Chapter 6: A Blessing? A Curse!

— The Eden Era…

Like a cycle, where there is a peak there is a trough. The violent fluctuations of the world’s natural energy finally began to calm down after more than ten thousand years. By this time, most forms of energy had become relatively stable. The originally extremely active Magic Elements had entered a period of extreme calm, transforming from the most active energy into the most inactive energy. The winter of the magical civilization had thus arrived. Under such circumstances, even the Elves, the darlings of the gods, had no choice but to quietly retreat into the depths of the Silent Forest, reluctantly giving up their position as the protagonists of the continent.

The fourth generation of protagonists on the continent were the Goblins. They called their power “technology,” and their era was the “Eden Era of Technology”!

Huge airships, punk-styled steel steamships, powerful mortar squads, and musket teams… The Goblins built a massive empire. As the fourth generation of protagonists on the Amelia Continent, they created an unparalleled era.

The era of technology had arrived!

“The Protagonist of a Hundred Thousand Years Later — Walking Under the Wheels of History”

…

A burst of hearty laughter. Soon, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and amidst the bustling noise, it sounded like several people had walked in. Sophie had already gone out to greet them first. Although Luo Yan stayed hidden inside the room and didn’t go out, his eyes were already slightly red.

It had been a very, very long time since he had heard his father laugh so heartily…

Soon, heavy footsteps approached. Luo Yan immediately looked up, and his father Luo Pei’s handsome and resolute face came into view. Luo Pei was just over thirty years old now, in the prime of his life. He wore a hunting suit made of fine cotton cloth and carried a few items in his hands. His eyes were full of soaring confidence, with none of the loneliness and despondency that life would later suppress into him. Behind him followed a youth of about fifteen or sixteen, carrying large and small bags, grinning as he looked at the doorway.

Seeing his father so young and spirited, Luo Yan felt a bit unaccustomed. But the next moment, he felt his body lighten, and with a whoosh, he was lifted up over someone’s head. It turned out his father had “caught” him. Then he heard his father’s hearty voice: “Haha~~ Son, what are you doing hiding here all alone? It’s only been three days, and you don’t recognize your old man anymore!!”

Hearing this suddenly, Luo Yan couldn’t help but feel his eyes grow hot. He instinctively squirmed a little, scenes from the past flashing through his mind one by one. He looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar face before him, and his eyes unconsciously grew even redder. Finally, tears burst out in a flood, which startled his father Luo Pei. Flustered, Luo Pei hurriedly put Luo Yan down and said repeatedly, “Son~~ What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Did Dad hurt you?!”

Luo Yan shook his head desperately upon hearing this, but didn’t speak. He just tightly hugged his father’s pant leg, refusing to lift his head no matter what.

More than a hundred and twenty years had passed. Luo Yan had never thought he would have the chance to see his father again. Just this one “gain” alone made Luo Yan feel that this rebirth was completely worth it!!

Luo Yan had always had a very close relationship with his father. Luo Pei was a father who cared deeply about his children. No matter how busy he was with work, he would always find time to chat with them and pay attention to their needs. However, when Luo Yan was twenty years old before his rebirth, someone suddenly reported his father for “dereliction of duty” and “collusion between officials and merchants.” Disciplinary officials then took Luo Pei, who was serving as the Tax Officer of Wooden Bucket Town at the time, away for “assisting in an investigation.” Who would have thought that this departure would be a permanent farewell… Afterwards, the family was notified that Luo Pei had “committed suicide out of guilt” in the disciplinary office, and his body was cremated directly. Luo Yan and the others didn’t even get to see their father one last time!

[This matter immediately became the pain of Luo Yan’s entire life!]

— And this “report” that caused indelible harm to Luo Yan’s family was about an old matter from fifteen years ago. It was the “Magic Beast Attack Incident” that occurred when Luo Yan was five years old and Luo Pei was serving as the Director of Talim Village in Wooden Bucket Town… “That incident” that completely destroyed the former happiness of Luo Yan’s family.

Thinking of this, Luo Yan couldn’t help but clench his fists tightly, and an unconscious blaze of anger shot from his eyes. But this crying and anger of his scared Luo Pei.

“Hey hey~~ Son, what’s wrong with you?” Very puzzled, looking at Luo Yan’s flushed little face, Luo Pei hurriedly picked him up again and fussed over him. The bewildered father really couldn’t figure out what was wrong with his precious son today?!

Hearing this, Luo Yan was also slightly startled. He hadn’t expected his feelings to show so clearly that his father noticed at a glance. He quickly shook his head and pretended to be innocent, covering it up: “Nothing’s wrong, nothing’s wrong, Dad… I just missed you!”

Luo Pei was delighted to hear this: “Hehe~~ My precious son, you miss your dad this much after just two days apart? You really are my good boy!” Saying this, he hugged Luo Yan and showered him with kisses, which made Luo Yan roll his eyes repeatedly.

