Quadruple split.

Chapter 2668 Embers
Game time: 14:19 PM
Northwest Continent, Tianzhu Mountain, Seventh Outer Mountain

"Looks like you're recovering well, Diesel kid."

Beside the snow slope that Cordova, Ji Xiaoge, and Mo used as their special training ground, Luvi Fitzlban, the chief engineer of Tianzhu Mountain, stood with his hands behind his back and nodded slightly. He smiled at the elderly human who looked at least twenty or thirty years older than him from his appearance, not far away: "The progress is obvious."

The old mage, Jadka Disel, dressed in a dark red robe adorned with gold patterns and wielding an unassuming wooden staff, surrounded by several azure [Rumble Dragons], turned and smiled at Ruvi. He then slightly raised his hand, causing the fire magic containing explosive power within him to intertwine and merge in mid-air, ultimately transforming into a dazzling burst of flames that dispelled the gloomy clouds above their heads.

"Master Ruwei".

Jadka bowed slightly to the ancient goblin before him, whose age was anyone's guess, and gracefully bowed with his staff to his chest in a mage's salute, saying in a light tone, "I apologize for the spectacle."

"I'm different from Little Pigeon; I'm not so easily laughed at."

Ruvi casually told a lame joke, then lazily walked up to Jadka, looked up at the tall, thin, and spirited old man, and asked, "So, you're completely alright now?"

"Thanks to you and the [Analyst], I have fully recovered."

Jadka nodded vigorously, then stroked his staff thoughtfully and said, "And then, although I don't know if it's just my imagination, I feel like I've made some progress in the path of the mage?"

Ruvi, who saw right through Jadka's thoughts, smiled faintly and said calmly, "Don't overthink it. Although we did help you, it only saved you some time and effort."

Having truly felt the threshold of the [Epic] realm, and even unknowingly having already taken a step inside, Jadka frowned, his expression somewhat conflicted, and said, "But... I don't think I have the qualifications, or at least I shouldn't be able to do it so quickly..."

"If you go any slower, you'll die of old age."

Ruvi glanced at Jadka and said calmly, "As for the so-called 'aptitude,' let's put it this way: although you are indeed not a sufficiently talented mage, unlike the [Legendary] rank, the [Epic] rank can actually be reached through hard work. It's just that for most people, that level of 'effort' is unrealistic."

Like most people in the world, Jadka believed that the limit of effort could only be the high-level peak, and that only those with absolute talent could have a chance to glimpse the [Epic] and [Legendary] realms. He paused for two seconds before exclaiming in astonishment, "Is that so?"

"Of course that's true. It's just that there are very few people like you in this world, which is why people think that the [Epic] rank is unattainable through hard work."

Lu Wei explained in a light tone, then said to Jadka, whose expression was quite shocked, "And you, in fact, have already earned the opportunity to enter the [Epic] realm through your efforts over the years and with the help of Little Pigeon and those [Spicy Powder], plus that thing of yours that the dog calls 'self-destructing cane' is quite interesting, so taking this step is not a gift or a blessing."

Jadka immediately understood Ruvi's implication and quickly said seriously, "Even so, I still think that Master Ruvi and..."

"Noyce and I just gave you a push."

Ruvi waved his hand to interrupt Jadka's thanks and said expressionlessly, "With the disappearance of your knightly talent, you will soon be 'benignly corrupted' by that self-destructing cane. At that time, not only will your desperate elemental perception be greatly enhanced, but your years of accumulation will also help you take that half step directly. We have only helped you accelerate this process slightly."

Jadka was slightly taken aback, looking down at the unremarkable-looking staff in his arms, which was indeed useless, yet whose name Mo Tan had read as "…Ember" through the perspective of an otherworldly being. He asked in bewilderment, "You mean, it's actually quite special?"

"It allows someone like you, who is almost completely isolated from the elements, to clearly perceive the fire element, and it enabled you to advance to the intermediate mage level in just a few decades. How could it not be special?"

Ruvi smiled and waved to Jadka, who seemed hesitant to speak, saying, "Listen, kid from the Diesel family, I know that it's not something to be proud of to spend decades advancing to the intermediate level, but for those mages who have the same problem as you, with almost zero elemental perception, it's normal to stay at the initial level for their entire lives. As for you... heh, it seems you haven't been entirely without the favor of mysticism."

Jadka remained silent for a while, then revealed a relieved smile, gently stroking the staff in his hand that looked no different from a fire poker, and said with a smile, "I'm not afraid to admit it, but I've always felt that I have a special connection with this staff."

"I think so."

Lu Wei nodded and said calmly, "In short, this staff contains a tiny, but real, high-level flame. Normally, the moment you first come into contact with this staff, you would become fire-element-affinity due to its influence."

Jadka was shocked and exclaimed in astonishment, "You mean, fire...fire elemental affinity!?"

"It's obvious that there's no problem with my Common Language or your hearing."

Lu Wei gave a noncommittal, cold laugh, and said lazily, "What you really want to ask is, since you have an affinity for fire, why isn't fire very close to you, right?"

Jadka nodded vigorously, saying repeatedly, "Yes, yes, if I had a fire elemental constitution, I think I would have already..."

"That's because this staff failed to modify you, you stubborn brat."

Ruvi glanced at the broken branch in Jadka's hand and said calmly, "It obviously tried to modify your body, but the problem is that before being tempered by this thing, you had already been tempered by your own internal fighting spirit, laying a solid foundation. In addition... sigh, in addition to your body's growth potential, which was basically created based on the 'knight' template, this staff simply cannot intervene in your body."

Jadka: "...Huh?"

