Late at night, the barn.
Bright moonlight seeped faintly through the gaps in the door, scattering a layer of pale, soft silver frost across the ground.
Fuyu stood still, the silvery-white moonlight from outside falling upon his slender frame.
He didn't make any particularly large movements.
However, his slightly trembling arms and the occasional shifting of his boots on the spot already betrayed the turmoil in his heart.
"Lilia, you really... you really can't stay in the village anymore!"
The clear eyes characteristic of a youth were now completely bloodshot, and his voice even carried a hint of a sob.
In stark contrast to him was the girl standing quietly in the shadows before Fuyu, bathed in moonlight.
Her plain white linen dress looked like a wild flower wilted by rain in the mud.
Her appearance wasn't particularly outstanding; her unrefined features were almost hidden by the shadows shrouding her cheeks, leaving only a blurred outline.
Only those crystalline eyes, reflecting the moonlight and utterly calm, were exceptionally striking.
"Fuyu." Unlike the youth's urgency and agitation, her voice was as soft and clear as a night breeze. "I understand your feelings, but..."
"Running away is useless, and meaningless."
"How can it be meaningless!?"
Fuyu's tone was agitated. His hands instinctively reached out to grab her shoulders, but just as he raised them, he seemed to realize something and froze for a moment in mid-air, instead gently grasping her forearms.
"We can leave together! River Valley Town, Neum... anywhere! I can hunt, I can do hard labor, I can protect you, I swear!"
"As long as we leave the village, you can, you can..."
Looking into those eyes that remained calm and rippleless, without the slightest waver, Fuyu's voice grew more urgent as he forcibly suppressed his emotions, eventually sounding like a low, hoarse roar
"Must you... must you really use your own life to exchange for that so-called peace and tranquility!?"
"It's all a lie!"
"It's something the Village Chief and the others made up..."
"Fuyu." The girl named Lilia interrupted him, her tone still steady and serene, the moonlight shimmering deep within her eyes.
"The 'Ritual' requires a sacrifice; this is a tradition that has existed since the time of our ancestors. If my sacrifice can bring stability to the village for the next few years, allow the children to grow up safely, and ensure the hunters return with full loads, then it... is worth it."
"Worth it? Even if the price is a life that shouldn't have ended like this?" Fuyu's voice trembled with despair. "I don't believe it!"
"Yes, Mr. Shanan, that powerful adventurer is staying in the village... I'll go beg him for help! Even if I have to be his servant for the rest of my life, I'll..."
"And then?"
The girl's voice was soft and rippleless, yet it seemed to contain an unquestionable power as she interrupted him once more.
"Have him use force to control the entire village, or even confront the existence in the canyon? Let an outside power trample the traditions we have believed in for generations?"
"Moreover, that gentleman is an adventurer, not a believer serving the God of Justice. On what grounds would you ask him to wade into this muddy water? Based on a few moldy, rotting empty houses in the village?"
Lilia tilted her head slightly, her moonlight-filled eyes staring straight at him, causing Fuyu to subconsciously look away, not daring to meet her gaze.
"Fuyu, even if I agreed to leave with you today, what happens afterward? What would happen to the village?"
"Who would bear the wrath of the existence in the canyon? How would the other villagers view my family, and how would they view you?"
She gently broke free from Fuyu's hands and took a step back, allowing the last sliver of moonlight on the tip of her nose to be completely swallowed by the shadows.
"This is my fate, Fuyu."
"From the moment I was born in Foglamp Village, it was already destined."
"I have accepted it."
"Please do not do anything foolish. Live your life well."
The girl gave Fuyu one last deep look. The complex emotions hidden deep in her eyes—the concern, the farewell... in the moment she turned around, they withered and faded amidst the swaying of her plain white skirt.
With steady steps, her figure vanished into the darkness.
As if all his strength had been drained, Fuyu suddenly collapsed by the haystack, his hands sinking deep into the grass stalks, his shoulders heaving violently.
The barn was vast and cold, leaving only the suppressed, broken sobbing of a beast echoing faintly.
Standing silently in the depths of the shadows, Shanan watched the curled-up figure ahead. He did not speak, nor did he intend to reveal his presence.
Recalling the conversation with the Village Chief and Aspen during the day, an idea formed in his mind.
"Ritual, sacrifice, canyon, Lilia. No wonder..."
Looking at it this way, the Village Chief's special request for him to stay in the village for a few more days to wait for the end of the sacrificial ritual—the sacrifice was most likely this girl named Lilia.
"But, a living sacrifice?"
Shanan pondered.
In this fantasy world where various gods existed, it wasn't particularly strange.
To some extent, it could even be called common.
After all, when the power of an individual is enough to override the collective and there is no regulatory order, distorted desires will expand wildly like a balloon; such incidents would only be frequent.
But on the other hand, this matter was riddled with oddities.
From the content revealed during the argument between the girl named Lilia and Fuyu, it could be judged that the purpose of Foglamp Village's sacrificial ritual was to appease "a certain existence in the canyon" to obtain its protection for the coming years.
But honestly, if the other party were truly some terrifying and powerful evil god, targeting a remote little hamlet like "Foglamp Village"... it seemed a bit too meager.
Furthermore, with such a long interval between sacrificial rituals, and the sacrifice being merely an ordinary human girl without any supernatural power, it was hard to imagine how this could provide any practical benefit to an existence of that level.
"I need to observe carefully and gather information to see if there are any additional discoveries."
Since this concerned his action plan for the next two days, Shanan needed a deeper understanding of the village he was currently in and the canyon he would enter in two days.
His gaze lingered briefly on the trembling, sobbing Fuyu by the haystack, then glanced in the direction Lilia had departed.
He turned and vanished into the shadows.
...
...
Perhaps because it was located in a basin, Foglamp Village felt exceptionally damp in the early morning, with a faint mist condensing in the air like a misty forest.
After staying outdoors for a while, one could clearly feel a sticky sensation on the surface of the skin.
For ordinary people, living in such an environment for a long time could easily lead to respiratory or skin diseases and worsen joint inflammation.
Shanan's physical fitness was outstanding, and this was only his second day in Foglamp Village, so it was still tolerable.
Squinting, he looked up through the thin mist and the dense canopy of vines at the dim rising sun in the sky.
He made a firm decision in his heart: after he retired in the future, he would definitely find a place to settle that had plenty of sunlight and distinct seasons.
It would be even better if it were by the sea, so he could go fishing and clear his mind when he had nothing to do.
Secretly planning for a retirement that was an unknown distance away, he estimated the time, thinking the villagers should be awake by now.
He sheathed his sword and rinsed his face with fresh water from the canteen he carried, washing away the sticky sweat on his skin, intending to end his morning exercise.
Coincidentally, halfway on his return path.
Accompanied by the sound of a blade cutting through the air, a familiar shout echoed once again from the nearby woods.
As if he had also been training for a long time, Fuyu's hemp clothes were completely soaked with sweat, his hair was damp, and his cheeks were slightly flushed from internal heat; water vapor could be seen at his lips with every breath.
Unlike the pain and loss of last night, his expression now appeared focused and serious.
His legs were spread wide, his entire body planted firmly like a tree root driven deep into the soil.
Gripping his worn single-handed sword with both hands, he swung it forward into the air. Every descent of the blade was accompanied by a short, powerful shout of exertion.
The frequency of the swings wasn't fast, but every single one was meticulous and fully concentrated, using all his strength.
Seeing Fuyu in this state, Shanan felt somewhat surprised.
After all, he had been present throughout the entire scene last night, witnessing the boy be rejected by the girl and kneel on the ground sobbing uncontrollably.
Given the boy's display of agony at the time, even with the best adjustment, he shouldn't have been able to pull himself together today.
He didn't expect him to be so hardworking, waking up early to train.
Moreover, based on the proficiency shown in his sword swings, this was definitely not a spur-of-the-moment impulse caused by stimulation, but a long-established habit of morning exercise. Even when his life encountered a crisis, he didn't give up halfway but gritted his teeth and persisted.
"His willpower is decent."
Shanan found it interesting.
Shanan had not undergone professional combat training, nor had he learned any specific stances or routines.
Coming from an unorthodox background, one could say he had simply brute-forced his way to where he was now.
Therefore, he didn't have a deep understanding of the posture Fuyu was using for training.
But on the other hand, over a year of hard training had given him a certain understanding of human anatomy and physical exercise, coupled with his current professional-level vision.
Just by observing from the side, he keenly captured the disharmony in Fuyu's sword swings.
"The bend of your knees could be greater when swinging, and there's no need to retract the force so hastily. Wait until the power has fully drained from the blade before lifting the hilt to pull it back."
The voice suddenly coming from the nearby woods startled the sweat-drenched youth so much he nearly jumped.
But in the next second, looking toward the sound and seeing Shanan's figure, Fuyu quickly calmed down.
Realizing this might be one of the few precious opportunities of his life, he didn't even dare to greet him, instead forcing his attention back to his training.
Following Shanan's tip, he bent his knees slightly, gripped the hilt tightly, and suddenly swung forward!
*Swoosh—*
The sound of cutting air rang out in the woods once more.
The fleeting flash of the blade and the echoing sound of the swing seemed no different from before.
However, a look of surprise appeared on Fuyu's sweat-covered face.
He could clearly feel that with the slight bend of the knees during exertion, the transmission of power in the swing he just executed was significantly smoother, and the burden on his body seemed to have decreased.
And by following Shanan's advice—lifting the longsword only after the power had completely poured out from the edge of the blade—he gained more recovery time in the midst of the action and felt the direction of power transmission on the blade more clearly. The rhythm of his swings became more relaxed yet more powerful.
Only then did he hurriedly sheath his sword and bow deeply to Shanan, thanking him
"Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Shanan! This is a great help to me!"
"May I ask if you rested well last night? Do you need me to clean your room again?"
Nodding slightly, Shanan's gaze swept over the sincere and earnest face before him, lingering briefly on the still slightly red rims of the boy's eyes, and asked pointedly
"I've already cleaned the room myself, no need to waste effort. As for you..."
"What, didn't sleep well?"
Hearing this, Fuyu's expression froze.
A strange look entered his eyes as he looked at Shanan, wondering if the other had heard something. But then he remembered that before meeting Lilia, he had already scouted the perimeter of the barn; it was impossible for an outsider to have been present.
Shaking his head violently, he assumed the other had simply noticed his lethargic spirit. He forced a bright, enthusiastic smile onto his face and replied
"Haha, I didn't expect you to see through me."
"I had a nightmare last night and woke up terrified before dawn, so I didn't get enough sleep... I'll take a nap during the lunch break later."
"A nightmare, huh." A hint of amusement flashed in Shanan's eyes, but he didn't expose the lie. He simply stood to the side, quietly watching the other train.
At the same time, his thoughts drifted slightly because of the other's practice.
Speaking of which, his current combat skill construction seemed a bit strange compared to the vast majority of professionals in this world.
Using [Fang Hunt] as the combat core was certainly good, but compared to its offensive attributes, he tended to utilize its displacement and lunging capabilities when using it.
As for the remaining [Gravity Etching], [Gravity Control], and [Ember Echo], they all had corresponding restrictions in terms of usage frequency, development level, and casting conditions.
This made Shanan's combat look clean and efficient, but his actual offensive moves and methods were clearly lacking.
He only had the versatile [Spinning Slash], which he combined with other combat skills.
To some extent, his combat power was almost entirely built upon "stats—physical fitness" and "mechanics—the 'Gravity + Fang Hunt' system."
He lacked a basic combat skill like [Spinning Slash] that could be released without limit as long as stamina was sufficient and could be perfectly integrated into other moves.
But on the other hand, if Shanan actually went to the second floor to exchange points for those ordinary combat skills, he wouldn't want to sacrifice his ceiling.
And so, the problem arose.
As for the solution...
Shanan thought that perhaps he would have to start from the [Meteor Blade Ranger] profession itself.
(End of Chapter)