Chapter 12: The Helper Is Confirmed

—The Glorious Age…

Our age is a glorious age!! A hundred thousand years of heritage, a hundred thousand years of perseverance, finally brought about the rise of the Elemental people, making them the leading protagonists standing atop all the other races on the continent.

The tenth protagonist of the Amelia Continent!!

Watching the rise and fall of history from the sidelines for a hundred thousand years allowed us to build this most glorious of ages. Through the perseverance of our ancestors, and through our own efforts, the empire of the Elemental Titans finally stood at the pinnacle of the continent, unshaken for a thousand years.

But we must not let down our guard, because we never know when a new protagonist of the continent might rise up and slowly replace our current position, just like the scenes that had played out many times before.

Whether to persist to the very end and continue our glory, or to let humanity remain the only one swimming against the current in this endless history—all of this depends on our actions and the actions of our descendants.

But one thing is certain: although the mysteries of fate cannot be fathomed, before the strongest melody of an era is played, there are always clues to be found.

I hope that we and our descendants can pay attention. If one day, a large group of geniuses spring up all over the continent like bamboo shoots after rain, and countless new things deliver a power ful impact to the old order, then perhaps that is the time when a new cycle is about to begin.

Looking through history, every time the protagonist changes, it is always like this…

“The Protagonist After a Hundred Thousand Years — Strolling Under the Wheels of History”

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Could it really be that legendary flying needle? That legendary flying needle was actually just lying right in front of him, and it had become a welcoming gift from his teacher?!

[That “Super Electromagnetic Flying Needle,” one of the components of the legendary set that had shaken the entire continent… has actually really become my own possession?!!]

In that instant, Luo Yan’s little face flushed bright red, and he was so excited he could hardly breathe. But the others didn’t understand why he was so excited; they thought the little kid was just thrilled to receive a gift from his teacher, so they all started laughing again. Little did they know that Luo Yan was currently dying to cheer three times, burst out laughing, and run outside to romp around a few laps before he could feel satisfied.

Some of the “Legendary Sets” were very famous, such as the “Three Sacred Artifacts of Light” of the Southern Church, the “Ghost King Cloak” in the hands of the leader of the continent’s strongest mercenary corps, the Demon Mercenaries, and the Dwarf King’s heirloom treasure, the “Blazing War Hammer Portable Workshop,” and so on.

But many “Legendary Sets” had already been lost to history. The “blueprints” for these “Legendary Sets” were long forgotten, and their related components were scattered far and wide. Moreover, most Legendary Sets would not function if even a single component was missing. So one really needed incredible luck to “accidentally” reassemble them. “Redemption Soul,” “Knight’s Elegy,” “Tears of the Aurora Goddess,” and so on were all in this situation. In the past thousand years, only these three Legendary Sets had reappeared in the world, so their value was naturally easy to imagine.

And now he was fortunate enough to obtain one of their components…

Of course, if it were only that, it might not have been enough to get Luo Yan this excited. What was more important was…

He also happened to know where the other flying needles were…

[This teacher I’ve taken is totally worth it!!]

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Not to mention Luo Yan’s extreme excitement, on this side, Luo Pei didn’t know the value of this item—in fact, even Old Strom himself didn’t know—but just from its appearance, Luo Pei could tell this long needle was worth a fortune. Seeing how much his son liked it, he felt very happy in his heart. And Old Strom, having gained an excellent disciple and having his pride well satisfied, was also in a good mood. The two of them got together and continued chatting and laughing. After a while, Old Strom even called for Mrs. Strom to prepare wine and dishes, insisting on keeping Luo Pei and his party of three for a meal, as if he regretted not having met them sooner.

Seeing his old man getting along so well with the future “Golden Yuan Caesar,” a knowing smile appeared at the corner of Luo Yan’s mouth. This was exactly the effect he wanted. Before his rebirth, the two of them had never had such a close relationship. At this point, Luo Yan’s excited mood finally calmed down a bit. But whenever he thought of the divine artifact carefully tucked away in his bag, he couldn’t help feeling a wave of itching excitement. A legendary item! This was a component of a Legendary Set!!

As for any thought of “this legendary flying needle is too precious, so I shouldn’t accept it, and I should return it to Old Strom,” Luo Yan had none whatsoever. This was a welcoming gift from his teacher to his student. As the saying goes, “what the elder gives cannot be refused.” Besides, once a treasure was in his bag, how could there be any reason to hand it back! Furthermore, how could he explain to anyone that he knew this was a component of a Legendary Set? This was a secret that even Old Strom himself didn’t know—to be precise, it was a secret that no one on the entire continent knew at this stage.

So Luo Yan simply accepted his teacher’s gift with a beaming smile, without any extra moves, and calmly took advantage of the opportunity right in their home. After all, if he hadn’t stepped in, according to the Strom family’s “original fate,” this treasure would have fallen into someone else’s hands after their household was confiscated. Rather than that, it was better for him to have it. Or perhaps one could only say that the Strom family was simply not fated to keep this legendary set piece—how else could it have been displayed in their home for generations without anyone ever discovering its value? Besides, in the future he would be saving the entire Strom family. Consider this legendary set piece as payment in advance… Compared to the lives of the whole family, this payment was not expensive at all! At least Luo Yan didn’t think it was expensive. As for the Strom family… who knows! (LOL)

After a while longer, Mrs. Strom brought out fresh cheese steaks and vinegar-marinated cumin. Old Strom and Luo Pei each grabbed a big mug of wild grape wine and started clinking glasses and drinking merrily. Isaiah Thomas was also pulled in to keep them company. As for Luo Yan, he slipped off to the study by himself and started looking around the bookshelves. The adults all assumed the kid found the meal boring, so no one paid him any attention, letting Luo Yan do whatever he wanted in the study.

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After laboriously dragging over a tall stool, Luo Yan stood on it, scanning the books on the bookshelf one by one. A moment later, his eyes lit up—he had finally found what he needed!!

“The Pan-Continent Magic Beast Illustrated Guide” (Second Edition, Human Calendar Year 9113). Looking at the thick illustrated book in his hands, a satisfied smile appeared at the corner of Luo Yan’s mouth. He had guessed that he would definitely find this book in Old Strom’s house, after all, this could be considered one of the essential reference materials for a Wizard.

But the fact that it was the Second Edition of 9113 did surprise Luo Yan a little. This should be the latest edition currently available. He hadn’t expected that in such a remote border village like Talim Village, Old Strom could still get his hands on something like this. It seemed that he—or rather, his family—must have some connection to the Imperial Capital… Of course, thinking about it more, that made sense. Otherwise, how could Old Strom have risen so quickly to prominence later on? He just wondered who Old Strom’s connection in the Imperial Capital was.

The Prime Minister? The Chief Elder of the Noble Senate? It couldn’t possibly be the Speaker of the Commoners’ Council…

A fleeting thought drifted through his mind. Of course, these things were not the focus of Luo Yan’s attention right now. Shaking his head, he pushed these jumbled thoughts aside for the moment, quickly flipped the “Pan-Continent Magic Beast Illustrated Guide” in his hands to the page showing the adorable big face of the Pinecone Bear, quietly adjusted his facial expression, silently opened and closed his mouth a few times—clearly rehearsing a few lines—and then, holding the illustrated book high, he sprinted out!

Having a decadent middle-aged uncle pretend to be an innocent little genius was really quite a challenge (ORZ).

“Dad, Dad~~ Look, is this big bear the prey you guys hunted up on the mountain this time!” The deliberately innocent tone gave even Luo Yan himself goosebumps. But Luo Pei was completely charmed by it. Laughing cheerfully, he took the book and started flipping through it with a serious expression.

“Hehe, let me see if my son really has talent~~” Luo Pei was clearly a bit drunk, his speech a little slurred, but his mind still seemed clear. After glancing at the page for a moment, he slapped his thigh and said joyfully: “Hey~~ Son! You really are a genius! That’s right, that’s right~~ It’s this big fellow~~”

As he said this, he turned around and offered the book to Old Strom like showing off a treasure, saying smugly: “Look~~ Look~~ How smart is my son, your student? He’s never even seen it before, and yet he could find this!!”

Old Strom had drunk no less than Luo Pei. Hearing this, he burst into loud laughter: “Of course~~ And who do you think his teacher is~~” As he said this, he took the book and casually glanced at it. But immediately after, his eyes went wide, and he stared at the book in his hands with great shock. A moment later, he said in a somewhat heavy voice: “Wait~~ Director, the giant beast you encountered during this hunt, was it really this thing?”

Earlier during the drinking, Luo Pei had already boasted to Old Strom about the “good fortune” he encountered while hunting. Hearing this now, he immediately opened his eyes wide and said: “Yes!! It was this thing!! What… you don’t believe me? I~~ I~~ I’ll take you to see it right now!!” As he spoke, Luo Pei staggered to his feet and was about to grab Old Strom, but he didn’t notice that Old Strom’s face had already turned ashen.

“Damn it, it’s actually a Pinecone Bear!” At this moment, not a trace of drunkenness remained on Old Strom’s face. He sat there in deep thought: “Damn it, we’re in big trouble now…”

Luo Pei was no man without experience. He had initially been about to pull Old Strom along, but seeing his expression, he seemed to sense that something was wrong. He hesitated and asked: “What… what’s the matter, Mr. Strom? Is there a problem?”

“Is there a problem?” Old Strom slowly shook his head upon hearing this: “Director, we’re in serious trouble now. The giant beast you hunted is a Pinecone Bear!”

Hearing this, Luo Pei was puzzled: “Pinecone Bear? What’s the problem with that?”

Old Strom looked very troubled as he spoke slowly: “The Pinecone Bear is nominally a level-two Magic Beast, but in reality it has innate monstrous strength and thick, tough skin. Its melee combat ability even surpasses that of an ordinary level-four Magic Beast. An ordinary level-four Martial Artist wouldn’t dare provoke it. The only reason its level isn’t higher is because it has no innate magic and its magic resistance is extremely low. A hunting team like yours running into a Pinecone Bear would normally be doomed to total annihilation. The fact that you actually managed to kill one is practically a miracle. I have no idea what kind of incredible luck you had to pull that off…”

He paused for a moment here, then smiled bitterly and continued: “…But none of that matters. What matters is that Pinecone Bears always appear in pairs. I don’t know whether you killed the male or the female, but its mate will definitely come for revenge!”

“What! They always appear in pairs?!” Hearing this, Luo Pei was dumbfounded. He knew that Magic Beasts could seek revenge, but he never imagined he would encounter such bad luck. Then, thinking about what Old Strom had just said about the Pinecone Bear, cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.

[A terrifying Magic Beast that even level-four Martial Artists don’t want to provoke…]

Frightened like this, all the drunkenness had left Luo Pei. He swallowed his saliva and said urgently: “Heavens, I’ll go make arrangements right now. The hunting team can’t go up the mountain tomorrow!”

But upon hearing this, Old Strom’s expression grew even more bitter: “It won’t help. Pinecone Bears hold grudges more than anything. Even if you don’t go up the mountain, it will come looking for you in the village. And when that happens…”

Now Luo Pei truly had nothing to say. If that Magic Beast came to the village seeking revenge, the consequences would be unimaginable!!

He stood there in a daze for a moment, then finally slumped back onto his stool, dejected and said: “What should we do, what should we do now!” Beside him, Isaiah Thomas also showed a tense expression. He too could now sense the urgency of the situation.

Old Strom, however, was still a bit more composed. He pondered for a moment, then finally gritted his teeth slightly and said slowly: “Here’s what we’ll do, Director Luo Pei. Tomorrow the hunting team will still go up the mountain as usual. I’ll come along with you for this trip!”

Hearing this, Luo Pei and Isaiah Thomas couldn’t help but exchange a glance. The latter immediately said happily: “That’s right! Director, didn’t Mr. Strom just say this Magic Beast has very poor magic resistance? It’s just a mere level-two Magic Beast. With Mr. Strom’s help, there’s definitely no problem!”

By the time Isaiah Thomas finished speaking, his face was full of excitement and anticipation. He seemed to be really looking forward to this. But Old Strom and Luo Pei just tilted their heads and smiled bitterly, saying nothing.

—The Pinecone Bear was indeed just “a mere level-two Magic Beast,” that was true. But don’t forget… Old Strom was merely “a mere level-one” Magic Apprentice as well.