and smooth things over.

On matters concerning Pioneer Knights, the City Lord should be the one to speak. But Amuruo ignored his pointed look.

Suer filed this grudge away in his heart and had to personally intervene to stop Leo and Perila.

“By receiving the Sunflower Pendants, you are already considered clan by the Halflings. The Halflings will help you with all their might. No need to be shy,” Suer said. “I know this is still hard for you to grasp. Just take good care of them as recompense in the future.”

Xia Xifeng: “Huh?” Wasn’t this taking way too much advantage?

Qin Lang quickly shifted the blame. “He’s the honorary Halfling, not me.”

I didn’t take a Sunflower Pendant. Don’t drag me into this.

Xia Xifeng: “?” The one who saved Leo was you!

Leo asked, puzzled: “Aren’t you two a single unit? Why split things so finely? Perila, did you still not give away your pendant?”

Perila was well-traveled and his thinking was a bit more nuanced than the average Halfling. Although his Halfling nature had just taken over, once he calmed down, he could understand Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang’s awkwardness.

It was precisely because Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang were good people that they felt uncomfortable receiving such all-out help from Halflings they’d only just befriended.

Stifling a laugh inside, Perila truly went along with Leo’s nonsense and took out his own Sunflower Pendant.

This time it was Qin Lang’s turn to have a “?” floating over his head.

Xia Xifeng pressed down on Qin Lang’s shoulder. “Hurry and accept it.”

Could I not? Qin Lang, very reluctantly, accepted Perila’s Sunflower Pendant, even having to say thank you.

A Sunflower Pendant represented a lifetime guarantee of friendship from a Halfling. If he still wanted to be friends with Halflings, he couldn’t refuse such a weighty bond of friendship.

Once Qin Lang had tucked away the Sunflower Pendant, he finally found a few more words for these new friends: “The Sunflower Pendant holds great significance. You shouldn’t be so hasty.”

Leo laughed, slinging his arm over Perila’s shoulder. The two of them rocked side to side. And now, Perila’s grin was identical to Leo’s.

“You must trust us Halflings’ intuition. We Halflings are never hasty!”

“Yeah!”

Qin Lang rolled his eyes.

Xia Xifeng, watching Qin Lang make that extremely indecorous expression, clutched his stomach laughing.

He was still awkward as hell, but seeing Qin Lang suffer, he was happy.

Qin Lang detested trouble and hated owing people favors. Therefore, warm-hearted, kind people who acted without thinking of reward were Qin Lang’s ultimate nemesis—they made him owe favors and dragged him into trouble.

Such people were rare in reality, but sorry, this was a fantasy world. The fairy-tale race, Halflings, got it?

Hahahahahaha.

Suer had been slightly worried that Qin Lang might be a bit cold-natured, but now he saw his worries were unnecessary.

Although Guardian Knights each had their own quirks, at heart, they were all excellent people.

Leo wanted to immediately go see what his friends’ new land looked like, but Suer stopped him.

The Little Prophet and his Guardian Knight companion had just arrived in Green Sand City. They knew nothing about Green Sand City and should spend a few more days exploring before heading out to settle the wilderness.

Besides, when juniors arrived, how could elders not show some care?

Suer decided that Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang would first stay at the castle for a few days. Leo and Perila would stay too—a perfect chance to check on their lessons.

Although Amuruo refused to admit he was Leo’s teacher, the lessons still had to be checked.

Damon said sheepishly: “I seem like a fifth wheel.”

Suer beckoned to Damon. “Come here.”

Damon immediately trotted over like a child.

Amuruo watched the whole show from the sidelines, doing whatever Suer said.

Xia Xifeng couldn’t help spamming the chat: 【Who’s the mascot of Green Sand City? Who’s really the mascot of Green Sand City?! Players owe Mr. Suer the Prophet an apology!】

Inwardly, Qin Lang nodded in agreement.

