A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"..." But the boy seemed to have other ideas.

"Wait a minute." After hesitating for a few seconds, Luo Shiqi put the scavenger down on the side of the road and took out a box of matches.

Bray stopped and looked at Luo Shiqi with a puzzled expression.

Bray quickly found out what Rox XVII wanted to do: he planned to burn the monster's corpse.

Luo Shiqi actually has a very good amount of magic power and knows some simple spells.

Using the sparks generated by magic, the boy used a handful of matches to set the monster's corpse ablaze.

The flames crackled and popped as they burned debris and corpses.

The firelight shone on the boy's face, and the flames were reflected in his pupils.

"I'm sorry." For the first time ever, Luo Shiqi apologized to the scavenger he had left behind.

“We can go now,” he said to Bray, who had been waiting for him.

"Is that so..." Bray wanted to say something to the thirteen-year-old boy, but found that nothing he said would make any sense.

"Anything can happen, and this corpse might lead to a lot of bad things."

“Burning it is better than not burning it.” Before Bray could even ask a question, Luo Shiqi took the initiative to explain his actions.

"You said before that it's always good to be cautious, after all, there might be risks... and others might bear those risks."

"..." Bray was speechless.

What exactly constitutes a beautiful world? Many people have probably thought about this.

The boy once believed that the world should be simpler.

No effort goes unrewarded.

There are no insurmountable difficulties.

There is no opponent that cannot be defeated.

At that time, the boy had not experienced any suffering. Like millions of other children, he was innocent and pure, and that was how he saw the world.

However, from that dark day onward, the boy knew he was wrong.

This world is not simple, not because it is meaningless, worthless, or ugly.

However, it is only because pure thoughts will one day become impure, and then looking at the world with impure eyes, one will feel that the world is not simple at all.

He still remembers the afterglow that dyed the sky crimson, and at the time he was even looking at the light with a very "leisurely" attitude.

They were completely unaware of the true nature of this light.

That's "destruction".

The parents were burned to a crisp, the ruins were filled with the smell of smoke, and the retina was burning and aching.

The beautiful world collapsed in an instant, turning into an endless purgatory.

The boy stared at the enormous figure that brought destruction, his heart filled with hatred.

But the other person only glanced at him out of the corner of their eye, and his hatred vanished without a trace.

He suddenly realized what he really was: the world was chaotic, ruthless, and unreasonable, and he was just a blade of grass that others could trample on at will.

The boy was terrified and cowered because of the other person's gaze, which wasn't even a "glance."

Hatred... What use is hatred in the face of such a monster?

The boy seemed to have grown up in a single day, yet he also seemed to have lost many of the qualities he should have possessed.

---

"Drink!" Luo Shiqi suddenly stood up from the simple floor, covered in cold sweat.

He had a nightmare, and before he knew it, he was recalling that scene from more than two years ago.

From that day on, he would have this nightmare from time to time.

No matter how many times the boy has this nightmare, he will still wake up in fright.

Luo Shiqi glanced at the sky outside the window, threw off his blanket, and climbed out of bed.

Daylight broke... Today was the day to go see Eric.

This floor is Luo Shiqi's current bed; he's currently renting someone else's house.

There was only one area, without any furniture, not even a bed.

The blanket was the only thing that came with the rented apartment.

Well, having a blanket to sleep in is enough for Luo Shiqi.

He quickly got up, rinsed his mouth with water, and went out.

Even though he had just arrived in the Imperial Capital Safe Zone, Luo Shiqi already knew the way well and easily arrived at Eric's dilapidated office.

Although it was old, the office was still quite spacious, after all, it wasn't just Eric using it.

When Luo Shiqi entered the office, Eric was yawning and then manually making a smoothie.

First, use magic to make some very fine ice shavings, then pour coffee mixed with milk on top.

Where did the coffee come from? Coffee beans, of course. Not to mention coffee beans, you can even find well-preserved honey in the ruins.

Where's the milk? Don't underestimate people's labor power; finding a dairy cow to raise is a piece of cake. Although that "dairy cow" is a monster, the milk still tastes alright.

This cost Eric the vast majority of his income.

Since there are no other expenses, eating well is a way to treat myself.

Thinking this, a beautiful smile crept onto his lips.

After preparing the smoothie, he took a spoonful and prepared to enjoy his delicious breakfast, regardless of whether it would upset his stomach.

"Good morning." Luo Shiqi suddenly stood next to Eric and said good morning.

"Clang." The spoon fell to the ground in fright.

The little devil has finally learned what "politeness" means.

