When Roland opened his eyes...

Darkness stretched before him, boundless and suffocating, swallowing everything.

"Where is this?"

"What... happened just now?"

"Wait... I... who am I?"

He drew a deep breath and forced down the panic rising in his heart, his fingers rubbing the faint ache between his brows.

Fragments of memory slipped through his grasp like flowing sand. No matter how hard he tried, he could not seize even the slightest clue about himself.

The darkness was like congealed ink, thick enough to blur the boundary between time and space.

His consciousness kept sinking within this chaos, close to being devoured forever.

Just as Roland was about to lose his hold and his eyelids grew heavy, an ethereal voice drifted beside his ear.

"You... came again..."

He raised his head and saw a pair of slender, jade-white hands appear within the darkness.

Those arms were white as snow and almost translucent, giving off a faint glow.

"Are you really... that eager to see me?"

As the soft voice spoke, a hazy figure appeared behind those arms.

Although shrouded in darkness, the graceful outline clearly belonged to a woman.

"Who... are you?"

Drawn by some invisible force, Roland reached out.

"Unfortunately... it is not time yet..."

Just as his fingertips were about to touch her, those cold palms landed on his shoulders first.

"But... since you are so devout... hehe..."

Bell-like laughter rippled through the dark. In the next moment, a sudden force shoved him away.

"Go back... back to where you should be..."

Weightlessness struck him. Roland tipped backward and fell into the endless abyss.

When he opened his eyes again, the familiar battlefield returned.

Monster blood was still gurgling across the ground, not yet fully coagulated.

"Roland! Roland!"

A rough voice exploded beside his ear like thunder, shattering the fog in his mind.

Fragments of memory surged back like a tide.

Transmigration, Blacksmith Apprentice, monster attack, transcendent power, Far Harbor, Mist Creek Town...

Finally, every image froze on those terrifying golden vertical pupils.

"The Dragon... Rudolf... the golden liquid... I remember!"

Roland sharply sucked in a breath, like a drowning man breaking the surface.

Cold sweat slid down his forehead and soaked his collar.

His lost, dazed appearance had clearly frightened Sean beside him.

His honest, loyal friend gripped Roland's shoulders and shook him with all his strength.

"Roland! Roland! Can you hear me?"

"Stop... stop!"

Roland felt his skeleton was about to be shaken apart and hurriedly broke free.

"I'm fine, Sean. Where is that Dragon?"

"I'm not sure..."

As Sean recalled the shocking scene from moments ago, his dark face turned pale.

"What about Lord Beckham?"

Roland pressed.

"Didn't he go..."

Following Roland's line of sight, Sean turned around. His pupils contracted.

"Lord Beckham!"

He cried out and strode forward.

"Someone, quickly! Lord Beckham is badly wounded and unconscious!"

Following his shout, the soldiers who were waking up gathered around and began emergency treatment for the unconscious Beckham.

Roland stood where he was, brows knitted, and scanned his surroundings.

The incomplete corpses of monsters, the enormous claw prints in the ground, and Beckham lying not far away, covered in blood and hovering between life and death...

All of it silently declared one thing.

Everything that had just happened was absolutely not an illusion.

Remembering the heart-rending burning sensation from earlier, Roland moved his body. After confirming there was nothing abnormal, he immediately opened his occupation panel and examined it carefully.

"This is..."

His brow furrowed deeply, and his gaze locked onto two abnormal changes on the panel.

First, in the Race column, which had never changed before, the word "Dragon?" had appeared after "Human."

Even more astonishing was the Trait column. At the very top, a brand-new Trait had appeared.

[Shar's Favor]

[Shar's Favor: You have received the favor of Shar, Goddess of Death. Whether this honor is a blessing or a curse for you remains unknown.]

Unlike the detailed descriptions of other Traits, this line not only failed to explain any specific effect, but even carried a faintly teasing tone.

"What exactly happened..."

Roland tried to recall his previous experience, but his memory stopped at that golden drop of liquid.

When he woke again, all that remained beside his ear was Sean's roar.

"Where did the memory in between go? Forget it. I'll study it once I'm safe..."

Thinking of the Dragon that had appeared earlier, Roland did not dare delay. He immediately called out to Sean and the soldiers in the distance, telling them to prepare to withdraw.