"This modification is passive, but when the modification process is forcibly stopped by your body, causing a significant overflow of the powerful fire element emanating from the surface of this staff, then—"

Lu Wei smirked, raised his hands and gestured in front of him, vividly describing, "A BOOOOOOOM explosion."

Jadka: "...Huh??"

"But this is actually a good thing. After all, if you were just an ordinary mage without such extraordinary physical abilities, you might have been burned alive by this tree branch."

Lu Wei stroked his chin, looking somewhat hesitant, and said, "But the possibility isn't particularly high, maybe... 70% or 80%?"

"hiss."

Even Jadka, a seasoned veteran who had seen it all, couldn't help but feel a chill of fear at this moment. He subconsciously took a step back and chuckled dryly, "It's quite big, really quite big."

"Sigh, you young people are all too afraid of taking risks and suffering losses."

Ruvi let out a sigh that was quite novel to Jadka, and then continued, "In short, given the possibility that you will inevitably lose the title of 'Knight' unless you are given a second chance, Noyce and I helped you transfer some of the power of this branch when we saved you."

Recalling the ease with which he had just controlled the fire element, Jadka's eyes widened in surprise, and he said like a child, "So I'm now a fire elementalist?" "No, that's not it. After all, as a short-lived species, you're basically at the end of your lifespan. Even if you could live for another ten or twenty years, your vitality would be exhausted. So it's unrealistic to directly transform you into a fire elementalist."

Ruvi shook his head, then changed the subject and said to Jadka, who looked somewhat dejected, "So we've planted a seed in you for now. If you can continue to work hard at the same pace as before, it's not impossible for you to develop a fire element affinity with this branch."

"So...I see!"

Jadka pursed his lips, which were chapped from the emotional turmoil, and stammered, "So I can... I can go further?"

Let's take it one step further.

Lu Wei thought for a moment and said calmly, "Given your current situation, breaking through to the [Epic] rank should be no problem at all, but if you want to touch the [Legendary] realm... it's basically impossible."

Jadka immediately caught the hint in the other person's words and keenly repeated, "You mean 'basic'?"

"That's right, it's 'basically' impossible, but there are exceptions, for example—"

Lu Wei smiled slightly and proposed in a light tone, "If you are willing to become my [Tianzhushan]'s representative, dedicate yourself to Tianzhushan from now on, and become our eyes and ears and sharp blade on this land, it is not difficult to advance to [Legendary]. You can break through today if you want, or you can break through tomorrow if you want."

"..."

Having once again experienced firsthand the terror of Tianzhu Mountain, Jadka was speechless. After a long while, he shook his head with a wry smile: "Indeed, let's just forget about it."

“That’s what I think too, after all, everything you’ve done so far has been for ‘freedom’.”

Lu Wei chuckled and said calmly, "How could someone as stubborn as you sell yourself to us for the strength of a [Legendary]? In the end, if you really just wanted to become stronger, you would already be a legend."

Jadka stroked his beard somewhat awkwardly, chuckled twice, and said nothing.

Lu Wei said nothing, simply standing there with his hands behind his back, gazing at the monotonous scenery around the Seventh Outer Mountain, unchanged for a thousand years.

A few minutes later, the old monk coughed lightly, breaking the silence first: "Ahem, well, Master Lu..."

"explain."

Without turning his head, Lu Wei said a few words and continued to gaze at the scenery outside the mountains.

"About my staff..."

Jadka raised the staff in his hand, which was called "...Ember," and asked Ruvi with some hesitation, "I found it by chance near the Ember Volcano when I ran away from home. At the time, I just thought it was a very pretty stick, but now it seems that it is not that simple."

Lu Wei nodded noncommittally and snorted, "Get to the point."

“I can vaguely sense its specialness, and I have never intended to replace it with those more expensive and fancy staffs. I want to get to know my ‘old partner’ better.”

Jadka stared intently at the big-eared goblin beside him and said seriously, "From what you just said, it's clear that you have some knowledge of the origin of this staff. And I also think that if there is only one place in the world that can explain all the mysteries, then it is most likely Tianzhu Mountain."

Lu Wei chuckled and shook his head, saying, "No, you overestimate Tianzhu Mountain, kid from the Diesel family. But I do know the answer to your question just now."

Jadka's expression immediately turned serious: "I'd like to hear the details—"

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you much, kid. It's not that I can't say it, but that you can't listen to it."

Ruvi glanced at Jadka, whose face was serious, sighed silently, and said softly, "I can only tell you that this 'branch' once belonged to a rather magnificent tree, but that tree has been dead for who knows how long, leaving only some remnants that an ordinary person like you can pick up."

Jadka nodded slightly, wisely refraining from asking any further questions.

"Little Pigeon and the others will be back soon."

Lu Wei casually changed the subject, saying in a light tone, "Although they don't plan to stay for too long, if nothing unexpected happens, Little Pigeon's mission will take them at least half a month. That should be enough time for you to fully recover, right?"

"I feel like I'm fine now."

Jadka grinned, stroking his beard, and said, "Whether it's half a month or a month, as long as things here are settled, I will leave with Mo and the others."

Lu Wei nodded slightly and said softly, "I know, I just wanted to remind you that the road ahead for the [Woof Woof Adventurer Team] is not going to be easy."

"Of course, I was prepared for this."

Jadka cracked his knuckles and laughed, "Whether it's finding a way to restore Yaya's body to normal or destroying the Viper Merchant Guild, which has done so many despicable things and caused so much trouble for the world, neither of these will be easy tasks."

"Not easy to do? Isn't that a bit too arrogant of you to say?"

"Haha, that's what they say, but if you only look at what we've done in the last year, it's really hard to say what will happen in the future."

"so what?"

"Where there's a will, there's a way. Let's give it a try."

Chapter 2659: The End