For a grown man like him to act cute was really a difficult thing to do!

Fortunately, Sophie walked in at that moment and rescued Luo Yan. She was carrying two sets of tableware and said coquettishly as soon as she entered: “What are you two father and son doing? You start clowning around the moment you see each other. Come over and eat quickly!” While speaking, she turned her head and smiled at the youth following behind Luo Pei, greeting him: “Isaiah, you come and eat too. Coming back at this hour, you must not have had lunch yet!”

Men are always a bit careless. Seeing that Luo Yan seemed to be fine, Luo Pei relaxed and chuckled as he sat down at the dining table according to his wife’s instructions. Meanwhile, the youth beside him winked mischievously at Luo Yan before sitting down with a delighted expression. The teasing intent was obvious, which made Luo Yan angrily shoot him a big glare.

Luo Yan vaguely remembered this youth — Isaiah Thomas — he was an orphan from Talim Village. After Luo Pei became the Director of Talim Village, he took pity on the boy and always looked after him. The youth was also very close to Luo Pei, always following him around. Unfortunately, in “that incident,” this youth was also severely injured and unfortunately became disabled. Later, just before the Luo Family’s misfortune, this youth suddenly died mysteriously. His funeral was arranged by Luo Pei himself, and shortly after that, Luo Pei was taken away by disciplinary officials…

…

…

…

The meal was a traditional delicacy of the Davoma Empire — thick soup stewed rice, with the salty dryness of pan-fried meat blended with butter. As for the dish, of course it was Mother Sophie’s proudest stir-fried wild boar meat. Additionally, Sophie had specially picked a few strings of not-yet-fully-ripe Wittis fruits and made a “Honeyed Red Pearls in Milk” using wild honey and fresh cheese. This was also her signature dish — sweet and rich in flavor, leaving a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth.

However, what puzzled Luo Yan was that his father, who usually didn’t like greasy food, seemed very interested in these two sweet and rich “delicacies.” He alone devoured more than half the plate of wild boar meat. It seemed that birds of a feather really do flock together!

Seeing her husband eating with such relish, Sophie also showed a happy expression. She casually poured two full large glasses of homemade wild grape wine for him and the youth Isaiah, and said with a smile: “Luo Pei, why are you all back so early? Didn’t you say this trip would take a whole week?”

Hearing this, Luo Pei immediately became excited. His face lit up with enthusiasm as he said: “Sophie, you don’t know, our hunting team was really lucky this time. Hmm~~ It was simply a blessing falling from the sky!! Ha~~ Isaiah, tell your Aunt Sophie all about it!”

While Luo Pei was speaking, the youth Isaiah Thomas also had a joyful expression on his face. Upon hearing this, he immediately began to narrate excitedly — just as Luo Yan remembered from his memories, Luo Pei’s hunting team had returned from the mountains fully loaded this time. Not to mention all kinds of small game, they had even hunted a bear-like giant beast that was as tall as two men. Although Luo Pei and the others didn’t know exactly what kind of beast it was, the profit from just this one catch alone would probably mean that Talim Village wouldn’t have any problems getting through this winter.

Logically speaking, such a giant beast was not something that the half-baked hunters of Talim Village could deal with. Whether their weapons could even cut through the beast’s hide was questionable. But just as Luo Pei had said, their ability to hunt this giant beast was indeed a blessing falling from the sky. At the time, the beast had probably eaten too many Lansla tree fruits — a type of shrub fruit that both mountain beasts and hunters loved. It tasted slightly sweet with a bit of sourness, and eating it quenched thirst, but eating too much could easily cause a drunken effect. The mountain monkeys loved using it to brew wine — the giant beast had been lying near a patch of Lansla trees, snoring loudly with drool all over the ground, and the hunting team had killed it without any effort at all. It was precisely because of this unexpected gain that they changed their original plan and returned to the village early.

Because the giant beast was simply too massive, the hunting team couldn’t carry any other prey unless they sent it back first.

While telling this “story,” Isaiah Thomas was speaking with great animation. Beside him, Luo Pei and Sophie were also beaming with joy. Such a giant beast could not only provide a large amount of meat, but its fur would definitely sell for a good price. With this gain, the villagers of Talim Village would have a comfortable winter this year. Encountering such good fortune right at the start was truly an auspicious beginning. Anyone would see it as a blessing falling from the sky.

But Luo Yan could only laugh bitterly to himself upon hearing this, because only he knew that this giant beast was not a “blessing falling from the sky” at all — it should have been a “disaster flying in from nowhere.”

[That giant beast was a nationally protected rare animal. It normally lived in areas further north of the continent, which was why most ordinary villagers didn’t recognize it. But that wasn’t the important part. What was more important was… it was also a Magic Beast, a Level 2 Magic Beast!!]