r18novel Page 404
Page 404
"It's me, uncles. I'm back to protect you."
The two villagers exchanged glances, then looked at the other villagers in the distance who were looking on with curiosity. After hesitating for a moment, they spoke under Snyder's questioning gaze:
“Snyder, we don’t need protection.”
"Huh??" Snyder froze, his eyes widening in confusion as he asked, "Why?"
"We actually knew when you and your brother left the village."
The two villagers took a deep breath, a bitter look on their faces, yet with a resolute expression, and said:
“You are more capable than us and can protect more people in need. Therefore, even though we feel ashamed, we can only silently support you in our hearts and pray for you.”
"But we are not the kind of useless trash who can't even protect ourselves," they said, gripping their scythes tightly.
“Snyder, don’t worry about us. If you can, please use your power to protect others!”
"..."
Snyder stared blankly at the approaching villagers for a long time. In those familiar faces, she saw support, blessings, trust, and perseverance, but not fear or worry about the unknown.
She was confused, but before she could think, her body began to move on its own, just as it always did when trying to avoid Romnia's buzzing.
She had somehow already put on the hood and mask of her white robe. Snyder mounted the eagle-horse she had come from, glanced back at the surging crowd of villagers, nodded silently as silent as Romnia, and then spurred her horse eastward.
She remembered that, according to the old man, they were going to Shuluan Village to investigate some hidden truth.
Chapter 399 The Elderly Village Chief is Dancing
"So, Lazi, how should we search for the location of that underground passage?"
"...Good question."
"Master, what do underground passages look like?"
"...Good question!"
"Lazi, so you don't know anything at all!" Jennifer shook her head helplessly and couldn't help but complain, "I have a feeling this expedition isn't going to turn out well!"
"How could that be? We can just open it up a little!"
Latis muttered something, then revealed a mysterious grin and said:
"Don't think I don't know now. I'll use X-ray vision later to see the passages and structure clearly!"
"X-ray vision?" Little Leafa tilted her head, completely baffled by the term. "Grandmaster, is that some kind of magic?"
"perspective?!"
Jennifer was taken aback and quickly grabbed Latis's shoulder, exclaiming:
"I knew it, Lazi, you really are a master in the world of doujinshi! Let me see, let me see!"
"?"
Latis was stunned for a moment, opened his mouth, then couldn't help but slap his face, muttering speechlessly:
"...It's not that X-ray vision, you big pervert!"
He took a deep breath, raised his head again, looked at the setting sun gradually sinking in the west, pondered for a moment, and then whispered uncertainly:
"However, it might not be a bad idea to use it to experience the contents of the doujinshi..."
"No, no." Latis shook his head, dispelling the strange thoughts that had popped up because of Jennifer's interruption, and turned to look at the two girls, lost in thought.
They were currently at the top of the canyon of Tree Peak Village. Considering the villagers' behavior, which suggested they had never actually encountered night elves, Latis reasonably suspected that the underground passage might not be in the village but in the nearby wilderness.
However, after searching around, they couldn't find any real underground passages. Apart from a few screaming rabbits suddenly popping out and crashing into the animal traps set by the villagers while they were digging, they didn't find anything else.
Of course, they also encountered a huge, closed cave that looked just like a wormhole from Don't Starve. Latis tried jumping in, only to find out that it was just the mouthparts of some kind of giant monster, an earthworm. After struggling inside for a long time, Latis shouted "Sister-in-law, I'm coming out!" with the help of Jennifer's magic and was violently vomited out by the earthworm.
Therefore, when you encounter a cave in the wild, never jump in without permission.
However, Little Leafa still took this opportunity to hone her skills by fighting some low-level monsters. Unlike the monsters near Lundia, the monsters in this area were not trained by mages to the point of being almost seamless pets. These low-level monsters, which retained their wildness and cunning, required even Jennifer to take seriously without armor or divine magic.
With her master and grandmaster behind her, Little Leafa gritted her teeth and fought the monsters in close combat without any fear. Although she only had a small round shield, she gradually became proficient in alternating between the round shield and the divine shield.
