Chapter Ninety-One: Senior Lea (Many Thanks to Everyone)

When Lando realized something was wrong and went to investigate the Bird Tribe, he found a scene that left him stunned. The entire tribe had already been abandoned, empty as a shell. If he had not discovered traces of a large force setting out at the entrance, he might have thought that a mass disappearance had taken place in this crystal world.

The Bird Tribe’s mysterious behavior left Lando utterly puzzled. If this collective migration had been caused by his arrival as an outsider, then he would have to take a new look at the possibility that the two sides could ever communicate normally.

In any case, it was necessary to find out where the Bird Tribe had gone.

This time he did not even need the scanner. The tracks left by such a large group were obvious enough. Following them from a distance, he saw that perhaps because everyone possessed a companion crystal, the whole tribe could move together at a fairly brisk pace.

Three days later, Lando left the Crystal Cluster Forest and entered a lush plateau. The land stretched before him in uneven folds, rising and falling in hills everywhere. Waterfalls flowed down some of those hills, forming lakes and little streams; water was abundant beyond measure.

Far in the distance, he could also see a massive multicolored crystal standing upon the earth. Visible streams of energy radiated from it, and around it floated several small islands, where faint outlines of man-made structures could be seen. Beneath those floating islands, around the great crystal, buildings of every color stretched on and on, making it clear that this was a powerful and prosperous tribe.

The Bird Tribe’s destination was the tribe around that enormous multicolored crystal.

Lando did not go forward rashly to investigate. Instead, he quietly withdrew back into the Crystal Cluster Forest.

Over the next few days, he hunted carefully in the forest while trying to gather information about that powerful tribe. After encountering several squads from other tribes, they either turned and fled at once or simply attacked him directly, never giving him a chance to speak. This also made him understand how naive his earlier thinking had been.

But these days were not without other gains. He unexpectedly met a temporary four-person team made up of spellcasters, and after speaking with them, Lando finally understood. Because of the special conditions in this world, high-grade crystal beings often possessed multiple attributes. Several spellcasters who chose different attributes could form a team and kill those high-level crystal beings, absorbing only the portions they needed. This would undoubtedly improve efficiency enormously.

This four-person team already had the basic four attributes among them, and they even said that if Lando had chosen a special attribute, he could join them.

That made Lando rather tempted. After all, in theory, he did not conflict with any team; he did not mind being the one who rode on others’ coattails.

Unfortunately, one piece of information they mentioned during casual conversation forced him to abandon the idea.

"What! You saw a silly, wide-eyed girl being hunted down?!"

"Uh, that girl did seem a little dazed, but not exactly silly, right?"

"That’s not the point. Where did you see her, and when was this?"

"Probably yesterday evening. If you head west and cross that hill, you should be able to find the traces of the battle. I’ve seen that girl on the floating platform before. We wanted to go help her too, but it was too far away at the time, and she didn’t seem to be in much danger, so we didn’t go." The long-haired girl with the water staff said.

"Thanks for the information. She’s a senior from my academy. I need to go check on her now, so I’ll take my leave first."

After Lando left, the four of them looked at one another.

"He’s gone."

"Yeah. What a pity. There was no trace of the basic four elements in his companion crystal; he must have chosen a special element. I just wonder which one."

"Hey, isn’t it a little sloppy for us to say that little girl was being hunted?"

"What’s sloppy about it? Isn’t it exactly as we said? It’s just that the ones doing the hunting didn’t end up having a very good time."

"......"

...

Because his mentor had entrusted him with looking after Senior Lea, Lando was now burning with anxiety. He did not hear the rest of the four-person team’s conversation; otherwise, he probably would not have been so frantic.

After crossing a hill and continuing for nearly half an hour, he finally saw signs of battle. He did not waste even a moment. Taking out the scanner, he began moving along the traces he had found. From the mutilated remains gnawed by beasts along the way, it was obvious how fierce the fighting had been.

The whole journey was frantic and full of obstacles. Many hunters took him for prey, but Lando did not linger in pointless entanglements. When he finally followed the trail, battered and breathless, into a cave, he saw a somewhat dazed scene.

Lea was sitting cross-legged on the ground, with a campfire before her. Right now, she was staring with great solemnity at an unknown object skewered on a branch and roasted black, as if she were hesitating over whether she should take a bite.

"Gurgle~"

The cry from her stomach made Lea’s small face fall, and she nearly burst into tears.

"......" Lando rubbed his head, forcing down the urge to turn and leave. "Senior Lea."

Lea turned her head blankly. Seeing Lando, she did not seem to react at first. She rubbed her eyes, and only after looking again did she finally seem certain.

"Junior Lando, you’ve finally come to find me!" she cried, tossing aside the branch in her hand and lunging toward him.

Lando was somewhat repelled, but he could hardly let his senior miss and fall flat on the ground, so he did not dodge.

Though he always felt that apart from one particular aspect, this senior was far inferior to Alice in every other respect, she was still his senior, after all. The proper care had to be given.

Half an hour later, Lea was eating the food Lando handed her, not caring at all that it was still hot. She was moved to tears.

"Wuwu... I never imagined roasted meat could taste this good!"

Watching Senior Lea devour her meal with no regard for her image, Lando somehow found himself empathizing a little with Old Moor’s mood every time he watched him eat.

After Lea patted her little belly and declared she was full, the two of them began to exchange stories of what they had experienced after arriving in this world.

After descending into the world, Lea chose a companion crystal weapon of the earth attribute based on her own talent. She wandered aimlessly all the way, killing crystal creatures whenever she met them. Until some time ago, she encountered a group composed of dozens of natives from various tribes. Before she could even figure out why, they were already hunting her.

At first, the other side had wanted to capture her alive. Later, after many of them died, they began trying to kill her outright. In the end, Lea fled all the way to this cave. She had already eaten all the food she had brought with her and could only try making something on her own. The result almost poisoned her to death. Luckily, Lando’s arrival rekindled her hope.

Lando asked with a dark expression, "Where are those people who were chasing you?"

Lea replied with a dazed look, "I don’t know. While they were chasing me, there seemed to be fewer and fewer of them. By now, they don’t seem to have caught up for a very long time."

"......"

PS: To be honest, after reconsidering the recent plot and what I’m about to write, I found that although I had given Lando an excuse for not using his talent ability, when I looked back at it, it really was too stupid. So I revised the outline of this world without affecting the overall story, and I feel it should be more reasonable this way.

A small preview: in the next chapter, Lando’s self-imposed "seal" will be lifted. At the same time, after learning more policy information about the Arcane Empire, he will become bolder in his future actions. Put simply, it is all part of the process of gradually integrating into the Empire.

Before posting, I deliberately checked, and the number of favorites has actually surpassed ten thousand. What a joyous achievement. Tomorrow I am definitely going to update more to celebrate!

Thank you all for your support. Every reader’s favorites, recommendations, monthly votes, and rewards, I will keep in my heart. My deepest thanks once again!