But Eric would rather he hadn't been so polite and had just stood there without saying a word.

"Tsk." Eric clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction as he looked at the large spoonful of shaved ice that had fallen to the ground.

He snapped his fingers, preserving the freshness of the shaved ice with a low temperature, then turned to look at Luo Shiqi with annoyance.

"Hey kid, what's up?" Eric said, picking up the spoon and stuffing the shaved ice into his mouth.

Eric's actions made Luo Shiqi's eyelids twitch slightly.

Although the conditions are tough now, and Eric's behavior is understandable, seeing it still makes me want to complain.

This urge to complain will probably not completely disappear for several years.

"I went out of the safe zone with Lord Bray," Luo Shiqi said, implying that he had completed the first lesson Eric had taught him.

"So fast? I thought the blind man would take two or three days. Is his execution that fast?" Eric was a little surprised.

"But why do you call him 'sir'?"

"I don't know what it's called," Luo Shiqi said.

“Okay.” The colonel shrugged.

So, did you gain a lot?

"I saw and heard many amazing things, and I know that Lord Bray is very strong."

"But apart from being careful in doing things, I haven't learned anything else." Luo Shiqi shook his head.

That day, when I went out into the safe zone with Bray, the things that happened were simply amazing.

Unfortunately, Luo Shiqi was completely bewildered and couldn't say he learned anything from it.

Luo Shiqi briefly recounted what had happened to him and Bray, while Eric's expression was more like that of someone listening to a bard telling a story.

“It’s alright, that’s enough,” Eric said to Luo Shiqi in a casual tone, as if he had expected this from the beginning.

"So what's the point of you letting me go out with her?" Luo Shiqi asked, voicing his question.

"Actually, you've already learned a lot, but you haven't realized it yet."

"But it's okay, you'll gradually understand what you actually learned that day."

"Kid, I'll help you find a job here. From today onwards, you'll be my subordinate."

Based on all the intelligence available, Eric has already determined that Luo Shiqi is a promising talent.

"My name is Luo Shiqi," Luo Shiqi said softly.

“Then I’ll just call you Seventeen.” Eric didn’t care about Luo Seventeen’s tone and said with a shrug.

"Let me think about what I would like you to do."

“By the way, you need to change your way of thinking first.” Eric snapped his fingers and said to Luo Shiqi while holding a spoon in his mouth.

"Way of thinking?"

“That’s right, you should sort all this stuff out first.” Eric pointed seriously to the documents on his desktop.

"Captain, Captain, where are you? Take Seventeen with you!"

“I’ve been right behind you. Stop making a scene, Colonel,” Alice said expressionlessly, holding Eric’s head with one hand.

"..." Soon, Alice began to look at Luo Shiqi with a strange gaze.

"You're going to have a tough time from now on, so be prepared," she said with a sigh after thinking for a moment. Bray finally had some free time, so he did carpentry at home.

In this era where everyone has to earn their own living, it's always good to have various skills.

Bored, Bray used his Appraisal skill on himself.

He was quite curious about what he had learned over the past two years.

After all, he had absolutely no desire to use the appraisal technique that was associated with the talkative goddess.

However, it's good to let that goddess relax occasionally.

---

Blakes

Humanity

Inherent Abilities: "Flame Avoidance", "Mind's Eye (Modified)", "Magic Accumulation (Left Eye)"

掌握能力：「烹饪lv51」「木工lv12」「寻宝lv9」「缝纫lv17」「陷阱拆除lv6」「基础剑术lv630」「鉴定术lv3」「断刚剑术lv263」「古流剑派lv311」「断水流lv286」「我流lv340」...

quality:

"Quickly! Ahhhhhh, I'm out!"

"Li," you are despicable! You haven't spoken to me even once in two years!

What random things have you been learning lately?

Wow, humans grow up so fast! Your daughter is already so big!

"Heart," I thought, "I'm so bored, especially since Kapras is so lively, while it's so quiet and deserted here."

"Skill" is so boring, why don't you change the description of your skill appraisal to level 5?

Overall: I don't even want to comment on your physical condition anymore; it's always the same. Oh, and the barrier between us has thinned again; I can video chat with you anytime now. How about it?

---

Bray's attention was entirely focused on the new abilities.

The ability recognized by the appraisal technique can already be considered to be at the beginner level.

Beginner level will not be recorded by the appraisal technique.

Thinking about it that way, Bray realized he was quite versatile.

Great, that's so true to me.

As for the video call that the talkative goddess mentioned, Bray had no intention of paying any attention to it.

As for the attribute panel, Bray didn't even have the desire to complain.