TBR CH184

After Kriesmeier left, the Elf Forest seemed to regain its original tranquility.

…If one ignored the love tragedy unfolding in the woodland at this very moment, perhaps it could truly be so.

“But,”

Princess Eve said urgently, “But…”

The layered leaves of the woodland cast countless dim shadows on the ground. Moonlight, like occasional ripples on a lake, illuminated the hero’s pale cheek. His golden hair was now miserably mixed with dirt, and a pained expression appeared on his handsome face. He had a laceration on his chest, and blood seemed to still be flowing.

“Beautiful princess…”

The hero, much like a tragic figure in a play, clutched his chest. “I’ve been waiting for you, fearing you wouldn’t come, and then I would have to sacrifice myself alone here. Only you can save me now. If you still have pity for me, I beg you to give me the elf fruit.”

Eve, upon seeing the hero, let out a soft scream, her face pale.

The beloved lay dying on the ground, life ebbing away bit by bit. Could there be a more terrifying scene than this? Most of her rationality vanished, and the past few days’ entanglement and worries were swept away. She quickly cast several healing spells at the hero. However, the other party looked at her with a bitter smile and azure eyes:

“It’s no use. Even if it heals now, I’ll still die later. Without the power of the elf fruit, how can I—I might disappear from this continent forever.”

Eve bit her lip. Her beautiful eyes were already brimming with tears, gazing at the hero in agony. If only earlier, a little earlier, she might have been able to use her authority as the elven princess to dispose of this year’s fruit. Even though it would surely infuriate her mother. But at this very moment, she dared not even explain the cruel truth to the hero…

Demon King Kriesmeier had already taken the elf fruit and left.

The princess knelt on the ground, completely disregarding the dirt staining her pure white skirt. The word “but” lingered on her lips. Love, like honey-laced poison, completely distraught this poor girl. Her lover’s blood flowed on her fingertips, and she had no time to consider the reason for this situation’s appearance.

“But,” she said, “I’ll think of a way. I, I’ll go beg…”

In the silent woodland, a faint meow suddenly sounded. The black cat, which had been crouching beside the two, lightly leaped from the tree stump. Moonlight was like a river, and it was like a shimmering otter’s fur gliding within it. It let out a “meow” and then crouched down in their line of sight.

Eve’s words immediately stopped.

Across the screen, Bai Shi, who had finally arrived at the arcade, didn’t realize what the black cat had interrupted.

Although he logged in late, Black Cat 538647 didn’t complain much, but rather understandingly blamed the bad weather. Soon, the stage in the woodland was fully set. The black cat silently left in the darkness. Only it could freely enter and exit the elven forbidden grounds, and it was precisely because of this that Princess Eve hurriedly followed the black cat’s footsteps here.

“I know the Queen is prejudiced against me,”

The hero believed the princess was referring to her mother, and thus his eyes held a captivating tenderness. “But I truly love you, Eve. You don’t have to worry at all that I would harm the elves’ interests. My heart is only for you. If you save me, I’ll be even more inseparable from you.”

Eve’s face was pale, seemingly moved.

But she couldn’t help but look at the black cat again. The black cat—or rather, the continent’s renowned Archmage Roland Xavier. She had heard of this human’s deeds for a long time, and even the Queen regarded this human as an honored guest of their tribe. Had it not been for today’s misunderstanding, she might not even have known that Saint Roland had come here. The name Eve almost blurted out just now was this one.

The elf fruit was taken by Demon King Kriesmeier. The only one who could influence the Demon King was this black cat in front of her.

And it let out a soft meow, its amber eyes disapproving.

The elven princess hesitated.

Due to the loss of stamina, the hero’s face grew paler. He made himself gaze tenderly at Eve, and at the same time, he used another bottle of poison from his backpack, keeping himself in a low-health state. He escalated his blackmail:

“You know, Demon King Kriesmeier considers me his most dangerous opponent. Without the elf fruit, my life would be in danger at any moment. Are you truly so heartless as to watch me die?”

“Demon King?”

Eve hadn’t expected to hear that name; she was somewhat dumbfounded.

“Yes,” the hero, however, felt nothing was wrong. “Just now, I fought the Demon King to the death, and he’s the one who put me in this situation. But my strength is not to be underestimated. I escaped in time, thinking only of you, which is why I’d rather appear here half-dead…”

Demon King Kriesmeier was the most terrifying figure on the Mirar Continent.

He was always alone. The hero in the game needed a powerful opponent to explain his current predicament, so the Demon King was the most suitable reason. He was far away and would never expose his lies.

“Wait a minute,”

But this time, it was Eve who interrupted him urgently. A faint layer of disbelief washed over the princess’s eyes. “You mean, you’re so severely injured because the Demon King was fighting you just now?”

The black cat yawned with interest from the side.

At this moment, the hero, who had posed himself in a tragic and beautiful stance, for some reason finally began to feel a faint shadow.

But he was facing Princess Eve, the elven princess, whom he had largely successfully conquered and who was now filled with guilt. According to his and the black cat’s original plan, pushing her to this point would not only secure the elf fruit but also win over the princess.

Bai Shi looked at the princess in the game and admitted: “Of course.”

“But that’s un… impossible.”

He then spoke unpleasantly: “Do you still doubt my honesty, even though our relationship has reached this point?”

Eve was completely confused.

She subconsciously wanted to retort—”The Demon King was at the elf fruit ritual until just now” and “It’s obvious that Saint Roland was the Demon King’s target”—but looking at the hero’s undeniable eyes, she couldn’t utter these words. Before her seemed to be a perfectly choreographed drama. If she defied the other party’s wishes, it would only bring unexpected disaster to their relationship.

She frantically avoided the hero’s aggressive gaze, and couldn’t help but look at the black cat again.

In such a situation, having a legendary and reliable elder, anyone would do the same.

The black cat had a pair of amber pupils, golden amber, like ambergris from thousands of years ago, seemingly containing the wisdom praised by everyone on the continent. Looking into these eyes, Eve’s thoughts miraculously calmed down. She thought of her mother—this was because she remembered that those responsible for tribes other than their own all had such eyes.

She would become the future Queen of the elves—

“You will become the future Queen of the elves.”

The Elven Queen emerged from among the solemn, slender trees. Her proud eyes looked at her, her face like a pure white full moon, wearing a crown of jewels, not fragile petals.

She looked at Eve with disapproval, but did not stop her immediately.

“I hope you make your own decision. You can choose to ignore the falsehoods in his words and beg me to give the fruit to this stranger, but he is not a friend of the elven race; but you can also choose to point out the errors and expose his lies.”

The princess gritted her teeth and asked:

“You’re lying. You were absolutely not fighting the Demon King just now. The Demon King was clearly elsewhere. Unless you explain yourself, I doubt the sincerity of everything you’ve told me! I absolutely cannot truly entrust our tribe’s sacred artifact to you.”

The hero lying on the ground had not anticipated such a turn of events.

His face turned terribly grim. He clutched his chest, blood still gushing out, leaving a large dark stain on the ground. When his voice sounded again, it was soft, but filled with undeniable oppression. He had realized that he seemed to have misunderstood something, but it wasn’t irreversible—

“I’m going to die,”

He said softly, his gaze filled with despair. “Eve, are you still going to believe others’ words at a time like this? Your mother is prejudiced against me; she is so cruel to me. I am sincere with you. What else matters? If you don’t save me, I will die painfully here.”

The light on his face faded like a dead man’s:

“I’ve only loved you. Let me say goodbye to you.”

Watching her first love die tragically before her, no matter what, it was too much for the elven princess who had just made up her mind. She couldn’t help but take a step forward, then forced herself to avert her gaze. But the power of elven magic in her palm continuously transferred to the hero, yet no matter how much was transferred, it seemed to do nothing to improve his injuries.

Just as the princess’s expression was filled with pain, and even the Queen couldn’t help but sigh softly—

A magic staff pressed against the hero’s throat.

The purple-haired witch Hilda stood smiling before the hero’s soon-to-be-cold body. Magic surged on her staff, dangerously rubbing against the hero’s throat like a cold, hard blade. A scream came from behind her, and two unfamiliar girls also appeared in the Elf Forest.

“Oh my,” she said in surprise, “What a serious injury. Theoretically, you should have died long ago. Why aren’t you dead yet?”

“Hilda.”

The hero gritted his teeth and said, “How could you also get into the Elf Forest—”

Provoking this witch was truly the worst decision he had ever made.

“Perhaps it’s because I’m the new Chief of the Mage Association,”

Hilda said lightly, “My coming in is good for you. This way, you won’t just say goodbye to Her Royal Highness. Come see your other two true loves. You made promises to them both, and now is the time to say goodbye. Her Royal Highness might still be unaware. Hmm, but I won’t make this scene too difficult.”