The instant he mounted his horse, a familiar sensation struck him.

He snapped his head back and saw dense cracks spreading wildly across the ground.

But unlike before, these cracks were no longer pure black patterns carrying the aura of death. Instead, they were strange lines mixed with various colors.

Each line radiated a completely different aura.

Scorching, sharp, surging, heavy...

"These are... Mana Elements!"

Roland stared at the scene before him in disbelief.

Those patterns rapidly expanded across the earth. Then Mana Elements of various colors, dense enough to seem almost tangible, gathered and soared into the distant sky.

In that instant, accompanied by a faint, almost illusory roar, the clouds churned, lightning flashed, and thunder boomed.

The originally clear sky was swallowed by boundless dark clouds. Immediately after, torrential rain crashed down.

The moment the rain struck the ground, those densely spreading patterns vanished without a trace.

But in the air, the concentration of Mana Elements was rising sharply.

"This is..."

Roland's mind stirred, and he activated the Spell Circuits on the bone.

Unlike the stagnant feeling he normally experienced when drawing in mana, the Mana Elements now seemed to have come alive, rushing eagerly into the Spell Circuits.

Thanks to his affinity with fire elements, he could even hear their cheerful "whispers."

This was completely different from the previous sensation of perception through a heavy barrier.

"The recovery speed of Mana Elements... has accelerated."

After realizing this, Roland looked through the pouring rain toward the distant woods.

Within the forest, countless monster silhouettes appeared and vanished.

They did not mourn the corpses of their companions. Instead, they raised their weapons, lifted their faces to welcome this strange rain, and let out bursts of cheers.

Even more unsettling, some monsters were visibly mutating in the rain.

"Roland!"

Sean's shout came from the distance.

"Scouts have discovered monsters gathering nearby! We have to withdraw immediately!"

Roland gave the monster horde one deep look, then turned his horse and caught up with the retreating troops.

Thanks to Beckham's earlier protective measures, Mist Creek Town was fortunate enough to escape the monster attack.

However, the earth-shaking tremor had still caused considerable damage to this well-equipped town.

More worrying was that every resident had fallen into varying degrees of unconsciousness because of that strange sound.

Looking at the scene before him, a guess surfaced in Roland's mind.

"That strange sound I heard before the earthquake... was probably the Dragon's roar. And the reason I didn't pass out was most likely because of [Steel Will]."

Beckham soon woke up.

Although this Transcendent Knight had missed the scene of Roland speaking with the Dragon, he still retained his memories of the Dragon.

He immediately sent men on fast horses to report the situation to the Royal Capital and request reinforcements. At the same time, he urgently mobilized troops and prepared for the possible incoming monster attack.

However, the anticipated monster attack never came, and the Dragon disappeared like it had evaporated from the world.

Only the grand, torrential rain continued to pour down without the slightest sign of stopping.

Seeing this, Roland did not dare delay. After hurriedly bidding farewell to Sean and the others, he spurred his horse and galloped toward the estate.

Watching his close friend vanish into the curtain of rain, Sean took a deep breath, then turned and strode toward the military camp.

"Lord Beckham!"

"What is it, Sean?"

"I want..."

Recalling the sight of Roland facing the Dragon alone, the confusion in this honest young man's eyes vanished. His tone became firm.

"I want to follow your previous suggestion and serve at the border!"

And that encounter had not shaken Sean alone.

Inside the Forest Breath tavern, Teresa poked at the steak before her with her knife and fork.

The earth-shaking tremors, the unconsciousness, the mountain-like gigantic being, and...

That figure who had faced the Dragon alone.

At the thought, ripples spread through her sea-blue eyes, and curiosity continued to flow within them.

"Mr. Peyton..."

Peyton, who was busy repairing the damaged front door, turned at the sound and saw the untouched steak on her plate.

"What is it, Teresa? Relax. You're that boy Roland's friend. It's only a few meals. That old fellow Gary won't mind!"

"No..."

Teresa gently shook her head, her silver hair swaying.

"I wanted to ask... where did Mr. Roland go?"

"Didn't he tell you?"

Peyton wiped the sweat from his forehead. He looked a little puzzled, but in the end, he still answered.

"I think he was going to... the River Kingdoms? That's not a good place. That kid is definitely going to suffer a bit there..."