Players only ever encountered legendary NPCs like the City Lord of Green Sand City during quests or major events. At those times, Amuruo was worthy of his title as a heroic City Lord—extremely reliable.

How were players supposed to know that in private, Amuruo was like this?

Seems like the “Gloomy Dragon” was the one truly laboring as City Lord. No wonder he looked perpetually gloomy.

Suer asked Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang where they’d like to visit.

Both were very curious about Green Sand City Castle—whether it was areas players could access or restricted ones. Architecture from a game brought into reality would spark intense curiosity in any player.

But there’d be time for touring later. The sword of the apocalypse still hung over their heads. Since Amuruo and Suer, both exceptionally busy men, had specifically cleared their schedules today, Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang wanted to seek their guidance.

Xia Xifeng went to the library, attempting to figure out exactly how many years remained until the apocalypse, and then ask Suer about handcrafting items.

Although the system hadn’t explicitly told him, the immense trove of knowledge that flooded Xia Xifeng’s mind upon reaching level ten made it obvious he had class-changed as well.

The mass-produced items the system auto “3D-printed” were at best “Superior” quality. If Xia Xifeng wanted to make “Perfect” items with special affixes, he’d have to craft them by hand.

Brain understanding it didn’t mean hands could do it. Since Prophets were said to be master-of-all-trades Life-Skill practitioners, Xia Xifeng naturally had to grab hold of this big tree and apprentice himself immediately.

Qin Lang’s task was equally simple: also studying under a master.

The players’ skills had become real abilities. The connections and transitions between skills would have far more variety now, and having someone guide him was definitely faster than fumbling on his own.

Perila wanted to go with Xia Xifeng to the library but was forcibly dragged by Leo to the training grounds.

Leo: “If the old… City Lord beats me up again, someone needs to heal me!”

Perila: “Can’t you just control that mouth of yours and stop provoking the City Lord?!”

Damon: “Lang, don’t worry. I’m also very skilled at healing.”

Qin Lang wasn’t worried at all. He just wanted to train, not get injured.

As he left, Xia Xifeng sent Qin Lang a string of 【Hahahaha】, wishing Qin Lang plenty of beatings.

Green Sand City’s library held an immensely rich collection of books, far more than the “excerpted” versions of Green Sand City Library books found in the game.

However, in terms of layout and categorization, the real library was quite similar to the game’s.

Xia Xifeng was highly goal-oriented and immediately chose the “Historical Records” section.

From official histories recorded by officials of various nations, to legends and anecdotes debated by mythological researchers, and even the folk tales passed down through the songs of bards from every race—Xia Xifeng began reading from this year’s “news” and worked backward, month by month, year by year.

He couldn’t remember the exact calendar years of major events in the game’s chronicles, but when it came to important NPCs, major quests, or key dungeons, Xia Xifeng had a vague recollection.

For example, the “Inson’s Ascension” event occurred two years before the “Fall of Hope’s Sun.” Two years after that, the “Fall of Hope’s Sun” would happen.

During those two years after “Inson’s Ascension,” Corrupted Monsters had already started appearing in various places. All the higher-ups of every race had smelled the coming storm, issuing summoning orders for their elite warriors traveling abroad to return home, strengthen their militaries, and fortify city defenses.

The events players could remember well enough to work backward and pinpoint exact times might be “minor incidents” in the overall historical timeline—things like who was just born, who just started dating, who just finished building a house. (The tasks players got bored of grinding in-game were usually these small matters; major historical events were mostly part of Main Story quests or server activities that players only pushed through once, leaving rather shallow impressions.)

For Xia Xifeng to search through the vast sea of records for those familiar events was incredibly tedious and challenging.

But for a hardcore lore player, sitting in a library, sipping black tea and eating small cookies while reading beautifully typeset paper books… compared to scrounging up snippets of game lore everywhere in the game, this was already a luxury.

Xia Xifeng was utterly engrossed. The speed at which he flipped pages was so fast, it looked like he was just glancing without actually reading at all.

Suer also sat across from Xia Xifeng, reading a book and nursing a cup of black coffee with no sugar or cream.

From the moment Xia Xifeng entered the library, he had been purposefully selecting specific books to read. He showed absolutely no reading barrier for the scripts of various races, even ancient languages. The speed at which he absorbed information was comparable to an Alchemical Golem’s scanning input… None of these anomalous behaviors surprised Suer.

That was simply how a Prophet’s “Divine Favor Ability” worked.

Xia Xifeng had clearly foreseen something, which was why he was seeking confirmation from real-world information against those visions. He was being extremely cautious, not blindly trusting the scenes he foresaw. Very impressive.

Xia Xifeng hadn’t revealed any of the prophecies he’d received to him. Suer also considered this a mark of the Little Prophet’s excellence.

A Prophet should possess a wary heart and also the pride of dealing with “prophecies” independently.

In short, right now, Suer looked at Xia Xifeng the way he looked at his own dragon egg. Everything Xia Xifeng did was good, everything was exceedingly outstanding.

Elsewhere, Amuruo spun a dagger in his hand, looking at a junior who had just class-changed, battle intent actually igniting in his eyes: “You shouldn’t have chosen Bard. Why didn’t you pick Assassin?”

Qin Lang: “The Halfling friends might not like it.”

Amuruo paused, not expecting such an answer.

The battle intent in Amuruo’s eyes faded, a hint of fondness welling up. “No need to worry. Though Halflings hold some prejudice against certain classes, their affection for a friend who bears a Sunflower Pendant outweighs all prejudice.”

“Uuuu…”

Qin Lang’s body stiffened. He turned his head slowly.

Leo was crying like a fountain, and Perila’s eyes had reddened too. The both of them looking so moved made Qin Lang want to use his toenails to dig out a one-to-one replica of Green Sand City Castle.

What the hell are you crying for?!

Damon exclaimed emotionally: “So touching! This is the friendship between Halflings and their Sunflower Friends!”

Can you not use a dramatic tone to exclaim that? Qin Lang’s scalp went numb.

Amuruo raised a hand and ruffled Qin Lang’s hair.

Qin Lang: “???” What’s this gesture supposed to mean?

Amuruo said kindly: “Suer just made a batch of Respec Potion. Go wash your class clean.”

There were Respec Potions in the game too, but only the most top-tier alchemists could brew them, and they weren’t yet available to players. Aside from the single bound potion automatically given when reaching the level cap of 200, players had no other way to get Respec Potions.

But players didn’t really care. Just roll a new character, leveling was easy. What player didn’t have alts?

Now that the game had become reality, Respec Potions were no longer “limited supply.” But considering some of the raw materials the game officials had described, and the statement that “fewer than ten people can brew it,” this potion wasn’t just precious… it was the kind of rarity money couldn’t buy.

Qin Lang’s forehead creased with black lines: “City Lord, no need for such trouble. I plan to max out both the Bard and Assassin skills… abilities, eventually.”

Amuruo said: “I understand the class path you’re talking about. For that path, one should first familiarize themselves with Assassin combat, then supplement it with Bard abilities.”

Qin Lang said: “My next class will be Assassin.”

Amuruo ignored the odd phrasing of “next class.” Prophets were strange anyway; Guardian Knights had their own peculiarities too.

“To properly protect your Feng, every step must be taken on the most perfect path,” Amuruo warned. “This is the duty that you and I share.”

A Guardian Knight’s combat class development plan had to be flawless at every step. Otherwise, they couldn’t properly protect their Prophet.

Qin Lang thought about this crisis-ridden world and could only, with great difficulty, accept this massive debt of favor.

It was all Xia Xifeng’s fault. He was the one who said Halflings wouldn’t be happy, that he should class-change to Bard.

This debt, they’d have to repay together.