Chapter 19

As Talli entered deeper into the cave, the more she could feel a surge of air pressure. The torch in her hand burned brighter, and the sparks at the tip of the flame floated forward.

“Dusk, stay close to me.”

Talli’s heart was pounding in her chest.

When she finally stopped, a temple stood before her, emanating a faint cold light. Its appearance was similar to the one where Talli had previously knocked out Kristen in the countryside.

However, because of the abundant magical energy in this area, the temple was exceptionally well-preserved, showing no signs of being abandoned.

Talli slowly walked forward, stepping up two steps, making sure to look back and confirm that Dusk was still following her.

The two doors, carved with intricate ancient patterns, slowly opened, and after the heavy iron doors scraped against the ground with a rumbling sound, Talli stepped into the temple.

There was no light inside, but a few fire holders were present. Talli lit the holders with the flame from her torch, and just as the last one was lit, the heavy doors behind her slammed shut with a loud “bang.”

In the center, a pool filled with pale blue liquid slowly rose.

“I’ve seen this before.”

Talli remembered that when she went to buy enchanted bows and arrows, she had seen similar weapon pools. These pools usually contained weapons that needed to be enchanted. After successful enchantment, the weapons not only gained a significant boost in attack and defense, but also acquired additional effects, like being able to briefly paralyze an enemy.

However, in those shops, the liquid in the weapon pools was typically red, but the liquid she saw today was a faint, pale blue.

In any case, she had to try it.

Talli carefully placed the dagger into the liquid, and the thick liquid gradually engulfed the small dagger. After about seven or eight minutes, the dagger began to glow with a bright shine, gradually rising from the surface of the water starting from the hilt.

Talli reached out and cautiously grasped the dagger, holding the hilt with her other hand as she slowly withdrew it.

Although she couldn’t quite explain it, Talli could definitely sense that something had changed.

She placed the rest of her equipment into the liquid as well, blinked, and squatted down, calling out to Dusk: “Come here.”

Dusk ignored her.

It seemed to be focused on observing the temple’s walls, which were carved with ancient murals and texts that had long since faded and been lost.

Talli walked over and placed her fingertips on the wall, feeling the uneven surface and the coolness that reached her skin.

She had seen similar images in books before. The carvings here seemed to depict the eight powers of ancient gods.

Beyond the eight powers, the four corners were engraved with four towering figures, their exact shapes unclear. They rode majestic horses, with bizarre and varied forms, filled with religious significance. The powers formed a circle around a central flame.

Talli traced her finger over the cluster of flames that seemed to have been leaping on the stone wall for millennia, and muttered, “…Could this be the Creator God?”

It made sense that the gods were surrounded by eight powers.

Upon hearing her words, Dusk flicked its tail, raised its chin, and moved around her to the other side.

Talli followed it.

The temple was large, and to reach the other side, she had to pass by the weapon pool and a recessed platform. Above, a ring of steps divided the space inside the temple into two parts.

Taking advantage of Dusk standing before the long staircase for a moment, Talli quickly pinched its sharp claws and scratched her sleeve arrow.

There were no marks left.

This was the simplest wood she had made the arrow from back at Fred’s house. After so many days, it had become covered with Dusk’s “accidental” scratches. When she had just retrieved the small bow from the weapon pool, she was surprised to find that all the bumps and scratches had disappeared, and it was as good as new.

To verify her idea, just now Talli had used Dusk’s claws again.

“Such a powerful defensive enchantment…”

Talli murmured softly. Before she could finish her sentence, Dusk angrily swiped its claw again, leaving three bloody scratches on the back of her hand.

Talli winced in pain.

Although Dusk had caused trouble before, it had never scratched her. However, ever since it entered the temple, it had been somewhat distracted.

Or perhaps, it was actually still holding a grudge for being brought into the water.

“You…”

Talli pressed her bleeding hand against her back and felt anger rise within her.

The small creature, however, stood upright, arrogantly raising its chin and glaring at her, showing no signs of remorse. Its ruby-colored pupils reflected the faint blue light from the temple.

“What,” Talli asked, “Do you want to fight?”

She was truly mad, how had she ever thought this fox was tame?

It was indeed intelligent, but too intelligent. As a beast, it refused to associate with magic beasts. It wouldn’t even sleep on the carpet at night, insisting on sleeping under her goose down blanket, and it only ate well-cooked meat.

Talli knew that some magic beasts could transform into humans once they reached a certain level of power. However, that transformation was only physical, their intelligence would never surpass that of a human of their apparent age.

But for Dusk, Talli thought that if it could ever truly become human, with its intelligence, it might even be able to hide its magic beast identity.

—

The stinging pain in her hand brought Talli back to her senses.

Although the wound wasn’t deep, it made her very angry. Talli strode over, grabbed the fox by the back of its neck, slammed it to the ground, and pinned it down. “I never intended to use a collar on you.”