The divine spell "Shield of Reflection" consumes a small amount of her divine power. Although it was a divine spell she created under the guidance of the God of Light, the number of times she could use it was limited. Therefore, she quickly learned to use the round shield to block general probing attacks, and then use the divine shield to reflect malicious and murderous moves.
Because she was very puzzled by the fact that Pope Doyle had not triggered "Shield of Reflection" at all, Leafa also began to learn to use her sensitive senses to subtly remember the feelings of various malicious acts she had experienced.
After confirming that Leafa was capable of using her round shield, divine magic, and everything in sight as weapons to defeat ordinary low-level monsters, Jennifer handed Leafa the short sword at her waist. However, before handing over the sword, she repeatedly reminded Leafa that "a knight does not die unarmed," and then smiled as she announced that Leafa could now be considered a fledgling formal knight.
Of course, Leafa still needs some time to understand the meaning of knight before she can declare herself a holy knight when she goes out alone.
However, I believe that day is not too far away, after all, teenagers always grow up very quickly!
Latis smiled as he recalled the little bird at home. He had heard that after he gave Arte a large amount of gold coins, the academy facilities and magic item production line in the mage territory had begun construction. In a few days, the little bird might transform from a project leader into a small boss.
I can't fall behind on my own things either.
He came to his senses and began to think about where the real underground passage might be.
If it's not in the wild, it might actually be in a village, perhaps in a place that even the villagers rarely visit, such as a storage cave for tools.
Anyway...
"Um, gentlemen..."
Suddenly, a villager with vines wrapped around his waist climbed up the cliff face. After hesitating for a moment, he asked:
"Kiriko asked me to inquire whether the adults would like to dine together..."
"Ok?"
Latis scratched his head. They had been investigating the area for half an afternoon and did seem to have seen several villagers following them to collect the monsters they had hunted. He hadn't paid much attention to it, but thinking about it, it seemed like they had helped the villagers replenish their food supplies, so it was reasonable for the villagers to repay them with a dinner.
With that thought in mind, he nodded, abandoning the idea of a picnic outside, and decided to let Jennifer see his evolved culinary skills when he got home.
"Okay."
Latis said with a smile:
"Just after conducting the investigation, I have some new questions I'd like to ask Mr. Kiriko."
……
Although the light of magic has shone upon the entire land since the goddess's birth, the common people of this world still follow the rhythm of working at sunrise and resting at sunset. At most, the nighttime activity time has been extended to some extent due to the spread of magical artifacts.
However, in this remote mountain village, the more valuable magic crystal lamps did not spread. Only a few phosphorescent lamps were placed on the edge of the stone platform, illuminating the interior of Tree Peak Village at night.
Compared to magic crystal lamps that automatically absorb magic energy and require manual activation to emit light, phosphorescent lamps, which absorb light during the day and emit light at night, are undoubtedly more suitable for the environment of Tree Peak Village.
However, there was no need for the phosphorescent lamps tonight. The huge bonfire in the center of the village was lit on its weekly day, and all the villagers sat around it, enjoying the warmth of the cold night.
Latis noticed that in front of many villagers, besides their plates, there was also a pale blue stone that seemed to be slowly turning red in the firelight.
According to Little Leafa, a native of the Wilderness Territory, she had heard that in the mineral-rich eastern region, there was a type of stone called "warm stone," which was often used as an inexpensive tool for heat storage in the autumn and winter seasons and was very common among ordinary people. Her former good friend, Miss Geeta, whose family business included mining, had once brought her a few small warm stones as souvenirs.
However, not every village is like Tree Peak Village, where they can set up bonfires every week to gather and heat the heating stones. Most areas of the Wilderness Territory lack wood, so villagers in other villages have to move the heating stones outside to bask in the sun during the day and then bring them back home at night to heat their small houses.
Latis reached out to warm himself by the campfire, and couldn't help but smile as he looked at the two excited girls beside him.