In an unknown place, the sharp edge of her staff had already wounded the hero.

“That black cat is also your accomplice,”

Hilda quickly recited this pre-arranged line. With a flick of her staff, the black cat that had been crouching there instantly vanished, seemingly sent back to the respawn point by critical damage.

This witch was truly ruthless.

Bai Shi then deeply realized this point.

“What are you worried about?”

The smooth marble of the Demon Palace vaguely reflected the shadows of objects. The black cat silently walked across the matte floor. Roland looked across the screen at another world, his amber eyes finally flashing with a predictable hint of loss. He slowly sank into the soft cushion of the chair, closing his eyes tiredly.

“I’m worried—” He thought for a moment, but didn’t continue. He merely stroked the concerned words on his phone screen. “I just have to find Kriesmeier.”

“The Demon King might just be looking for a secluded place to digest the power of the elf fruit. Since he took the fruit, well, at least his injuries will heal. You can relax a little.”

Roland, with his eyes closed, chuckled indistinctly:

“Although I know you’re just comforting me, I’m very grateful.”

Two days had passed since the widespread power outage in Lichiang City. In fact, power had been restored at around four in the morning on that day. At that time, the young man hadn’t slept at all. He had rushed all the way from the Elf Forest, basically heading straight for the Demon King’s Castle.

In his worse predictions, Kriesmeier would have made the Demon King’s Castle a forbidden area for the black cat. But the reality was even worse.

The Demon Palace was empty, with no trace of the silver-haired Demon King.

Kriesmeier had not returned there.

Roland’s heart sank. He pretended not to notice the shadow in his heart. The young man maintained his calm demeanor, systematically searching every possible place these past few days. He had anticipated the Demon King might appear in his room in the Mage Tower, or the flower sea where they once stayed, or the clear forest illuminated by moonlight. But when all these places yielded nothing—

The Archmage didn’t even show much disappointment.

He merely closed his eyes, looking at the lingering black shadow in his field of vision, realizing that the dark part within his heart was feeding on his emotions, gradually swelling, growing into the truly dangerous part.

He closed his eyes, and then, unexpectedly, brought up that topic again.

“So far,”

His voice was calm, his thoughts meticulous. “You haven’t found a way for me to go back, have you? Without destroying the Mirar Continent, the system’s rules are basically a giant web connecting everything. It’s impossible to find loopholes in the world without affecting most other existences.”

The Black Book was startled.

Unbeknownst to Roland, he had already lifted his fingertips from the screen. He left the black cat to rest in Kriesmeier’s palace, while he covered his face with his hand, expressionless. The Black Book—a mobile app—inevitably dimmed at this moment. It alertly increased its brightness, then cautiously and carefully began to choose its words.

“Don’t worry, I’ll think of a way—”

Roland smiled inexplicably, not even opening his eyes to see what it said: “You say you’re thinking of a way. But I already know. Even if you are the Way of Heaven, trapped in this world with me, the Mirar Continent seems as impenetrable as a nutshell. Let me guess the direction you’re trying to go, how about that?”

The frequency of the Black Book’s text gradually slowed.

Finally, even the last faint traces silently faded.

And Roland’s voice was gentle, like a teacher lecturing students. He unhurriedly explained each point of knowledge. By the end, even the Black Book had to admit that his understanding of the world’s mechanics had almost caught up to its own, especially regarding the Mirar Continent’s complex, mysterious, and lengthy rules.

He was like a tireless inspector, tapping the walls of the world from every corner.

When he opened his eyes, only a soft fatigue remained in his gaze. The Archmage, with his perpetually dark circles under his eyes, looked towards the screen again. There, the black cat crouched on Kriesmeier’s bone throne, gently tilting its head at him.

This was originally an insignificant interaction.

But Roland’s gaze made even the Black Book feel its heart—if it had such a human heart—twist with dampness. The barrier between him and his world had never been a thin pane of glass, and he had always known it.

The Black Book paused, then when it lit up again, it asked:

“In just these few days, you’ve already understood it to this extent. This was originally impossible.”

The Archmage slowly rubbed his forehead, propping his body weight up with one arm, like the famous sculpture “The Thinker”:

“Have you changed your mind now?”

“In countless small worlds, geniuses will always be born,” the Black Book said. “This is a secret that even the World Consciousness cannot grasp, the secret of creation. However, I have indeed met someone as intelligent as you for the first time. For you, being caught up in these matters for only a few days, yet you not only quickly gained knowledge of this world’s science, but also unexpectedly understood your original world inside and out…”

Roland smiled: “I’m sorry, but you still seem to have misunderstood.”

“…What?” the Black Book asked cautiously.

It sensed a hint of shadow finally appearing on the tired young man. But, like the real-world application of the iceberg effect, it was just a detectable shadow. The madness and horror hidden beneath it were almost immeasurable, a gloom many times deeper than the thin black shadows under the youth’s eyes.

“Even a genius couldn’t understand it to this extent in such a short time.”

He calmly returned the Black Book’s words: “Things with zero probability will never change, and impossible things are impossible… Do you understand?”

The World Consciousness shamefully admitted that it truly did not understand.

It only suddenly realized that the young man in front of it was also hiding a secret from it. Although even now, it only had a vague premonition of this secret, the secret was like a butterfly’s wings, lightly settling between the human and the World Consciousness.

Unfortunately, it was like a clumsy bee, helpless against the pollen falling with the scent of nectar.

Roland looked at the seemingly frozen Black Book for a long time, then put away his meaningful expression, which was like that of a great villain hiding a secret, and couldn’t help but laugh. The black cat on the screen looked at them, confused. Of course, the gaze from another world wouldn’t truly land here. The black cat lazily lay down on the bone throne.

“Don’t be nervous,” the Archmage whispered, “Let me explain.”

From the moment Mirar Continent developed independent consciousness, this world truly became a world, possessing its own unique power. But as this world expanded, the rules set by the system also permeated this gradually forming world, like a tightly sealed walnut shell, everywhere.

They lived in a world that was manipulated, interfered with, and observed.

The difficulty of breaking this barrier from the outside was astonishingly high. Had it not been for Roland’s accident, the Black Book would not have ended up in the external real world with the young man—in short, if Roland was to return, what the World Consciousness was doing was the most thankless task. It carefully, meticulously, and sequentially checked all possible breakthroughs.

This was a lengthy process, and it was even uncertain whether it would succeed.

If it didn’t go smoothly, it might even take hundreds of years.

And to break it from within… even the restored Demon King Kriesmeier did not yet have enough power to brutally break the rules of this world. Moreover, he could not receive correct guidance from anywhere. If he destroyed the barrier using the wrong method, it was highly likely to lead to the destruction of both worlds.

“So,”

Roland concluded, “If you don’t save me—”

“How could I not save you?”

The Black Book decisively interrupted his nonsense. “I am the Way of Heaven; I only do what’s right.”

Roland swallowed the words “things would be much simpler,” and smiled reassuringly at the Way of Heaven. However, a certain ineffable, strange expression still lingered on the young man’s brow.

He whispered: “I’m just thinking about cost-effectiveness. Ultimately, it’s a matter of time. If our side can find a way within the game world—within the target itself—we can greatly reduce the time spent. Of course, I know this is by no means easy, and even then, it only shortens perhaps hundreds of years to decades, or even a little over ten years. That’s still not enough time for us.”

His analysis was impeccable.

The Black Book originally didn’t want to discuss such a depressing fact, which made it a little dejected. This manifested on the phone screen as its originally bright text flickering and dimming again. After a long pause, it typed out a few words.

Roland looked closely, and reflected in his jewel-like eyes were: “…I’m sorry.”

“I thought I could think of a better way,” the Black Book wrote again after a moment of silence. “But since even a genius like you hasn’t thought of one, perhaps…”

Roland was reflecting on whether he had sighed too much.

“This isn’t a question of genius or not.”

He said succinctly, “No one could possibly understand it to this extent in such a short time.”

“But you…”

“I am not an exception.”

The Archmage, now in reality, slowly raised his eyes. They were honey-colored eyes, as if they had traversed many times and spaces, sealing away much wisdom, and a hint of gloom flashed within them. “Having said this much, do you still not understand? I didn’t start considering this problem today. On the contrary—”

“On the Mirar Continent, I once researched methods to break the world’s rules. Before the research had to be terminated, I spent at least ten years.”

Compared to his expression, this news seemed overly good. For instance, at this moment, the Black Book was thinking about how far the Archmage’s research had progressed. In any case, this was a brand new breakthrough. Even if it didn’t work, it could greatly reduce the time wasted on attempts.

“This is not a good thing.”

However, Roland’s expression grew even gloomier.

“If Kriesmeier hadn’t disappeared, I wouldn’t have brought it up to you.”