The collar the shopkeeper gave her, aside from its usual restraining function, could also activate a magical barrier by manipulating the lock at the back of the collar. Once the barrier was activated, it would effectively restrict the movement of magic beasts. Large magic beasts usually had the barrier on the leash held by their master, while beasts of Dusk’s size typically had it inside the collar.

Talli reached out to press her hand against its neck, ready to touch the lock.

Dusk seemed to realize what she was about to do and began struggling, especially after being pinned down in such a completely powerless and helpless position. It became even more enraged.

The girl’s cool fingers pressed against its vulnerable neck with gentle yet skillful force, while the palm of her other hand pressed against its abdomen.

Rage surged within it, almost reaching its head.

It swiped a paw at her.

The harsh sound of scratching rang out as the sharp claws easily broke through the defensive enchantment of the weapon pool, leaving three deep scratches on Talli’s sleeve arrow.

Talli paused for a moment.

Just now, it was fine… how could this happen?

Before she had a chance to figure out what was going on, Dusk broke free from her grip and quickly distanced itself from her.

“Don’t run!”

Talli started to chase after it.

However, almost simultaneously, a vague pattern lit up on the large, sunken circular platform. Talli barely had time to see what it was before a deafening crash sounded!

In the next moment, a sense of weightlessness hit.

The platform caved in, and Talli didn’t even have time to escape the giant depression. She fell together with the rumbling sounds, dust, and rubble.

“Dusk!!”

She reached out her hand in vain.

At the other end of the platform, a small figure also fell. The light in Talli’s vision grew smaller and smaller until darkness completely enveloped her sight.

“Talli, Talli, wake up!”

What? Someone’s calling her?

“How are you still sleeping?”

“On a day like today, you’re still able to sleep?”

—

The darkness in front of her slowly faded, revealing several unfamiliar, beautiful young girls. They were slender, graceful, with pointed ears and light-colored eyes and hair.

Talli rubbed her eyes. Before she could react to what was happening, the girls swiftly pulled her off the bed and pushed her in front of a mirror. One of them began fixing her hair, while another wiped her face.

What shocked her even more was that the reflection in the mirror showed she also had pointed ears.

Her appearance hadn’t changed much. Among these beautiful and elegant girls, she looked unusually childish, almost like a little girl who hadn’t fully grown up. Only now her originally dark hair and eyes had turned light. At first glance, she almost didn’t recognize herself.

“Hurry up, today is the day the knights return!”

“If we’re late, His Highness will be upset.”

Talli froze, her mind filled with many questions, but she suppressed them. After the elf girls finished preparing her, she quickly followed them as they left.

The elves had wings like feathers on their backs, thin and transparent, with fine patterns. Talli tried to fly like the other elves, using her wings, and found that her speed increased significantly.

She followed the elves as they flew into a giant palace.

The palace was dozens of meters tall, extremely majestic and grand. It was surrounded by colorful stained-glass windows, and the ceiling was intricately carved with delicate reliefs. On the steps leading up to the throne, which extended several dozen meters forward, a few elves flew up and lifted the layered beaded curtains on either side. Talli and the other elves knelt on the ground. She quietly looked up and glanced at the young man with blue hair on the throne.

His long blue hair was tied up high, flowing down like a waterfall, cascading behind him. The two horns on his head were hidden in his hair. He slightly tilted his body, crossing his legs, and rested his right arm on the armrest, his head resting on his right hand’s knuckles. His other hand gently tapped the armrest with his index finger, as if he was deep in thought.

At that moment, several elves flew in, looking excited. “The knights have arrived!”

After speaking, the elves stood up and split into two rows, spreading out to the sides.

Talli was a bit slower, but quickly followed suit.

It wasn’t long before the person on the high throne noticed her, extending a hand and lightly pointing at her.

“Come here.”

His clear and cold voice seemed to come from all directions in the hall.

Talli froze for a moment, and the elves around her immediately showed expressions of panic. They hurriedly pushed her forward, “Quick, go! His Highness is calling you!”

Talli gritted her teeth and walked forward, only daring to raise her head once she reached the steps, clearly seeing the handsome young man’s face.

—He was an extremely proud and beautiful young man, with a high nose bridge, stunning features, and a refined beauty that made him seem almost unapproachable. Talli couldn’t help but hold her breath.

He exuded an unmistakable sharpness and youthful vigor, like a sword that had never known defeat since it was drawn from its sheath, making anyone who tried to approach and please him bleed.

The hand resting on his chin wore a black half-glove, revealing the clear veins and prominent knuckles on his hand, with the smooth, beautiful lines of his wrist fading into the sleeve.

When he saw Talli approach, his index finger stopped tapping.

The human girl in front of him showed no extraneous emotions in her eyes. She raised her innocent face and simply gazed at him with pure eyes.

Behind her, the elves looked pale, almost fainting from their fear at her reckless behavior.

But he didn’t say anything.

His ruby-like eyes lightly swept over Talli, looking down from his high position.

Talli felt as though that gaze had deeply and permanently etched itself into her mind.

In the next moment, he spoke:

“You, go and get my sword.”