Little Pink Starfish

Even though Pei Sen knew Eagle had sent a small bird to follow him, he didn’t really care. After all, he wasn’t hiding any secrets from Eagle. If the bird wanted to follow, then let it follow.

But if that bird really did get pounced on by Peks, Eagle would probably fly into a rage—or even come directly after them. That wasn’t something Pei Sen wanted to deal with.

They didn’t have much time to stay here, and Eagle had many things to arrange. Pei Sen didn’t want to take up too much of his time right now.

Peks was quite regretful. It was smart enough to recognize that this bird did look somewhat like the one that had always been with its former master. Ever since the lightfinch was brought out, Eagle would summon it often. Normally, it appeared as a golden finch-shaped tattoo on the back of Eagle’s hand, looking like a special kind of marking.

Peks had seen it twice. Each time, it stared at the lightfinch with greedy eyes, but it had to forcibly resist the urge to pounce on that plump bird.

…After all, back then, the aura on the former master was so terrifying that Peks didn’t dare make a move.

Most of the time, cats do have a good sense of boundaries.

Reluctantly glancing again at the bird, Peks could only quicken its pace to follow closely behind Pei Sen.

Sigh… so much walking again. Being a cat is really tough. I’ve lost so much weight lately…

But after slimming down, its movements had become more agile, and keeping up with Pei Sen wasn’t too hard.

“It’s here.” Pei Sen finally found the place.

This was an abandoned location once used by a lich—an old lich tower hidden in the woods. Half of it had already collapsed, so even from a short distance away, it was hard to tell there had once been a tower here.

On his way over, Pei Sen had to fight off seven or eight magical beasts. Generally, high-level adventurers or mercenaries wouldn’t casually come here. And ordinary adventurers or players would face considerable risk trying to get this deep. No wonder the lich’s inheritance site had remained undiscovered.

When Pei Sen first received this hidden quest, he thought it wouldn’t be too hard. After all, there were still some liches here and there on the Arley Continent. But later, he realized he had underestimated it.

Most lich inheritance sites were still inhabited by the liches themselves. And because liches were universally hated and hunted on the Arley Continent, they were extremely wary and absolutely unwelcoming to outsiders.

That’s why, even now, Pei Sen hadn’t been able to complete the quest.

Ding.
Quest Complete: Necromancy Knowledge (50/50), Lich Inheritance Sites (3/3).
Congratulations, you have completed the hidden class change quest for ‘Lich (Necromancer)’. Hidden class unlocked!

Pei Sen glanced at the system notification. He didn’t understand why there was a parenthesis after “Lich” with “Necromancer” inside it. On the Arley Continent, the term “Necromancer” didn’t even exist. Here, a lich was simply a lich.

“Necromancer” was actually the name of this class in the world of Eternal Rift.

Compared to the Arley Continent, Eternal Rift was bigger, broader, and its transcendents far more active.

In that world, almost half the native population were transcendents, unlike Arley where only a small handful ever reached that level.

“Bringing the young master there should be a good thing, right?” Pei Sen sighed. That was a world full of danger even for transcendents. If Eagle weren’t so powerful now, Pei Sen wouldn’t even entertain the idea.

If being together with me means putting Eagle’s life at risk, then I definitely can’t go through with it.

But what put his mind at ease was that Eagle’s chances of being killed were now extremely low. Pei Sen understood the power system of Eternal Rift. Even if Eagle wasn’t the strongest, he was definitely one of the hardest to kill. He had absorbed too much of the Light God’s power—by Eternal Rift standards, Eagle could be considered a demigod!

After completing the quest, Pei Sen wasted no time and headed back. That bird-like shadow remained at a steady distance behind him, never too far, never too close.

Peks was starting to look weary. Not allowed to pounce the bird, and now all it did was walk, walk, walk… It didn’t even know why its master had to bring it along. Was this punishment?

Near the teleportation array outside the Holy City of Light, a large number of players had gathered, turning the area into a lively hub—almost a new town in itself.

This place was close to the Holy City of Light and surrounded by forests teeming with monsters—perfect for grinding and leveling. No wonder it was so popular with players.

When Pei Sen arrived here with Peks, he was greeted enthusiastically. Many believed that buying magic stones from Pei Sen gave them a higher chance of obtaining skills, so he had to play the role of a faction merchant for a bit before he could leave.

“So, what exactly is our steward going off to do this time?” The players were curious about Pei Sen’s whereabouts.

“No idea. Last I saw, he was still over in Green Soul Era. Is he back in Arley for some quest?”

“Earl, right?”

“He’s a duke now, not an earl.”

“Well, old habits die hard!”

“Someone’s doing a quest over at Red Maple Castle. Maybe he went back for that?”

“I asked around—uh, the duke summoned all his top people. No idea what he’s going to say.”

“Must be a quest coming up!” The players got excited.

Ever since the Holy Church was wiped out, the main storyline hadn’t progressed. The players were stuck doing dailies, longing for something new.

