The sky was overcast, a gloomy dawn where the stars had faded and the sun was yet to rise. On the streets of Fengyan City, the creaking of cartwheels echoed slowly. The old coachman sat hunched on the driver’s seat, clutching the reins, occasionally breathing warm air onto his hands. In the darkness, his face was etched with complaints and resignation.
Who wouldn’t want to linger in a warm bed at this hour? Yet, early in the morning, one of his wealthy patrons had summoned him to work, forcing him to brave the cold and hunger.
Yawning widely, the coachman noticed he was passing the street in front of the lord’s mansion. His thoughts drifted to an incident from a few months ago.
A gang of ruthless bandits had brazenly kidnapped the esteemed Miss Wendy from the lord’s mansion. Many witnessed them spiriting Miss Winsa away, vanishing suddenly on the street. The event caused a massive uproar, as Miss Winsa’s wedding to the Fourth Prince was the biggest affair in Fengyan City at the time. It was said that Lord Kevin’s furious roars could be heard across the streets when Winsa was taken.
The matter carried an air of mystery. After Winsa’s disappearance, the Fourth Prince, who often hosted lavish banquets with Fengyan City’s elite, also vanished. At first, some claimed he had gone adventuring, but a month passed with no word. Whispers began to spread that the bandits who took Winsa had also killed the Fourth Prince.
Others speculated that Winsa hadn’t been kidnapped but had eloped with a lover, and the Fourth Prince, unable to bear the humiliation, pursued her and met an unclear fate.
The old coachman had heard countless versions of the story. In his free time, he enjoyed a drink at the tavern, where bards and musicians had turned the incident into material for countless catchy tunes.
Those bandits were bold beyond belief, and the Fourth Prince’s disappearance was surely tied to them. The coachman craned his neck, glancing toward the city walls, where a patrol of city guards marched. These guards patrolled Fengyan City day and night. Winsa’s disappearance was a local matter, but the Fourth Prince was royalty. His confirmed disappearance had shaken the entire empire.
An imperial army had been stationed in Fengyan City for nearly six months, searching for the Fourth Prince.
“It’s been nine months. I reckon Miss Winsa and the Fourth Prince are long dead,” the coachman sighed, shaking his head and pulling his clothes tighter. As his cart rolled past the lord’s mansion, he mused that such highborn matters were beyond a humble man like him. However, the imperial army’s presence had caused endless trouble for the city, with constant checks and interrogations. Merchants had even stopped coming to Fengyan City.
Grumbling to himself, the coachman let out another heavy yawn.
Suddenly, a rustling sound startled him. He froze, listening intently, and realised it came from behind the cart. Pulling the reins to stop, he leaned back to look. A burst of light flared on the street in front of the lord’s mansion, revealing several figures.
The coachman rubbed his eyes hard. When he looked again, the light was gone, replaced by a few shadowy figures. Having rarely left Fengyan City, he had heard tales of magic, swordsmen, undead, and demons, but this was his first encounter with anything like it.
“Aaah!” A piercing scream rang out.
It was a girl’s voice, sharp with panic. The coachman’s heart jolted. “Ghosts!” he shouted, whipping the reins. The cart’s wheels creaked as it sped away.
The scream came from Guni.
Reluctant to part with her ancestor, she had tried to chase after him, but the dizzying teleportation landed her in an unfamiliar world. The dim streets were unlike anything she’d experienced. In the Sword Burial Ground, there was no day-night cycle, and Guni had never known true darkness.
The chill of early spring was equally foreign to her.
Her scream carried urgency and fear. Clutching her massive stone sword, she was ready to act when Debbie and Lesha grabbed her, covering her mouth.
“Guni, don’t be scared. We’re in the outside world now,” Debbie said, releasing her only when Guni calmed down.
“The outside world is dark and cold,” Guni whispered. The brave warrior of Holy Light Forest, capable of fishing monster fish alone, now seemed frightened and helpless.
“It’s night, so it’s naturally dark. Don’t worry, it’s normal,” Debbie explained, shivering and hugging her shoulders. “But it’s chilly. Wasn’t it warm when we left?”
“There’s a time discrepancy from our time in the Sword Burial Ground,” Ye Chui said, checking his iPad grimoire.
As he suspected, time had indeed shifted. From the Valkyrie Jiji, Ye Chui had learned that the Goddess of Wealth wielded eternal power, causing time distortions in related relic worlds. Some adventurers had arrived in the Sword Burial Ground two hundred years before them.
Leaving now, Ye Chui wouldn’t be surprised if centuries had passed outside, though the streets didn’t look drastically different. Still, the cold weather suggested months had elapsed.
Though they hadn’t discussed time distortions in the relic world, they were all aware of the possibility. Hearing Ye Chui’s words, they remained calm. They recognised their location, having returned via Ye Chui’s teleportation token, activated outside the lord’s mansion. Now, they were back at the same spot.
Suddenly, commotion erupted from the lord’s mansion, with shouts indicating something had happened.
“Have they spotted us?” Cass tensed, instinctively shielding Winsa. Leaving the Sword Burial Ground was a relief, but it meant facing the consequences of taking Miss Winsa.
“Let’s hide and figure out the current time first,” Ye Chui decided, leading them toward the slums.
In their days in the Sword Burial Ground, Ye Chui had worried about Jacob’s safety. Having taken Winsa, and with Jacob being an acquaintance, Ye Chui wondered if he’d been implicated.
Inside the lord’s mansion, the sudden “intruder” had mobilised all the guards and some imperial soldiers stationed there. They surrounded the courtyard where Miss Winsa had lived, torches and magic lamps illuminating the area like daylight. The intruder was revealed.
“Who dares invade the lord’s mansion?” a tall man with a white beard bellowed, rushing forward. He was the lord’s trusted aide, the mansion’s steward, and a skilled swordsman.
Pushing past the guards, he saw the intruder’s face and trembled.
“Your Highness… the Fourth Prince?”
The dishevelled figure with green hair was none other than the Fourth Prince.
He had entered the relic world from Winsa’s courtyard and now returned to the same spot.
“I’m back. I’m finally back!” the Fourth Prince said, surveying his surroundings with a mix of joy and relief. Then, as if unhinged, he burst into laughter, “Hahaha, hahaha!”
Dawn was breaking. The city gates to the slums had opened early, as the impoverished residents began their daily toil. Ye Chui’s group bought old clothes from the morning market to ward off the cold, slipping past patrolling guards to reach Jacob’s dilapidated house.
Ye Chui knocked, but no one answered. They entered.
The rundown house was covered in thick dust, clearly uninhabited for some time.
“Jacob must have been implicated because of us,” Ye Chui sighed inwardly, vowing to rescue him if he was still alive.
They decided to stay there temporarily.
Winsa and Lesha tidied the house, while Green and Cass ventured out to gather information about what had happened in Fengyan City during their absence.
“I saw soldiers in imperial armour on the streets. Not city guards, but the imperial army,” Debbie said, frowning. “Probably because the chubby prince disappeared with us. Be careful.”
“Don’t worry, Miss Debbie,” Green said, nodding. He and Cass left the house in the morning light.
“I wonder if the chubby prince returned with us,” Debbie said wistfully. Though an enemy in the relic world, she still saw him as the childhood friend she called “chubby,” feeling a faint connection.
Ye Chui and Lesha, while not sharing her sentiment, understood her complex feelings.
“These Gods’ Relics are bizarre, especially those tied to the Goddess of Wealth. Enter once, and when you leave, months or decades might have passed,” Ye Chui said, sitting beside Debbie and exchanging a glance with Lesha.
“Exactly. The Goddess of Wealth’s [Eternal] power is incredible. Imagine leaving a relic world to find everyone you know gone, everything changed. How heartbreaking,” Debbie agreed, nodding. Then, with her adventurer’s instinct, she added, “Next time we face such an adventure, we must be cautious.”
“Heh, yeah,” Ye Chui said, sharing a helpless look with Lesha.
Some things were hard to explain to Debbie, especially when she was so oblivious.
Green had left some stored food. Winsa and Debbie lit a fire to cook, while Guni huddled in a corner, clutching her stone sword and eyeing the unfamiliar surroundings with a pitiful expression. Lesha continued studying her Bible, seeking its secrets.
Ye Chui finally had time to check his iPad grimoire.
In the Sword Burial Ground, he had started the [Demon Seal] game, with two objectives: obtain the golden greatsword and kill the demon. Having defeated the demon, he earned the rewards.
Killing the demon granted 3500 to 4500 points based on performance, one random draw, and one free [Comprehension].
Perhaps his fight with Yanmo wasn’t impressive enough, as he received the minimum 3500 points. With his previous 1361 points and over 100 from killing Talbot and Haibi, his total reached 5034 points.
A fortune he’d never had before.
The real prizes were the random draw and free [Comprehension].
He eagerly used the draw.
Though big prizes were rare, each draw thrilled him. His previous two draws yielded nothing great, so surely this third one would bring better luck.
Half a minute later, Ye Chui’s eyes widened with joy.
He won!
Not a grand prize, but a decent one.
A mid-level spell!
Mental mid-level spell: [Goddess Aqua’s Blessing]
Effect: lowers the target’s intelligence.
Ye Chui: “What the heck!?”