"The River Kingdoms?"

Teresa softly repeated the name, and a strange light flashed through her eyes.

...

...

"Clop! Clop! Clop!"

Hooves struck dully against the muddy ground. After giving John at the estate gate a hurried nod, Roland went straight to the wooden cabin.

"Bang!"

The door was pushed open, and Bronson's grave face came into view.

"Roland! You're finally back!"

The scholar strode forward and gripped his shoulders.

"The Mana Elements in the surrounding regions have been changing over the past few days..."

"I already know, Mr. Bronson."

Roland interrupted him directly. Noticing the confusion in the other man's eyes, he lowered his voice.

"Now isn't the time to explain. Is your luggage ready?"

"Of course. Then we..."

"Proceed according to the original plan."

Roland took a deep breath, and the anomalies in Mist Creek Town flashed through his mind.

The accelerated recovery of Mana Elements meant that the chaotic era they had predicted earlier would arrive ahead of schedule.

In this soon-to-be turbulent world, only strength was the foundation for survival.

Thinking this, his gaze turned toward the northeast.

That was the direction of the River Kingdoms.

"I have to reach the River Kingdoms as soon as possible and obtain a Knight breathing method..."

After making up his mind, Roland looked at the fully prepared scholar before him, his voice low and solemn.

"Mr. Bronson, our previous prediction... is probably about to come true. The era of the full recovery of Mana Elements... may be arriving soon."

"Yes..."

Bronson shook his head, the corners of his mouth lifting into a bitter smile.

"I just didn't expect... it would come so quickly..."

The wooden cabin fell into a brief silence. Only their breathing mingled in the dusk light.

Outside the window, the setting sun cast its afterglow in at an angle, stretching their shadows long and blurring them across the mottled wooden floor.

...

...

"In the eyes of mortals, Shar is the eternal darkness that devours light, the hidden whisper of temptation, and the cold solace of the desperate. Her followers weave conspiracies in the shadows, while her enemies wake screaming from nightmares..."

In a spacious, brightly lit room, Roland flipped through the book in his hands, his brow furrowing.

"...because she is not only the embodiment of night, but also the cruel proclamation that all things will eventually return to nothingness. Mortals either fear her or obsess over her, but none can truly escape her gaze..."

Smelling the salty dampness in the air, Roland rubbed his aching brow.

"Death, disaster, oblivion, nothingness, mystery..."

In the end, his gaze settled on the final line on the page.

"Eternal darkness and corruption..."

"This description... doesn't contain a single positive word..."

After letting out a soft sigh, Roland closed the book in his hands, The Shadow of the Gods.

It was an ancient text from before the first year of the End Times, recording mortal imaginings about the gods.

"So... why have I gotten involved with a deity like this?"

He stared at the conspicuous words [Shar's Favor] in the Trait column of his occupation panel and fell into deep thought.

His fingertips rubbed the raised gilt pattern on the book's spine, searching for an answer that was not there.

"According to Teresa's description, when she first met me, there was already some unknown power wrapped around my body..."

The sound of waves outside the window beat time beneath his words.

"Looking at it now... that was probably the mighty power of Shar, Goddess of Death..."

Memories since his transmigration surged through his mind like a tide, and he closed his eyes.

Only when a sea breeze blew in through the window and brushed across his face did inspiration strike.

"Death... nothingness... darkness..."

Roland's fingers began tapping lightly on the table.

"Before I obtained [Shar's Favor], I suffered a mental collapse because of the golden droplet bestowed by the Dragon. That feeling of my consciousness sinking... wasn't it almost like death? And even earlier..."

The crisp sound softened, but his thoughts became clearer.

"When I transmigrated to this world, in a certain sense, I really did 'die' once..."

That thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

Roland stood and paced through the study, his boots making dull sounds against the oak floor.

"So was that when this deity first noticed me?"

He shook his head helplessly and stopped before the window.

"That is probably the reason."

"After all, the original body was only an ordinary mortal, yet it experienced the miracle of death and resurrection... No matter how you look at it, that is far too unbelievable..."

After roughly sorting out why a deity had taken notice of him, Roland did not dwell on the matter too long.

Although being connected to a deity made him faintly uneasy, from the current situation, [Shar's Favor] did not seem to have brought him any negative effects.

Compared to that...

Roland sat back down at the wooden desk and opened another ancient book with his fingertips.

Unlike the thick and mysterious The Shadow of the Gods, this book, titled Heroic Epics, looked especially thin. Its pages were yellowed, and the edges were even somewhat damaged.

Even more noticeable was the messy, careless handwriting on it, like a casual record left by some unknown bard.

"...In Crystal Calendar Year 497, Rudolf, by his strength alone, held back the Demons invading the mortal world from the Eye of the Abyss. From then on, he was crowned with the name of hero..."

This was the only record concerning "Rudolf" that Roland had found among all the ancient books in Bronson's collection.

However...

"Isn't this far too brief?"

Roland frowned and continued turning the pages.

"And..."

He discovered that most of the so-called "heroes" recorded in this Heroic Epics were figures who had rendered military service while resisting the Abyss or the Devils of Hell.

Such achievements were certainly worthy of respect, but within the history of the entire continent, they did not seem especially outstanding.

"How could someone like that become involved with an ancient being close to a demigod, such as a Dragon? And even make that Dragon honor some kind of promise?"

Roland's brow tightened, and his gaze returned to his occupation panel, especially the Race column.

The situation that day had been urgent, so he had only hastily glimpsed the vague word "Dragon?" added to his Race column.

But now, upon carefully examining it, he discovered that all of his attributes, Strength, Agility, and Spirit, had each increased by a full three points.

"Did these attribute increases come from that golden droplet, or... from [Shar's Favor]?"

Just as Roland was deep in thought, footsteps approached from outside the door, followed by a crisp knock.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Roland, are you awake?"

"Mr. Bronson, come in."

The door opened, and the thin scholar walked in quickly, unable to hide his excitement.

"Roland, the ship arranged by Mr. Colin has arrived at the port! It's docked by the pier and waiting now."

"Understood."

Roland nodded, carefully packed the two ancient books he had just been consulting into his traveling bag, then casually stuffed the sleepy-eyed Joe into his waist pouch.

Seeing this, Bronson immediately turned to lead the way. The two left the inn one after the other.

At the entrance, two attendants immediately bowed. Then they pushed a handcart piled full of all kinds of books and silently followed the two toward the port.

Although more than a month had passed since the Dragon incident, the residents of Far Harbor were still heatedly discussing the strange news from Mist Creek Town.

Waves of conversation from the streets entered Roland's ears.

A bearded merchant was gesturing dramatically to his companion.

"Do you know? I heard a huge flying monster appeared above Mist Creek Town. A lot of people are saying it was a Dragon!"

His companion waved dismissively and sneered.

"Brother, you've read too many adventure novels. A Dragon? Ha! It must be an excuse the local sheriff invented because he failed to defend against a monster incursion!"

"But..."

Another peddler rubbed his hands anxiously.

"The monsters in the neighboring Golden Valley Kingdom seem to be getting more and more rampant recently. This won't affect those of us doing business, will it?"

A merchant wearing a wide-brimmed hat immediately lowered his voice and joined in.

"Sir, one look at you and I can tell you haven't returned to the River Kingdoms in a long time, right? Forget the Golden Valley Kingdom. Even the monsters in the River Kingdoms are becoming more and more violent!"

"I also heard... some lowlands and swamp regions have been covered in strange mist. Anyone who goes in never comes out!"

"Who says no one comes out?"

A red-nosed drunk slapped the table and joined the conversation, shouting,

"There's a fellow calling himself the Wolf King who occupied a stretch of Misty Lands and says he wants to found a country."

His companion cut him off with a loud laugh and slammed his cup heavily onto the table.

"A country? Ha! More like a bandit den!"

Roland took in every word, his brow faintly furrowed as he continued forward.

"The sudden increase in monster activity should be the effect of the accelerated recovery of Mana Elements... As for those strange mists... could they be anomalies created by an overly high concentration of Mana Elements?"

Even as he thought, his steps did not slow.

When he was still more than a hundred steps from the port, a fierce argument came from ahead.

Looking toward the sound, he saw several fully armed port guards blocking a group of people and arguing about something.

But Roland's gaze instantly passed over the commotion and locked onto a young man dressed in dark green traveling clothes.