“Could it have something to do with the capital?” one player asked suddenly.

“Why do you say that?”

“Things over at the capital have been weird lately.”

“But… wasn’t Leiser cured?”

“Yeah, his illness is gone. But Bonfrese recently issued a royal edict, and there are rumors in the capital that Leiser’s mental state is… off.”

“Dude, where’d you even hear that?”

“Some girl I know overheard it while doing a quest.”

Players were notoriously bad at keeping secrets, and soon all of this was posted on the forum.

Pei Sen frowned. “What’s Leiser up to now?”

The only reason he was still alive was because Eagle was being merciful. Was this guy really still looking to get himself killed?

Then Pei Sen remembered that in the original timeline, Leiser had also broken free of the curse and transferred it to Eagle—but still didn’t live long. Soon after, the entire Arley Continent fell into chaos.

That chaos was partly due to the destructive behavior of players with a “chaotic evil” alignment, and also the schemes of the Holy Church. But it couldn’t all be blamed on them.

Dragging the world into war—these important “NPCs” had to bear some responsibility too.

Something must’ve happened again. But in the original timeline, players couldn’t get much useful info, nor could they get close to the nobility. As commoners, the secrets they could access were quite limited.

Pei Sen felt a bit worried. Right as I’m about to take Eagle away, is something major about to go down?

Whatever. I’ll go back and ask Eagle. With his current status, he should know a few things.

Returning from the Holy City of Light to Red Maple Castle, Eagle was still working in the study. This time, Pei Sen bumped into Ichabod. The steady knight glared at Pei Sen without restraint.

“You’ve bewitched the young master!”

From Ichabod’s perspective, he couldn’t possibly accept Eagle leaving with Pei Sen for some unknown place, with no definite return. That kind of reckless move was unacceptable for someone as cautious and conservative as him.

Pei Sen looked a bit guilty. “Relax, if the young master wants to return in the future, he’ll be free to do so.”

He had been trying to figure out how to use that little silver cube. It carried powerful temporal energy. Pei Sen now knew that the Pope had almost used it to open the Eternal Rift. But clearly, its power wasn’t limited to just connecting with the Abyss.

“Hey, tell me how to use it already. If I’m gonna do the work, I deserve a little help, don’t you think?” Pei Sen nagged the Bix Magic Cube again.

The cube’s tone sounded a bit helpless. “I’m from this world. Going to another one isn’t ideal.”

“So if you go to another world, what’s the consequence?”

Bix Magic Cube: “…Nothing serious, but—”

Pei Sen: “If there’s no major consequence, then to help me focus on saving the world, you’d better come along.”

Bix Magic Cube: “……”

It seemed frustrated and a bit wronged.

“This breaks the rules,” it muttered.

“We’re already at the point where you need me to save the world, and you’re still talking about rules?” Pei Sen said in disbelief.

Bix Magic Cube: “……”

It still didn’t know why its future self had picked Pei Sen, but it was certain—this guy had unbelievably thick skin.

In the end, Bix Magic Cube gave in and told him reluctantly, “You don’t have to do much. This cube carries temporal energy. Just wear it, and you’ll be able to see the temporal trains that others can’t.”

Pei Sen suddenly understood. “So once I see the train, you can come aboard with me, right?”

“Yes, but you still need to buy a ticket.”

Pei Sen was speechless. “A ticket?”

“One way is 10 gold, round trip is 18. No discounts,” Bix Magic Cube said flatly.

Pei Sen: “……”

This was outrageous!

Greedy little cube!

Whatever. The young master has money. Pei Sen consoled himself.

Under Ichabod’s furious stare, he continued toward the study, and overheard what sounded like an argument from inside.

“If only the young master goes, I won’t be at ease.”

“I have Pei Sen with me. I don’t need you to worry.” Eagle’s tone was so blunt that it surprised Pei Sen a little. He recognized the previous voice—it was Sadin.

“Young master, your identity is noble—”

“Sadin! Are you still clinging to some old wish of my father’s, holding onto some unrealistic hope?” Eagle’s voice grew sharp.

The atmosphere inside became tense.

At that moment, Pei Sen chose to enter, smiling as he said, “Young master, I’m back.”

He really didn’t like Sadin, though on some level, he also felt a little sorry for him. Ever since Sadin chose Burke Angre over Eagle, the latter had never shown him any kindness.

Upon seeing Pei Sen, Eagle’s expression instantly softened. His gaze lit up, becoming warm and gentle.

“Pei Sen.” His voice and tone brimmed with joy—completely different from how he had just spoken to Sadin.

Sadin stared blankly at Eagle, a dazed look crossing his face.

He seemed to see another Burke Angre—in the same way, only when facing Leiser would his expressions, gaze, and voice become so special.

The current Eagle resembled his father far too much.

With a helpless sigh, Sadin felt an overwhelming sadness.

Just like how he had once failed to stop or change Burke Angre, now, Eagle too would give everything for Pei Sen, regardless of the cost.

This must be… the fate of the Lanno family.