They seemed to enjoy the gathering quite a bit. And that makes sense; before the Magic Network era, most people actually enjoyed lively occasions. It was only with the advent of the Magic Network, much like the internet, that the liveliness shifted online.
The goddess's visit did bring about significant changes to Atlantis, but her stay was too short, resulting in a period of unchecked growth for the Magic Network Era.
Latis stroked his chin, recalling the "modern" scene of Lundia, then glanced at the sight of Tree Peak Village, and considering that other villages might be far worse off than Tree Peak Village, he felt that the popularization of magic was still very necessary, and that there was still a long way to go.
Of course, it's best to implement content grading before making it widespread.
For a powerful app like MagicNet, implementing a youth mode is much easier than for those pretentious apps from my previous life. To ensure the integrity and prosperity of R18 content, a rating system is imperative. Otherwise, if too many MagicNet apps appear, and various reports emerge, the cyber police will have to work overtime, and his beacon might be taken down.
Hmph, it's a pity that Latis doesn't have the ability to modify the magic network now, so he can only live a life of mere survival.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; when he pulls someone away from the goddess to seize control of the magic network in the future, he will surely let the brilliance of R18 shine upon the magic networks of all adult mages.
At that time, La's works will become the biggest inner demon on everyone's journey to quit pornography...
"My Lady of Titania, this is our local specialty, green rice cake. Please try it."
As Latis drifted into a boundless fantasy, Kiriko's voice suddenly came from afar. He turned his head and saw Kiriko carrying a large plate of blue rice cakes, running towards him and handing the plate to him.
"Oh? It looks pretty good..."
Latis took the plate of roasted wood with some surprise and examined the so-called green rice cake.
This green rice cake looks similar in texture to the coarse rice cakes of my previous life, and its color resembles that of rice cakes with added mugwort. It also has a roasted plant aroma.
"This cake is made from a type of fragrant grass that grows in shady places, fine japonica rice from the mountain wilderness, and several other plants. It can be stored for a long time and tastes very good when it is freshly baked."
Kiriko explained from the side, while Latis picked up a green rice cake that was about the same size as his face, muttered to himself about the amount, and after secretly using "Detect Toxicity" to confirm that there was no problem, he broke the cake in his hand and handed two slightly smaller pieces to Jennifer and Leafa.
"Thank you for the treat!" The two girls curiously took the cakes and began to take big bites with a loud "ah-oh".
Latis recalled eating local specialties from another world in the simulation and couldn't help but shudder. He was a little worried about the taste of the green rice cake, but after taking a tentative bite, he was surprised to widen his eyes.
Although the texture is rough, it has an unexpected fragrance of mung beans. The outer skin seems to have been sprinkled with coarse salt during baking, which is acceptable to ensure the daily electrolyte needs. However, you can taste a hint of sweetness inside, not like white sugar, but more like the natural sweetness of corn.
All in all, it was actually not bad.
Latis stuffed half a piece of bread directly into his mouth, and with the help of his powerful chewing muscles, he instantly chewed it up and swallowed it.
"Ah, it's really rare to find such a decent local specialty."
He savored the taste of the green rice cake, glanced at the villagers enjoying it around the campfire, and couldn't help but sigh:
"It has to be said that the environment around Shuluan Village is really a great place with such abundant materials."
"What you say is true, sir!" Kiriko, who had been observing from the sidelines, finally showed a hint of relief and said:
"So, when you said that there was a possibility that we would be relocated to the capital, our hearts sank, and we found it hard to accept!"
Latis scratched his head and said:
"But Silverway Town is actually a very good place. If you want to move there, it won't be a big deal with my help."
"There's no place like home..."
Kiriko sighed, broke off a small piece of biscuit from her plate, and said while chewing:
"My lord, it was only because you later said that you were willing to spend your precious time investigating the matter instead of directly ordering us to relocate that I dared to tell you these things... Hehe, please forgive me for being a humble countryman who doesn't know much about etiquette towards lords, but what I want to say is that you are truly a good person."
"Don't just randomly give me friend cards!"
Latis couldn't help but mutter a complaint, shaking his head, but he quickly got into character and began to speak: