Chapter 144 : Chapter 144
Chapter : 144
Yan Yunqing looked down again at the new scene appearing on the water mirror. The scene was very dim. Even when Yan Yunqing leaned close to the water mirror, he still couldn't see clearly what was on it.
He could only vaguely see that there seemed to be a few people around, but their condition didn't seem too good.
They were scattered all over the place, and it was unclear whether they were dead or if something else had happened.
At the same time, a message from Penelope finally arrived. Yan Yunqing opened it as soon as he saw the notification. Just by looking at Penelope's message, Yan Yunqing couldn't help but gasp.
It wasn't just Rowena and William who were missing. This time, many groups participating in the field training also had people missing. And when they disappeared, it was the entire group that vanished. A total of over thirty students had disappeared, and this was in less than a day.
If Yan Yunqing hadn't discovered Rowena and William's disappearance in advance and reported it to Penelope, who then had all the team leaders contact their students, it's likely no one would have realized that so many students were missing.
After all, their combat training was supposed to last for fifteen days. If this matter wasn't known from the very beginning, who knows how many more students would go missing within those fifteen days.
And once the fifteen days were over, it would probably be even harder to find the students who had disappeared on the first day.
Yan Yunqing's expression was complicated. He had originally thought it was an isolated case, but he never expected so many people to be missing. This matter was probably going to blow up.
Yan Yunqing's quest was then updated.
『[Misty Forest: The Vanished Companions] has been updated to [Misty Forest: The Vanished Companions II]』
[Misty Forest: The Vanished Companions II (In Progress)]
Description: Your companions are missing. You reported this to Headmaster Penelope, only to receive worse news. Other students from the academy have also lost contact. Have they all disappeared?
Who did this? A secret activity hidden in the shadows is underway. You need to find their traces as soon as possible, stop their plan, and rescue your companions.
-You have accepted the help of the Elf Elder "Regus".
-Perhaps the scene in the water mirror can give you some inspiration? Study the scene in the water mirror more carefully!
Yan Yunqing: ……
Putting everything else aside, this quest guide that appeared after the quest system was updated was quite useful. It taught him how to complete the quest step by step, feeling like he was being spoon-fed.
Yan Yunqing took the advice, closed the quest panel, and reached out a paw to press Regus's hand, “Can you show it to me one more time?”
Naturally, Regus would not refuse any of Yan Yunqing's requests. He re-condensed his magic power, which made Yan Yunqing sigh with admiration.
As expected of the uniquely blessed elves, after reaching a certain level, they didn't even need a magic staff to use magic. Most importantly, he could freely control the output of his magic power.
Yan Yunqing could also cast spells without a magic staff, but he couldn't control the output of his magic power that way, often wasting a large amount of his mana bar.
For Yan Yunqing, a magic staff was like adding a valve to a magic circuit that was gushing out, allowing him to control the output of his magic power.
The water mirror reappeared, and the previous scene played again. Yan Yunqing stared at the scene on it. As he watched, he suddenly squinted his eyes, staring at a corner of the screen. It was a scene of a town.
The streets on both sides were rather desolate, with occasional people in old clothes passing by. Yan Yunqing stared at one of the men with a very ordinary appearance.
This man looked very common, with no outstanding features, yet Yan Yunqing felt that he was very familiar.
He must have seen him somewhere before.
Yan Yunqing searched through his memory and asked casually, “Are there any towns nearby?”
“The closest to the Norman Forest is only a settlement by Puxi Lake, which is a small-scale town.” Regus thought for a moment, “I haven't been out of Selinval for many years. Should I find an elf to come and tell you about it?”
Yan Yunqing waved his hand, “It's fine, no need.”
He casually opened the minimap and zoomed out. The Selinval he was in gradually shrank, revealing the floor plan of the entire Norman Forest.
Yan Yunqing checked several places marked as human settlements, and finally saw a somewhat familiar town name in the southwest direction of the Norman Forest.
『Skarn City』
When this name was displayed in front of Yan Yunqing, his memory automatically began to flip through, pinpointing the time he had heard the name of this town—it was when he was in the royal city of Bartovita.
Skarn City was the border city of Bartovita, and the Skarn Front was also the place where Bartovita connected with the Sea of Death and the Norman Forest.
Yan Yunqing remembered. That man with the common face who felt familiar to him—he had indeed seen him. He was a small follower of Adrien.
He wasn't like Anthony, who often followed Adrien around, so Yan Yunqing had only seen him on the day Adrien and the Sawyer Army entered the royal city.
Yan Yunqing had only seen that person a few times in total, but his memory was good, which was why he had this feeling of familiarity.
Since this man was Adrien's follower, a member of the Sawyer Army, then there was only one place he could appear…
The border city of Bartovita—Skarn City.
Did Rowena and William go to Skarn City after they disappeared?
Yan Yunqing felt that this matter was getting stranger and stranger, and he couldn't quite figure it out.
But speaking of Adrien, Yan Yunqing suddenly remembered something…
When he left Bartovita, Adrien seemed to have, probably, should have… written a small note to Edward, asking Edward to write to him after he found a permanent residence, right?
Yan Yunqing: ……
Yan Yunqing looked up at the sky, but could only see the natural-toned wooden ceiling of the elven palace.
Ah, he had completely thrown Adrien to the back of his mind.
The Kāmi beast rubbed its face with its paws, covering up the guilt on its face.
What an embarrassing thing. Hopefully, Adrien had already forgotten about Edward!
However, Rowena and William had appeared in Skarn City before they disappeared, which was Adrien's territory…
Yan Yunqing remembered the familiar feeling Adrien had given him when they were together before, and a few unreliable guesses couldn't help but arise in his heart.
…Adrien, he couldn't possibly be related to this matter, could he?
If he really was related, then could Adrien really be an acquaintance of his… no, no, how could that be possible? That would be too much of a coincidence.
It couldn't be that he would meet an acquaintance every three steps after coming to another world, right?
Besides, Adrien was indeed a human, a genius swordsman born in the Sawyer family thirty-eight years ago. It couldn't be that he was also an acquaintance of his in disguise, right?
Moreover, that guy had indeed already died, and was killed by the "Demon King" with his own hands.
That's right, that's how it is.
Yan Yunqing convinced himself. He memorized all the remaining scenes in the water mirror, and the quest guide was also updated to have him go to Skarn City to investigate the situation.
Yan Yunqing shook his wet head, and a slightly cool hand gently touched his forehead.
The Kāmi beast's wet fur gradually became dry, and the water droplets on it were all separated by magic power, re-condensing into a small ball of water.
After his wet fur became smooth again, Regus withdrew his hand. Along with his hand, the small ball of water also left, being pulled by magic power and thrown out the window.
Before Yan Yunqing could say anything, a cry of surprise came from outside the window: “Ouch, who was that?! Why are you throwing water balls around?!”
Yan Yunqing: Uh oh.
Regus: Uh…
Yan Yunqing and Regus looked at each other. Yan Yunqing saw a look of bewilderment appear on Regus's expressionless face, and he almost burst out laughing.
So, Little Flower, who was already an elf elder, would still be at a loss after accidentally doing something bad.
Yan Yunqing sent a message to Penelope, briefly saying that he had found a clue about Rowena and William.
They had appeared in Skarn City before, and she could send some people over to investigate the situation. As for whether the other students had also appeared there, Yan Yunqing didn't know.
Penelope didn't ask Yan Yunqing where he got the news from. After all, Penelope was one of the people who knew about Yan Yunqing's alter ego, and knew that Yan Yunqing must have some special means, so she just replied with an "okay".
Yan Yunqing didn't plan to stay idle either, “I'm going to Skarn. I won't catch up with you for now. Let's talk again after I find my companions.”
Regus nodded, then shook his head, “I'll go with you.”
Yan Yunqing: ?
Yan Yunqing felt it was unnecessary. Although Regus was strong, it was true, he would be less conspicuous if he went alone.
He could also turn into Little Black to sneak in. But with Regus's extremely outstanding elven appearance, he would probably be targeted by all the forces as soon as he entered the city, right?
What kind of information could they gather then? They would be monitored wherever they went!
Yan Yunqing decisively refused.
Regus had no expression, but for some reason, Yan Yunqing could read a sense of disappointment and sadness from his eyes.
“It really won't work. I'm going to gather information. It's too conspicuous for you to follow.” Yan Yunqing was unmoved.
Regus nodded lightly and replied again: “Alright.”
Just as Yan Yunqing was about to turn and leave, Regus stopped him again. He took out a green gemstone the size of half a Gugu Chicken egg from somewhere, and used his magic power to grow a soft vine, threading it through and hanging it around Yan Yunqing's neck.
“If you encounter danger, use this to come back.” Regus said.
Yan Yunqing looked down at the vine necklace around his neck and cast an identification spell on the green gemstone.
[Selinval's Longing]
Description: This is a gemstone that contains the magic power of Selinval. When your heart is filled with longing for Selinval, it will emit light and illuminate a path back home.
『O bewildered elf, I shall guide your soul back to Selinval!』
(After use, it will open a portal linked to Selinval, which lasts for 10s. No cooldown. Only target units recognized by Selinval can return to Selinval through this portal.)
—“Those elves who died in battle… I have already had Sylvia arrange for people to collect them. I will let them go home, back to Selinval.”
—“There's no need. The moment they died, Selinval had already built a path for them to return. They have already gone home.”
—“Please do not be sad. From the moment the contract was made with you, the elf tribe will be at your service until the end of our lives.”