The next day at noon, inside the wooden house.
"Yes—exactly like that. Light does produce shadows, that's true, but intense light eliminates them. Especially light that shines evenly from all directions."
Yuhran directed Hal as he positioned oddly shaped lamps in every corner of the room.
These were all "high-tech" items he had carefully selected from the modern world.
After all, with a natural advantage of dimensional superiority, why not use it?
A few thousand yuan—just a few grams of gold.
Hal bit his lower lip. Sweat slid down his cheeks, his clothes already soaked and clinging tightly to his back.
It wasn't just the weight of the lamps exhausting him—more importantly, the next prey chosen by the monster… was him.
Everything Miliarde had said had come true.
The reason the monster hadn't openly slaughtered the villagers was to lure in powerful individuals, then devour them to evolve.
For creatures like them, with high magical power, one person was worth a hundred ordinary villagers.
That almost human-like calculation sent a chill crawling up Hal's spine.
It had to be destroyed.
"Haa…"
Letting out a long breath, Hal wiped his forehead with his sleeve after securing the last heavy lamp to the ceiling beam. He turned to Yuhran and asked:
"Is this enough? By the way… where did you get this knowledge and these tools from?"
He hesitated, then added,
"Ah… forgive my rudeness, but you don't look like a local. Could it be that you're from the Central Continent…?"
In his mind, only the "upper-class" people of the Central Continent could possess such profound knowledge.
Yuhran's eye-catching hair color suddenly made sense—maybe all the nobles there had black hair and black eyes?
And his clothes—completely unheard of.
"The Central Continent?"
Yuhran's lips curved into a meaningful smile.
He hadn't expected the priest to come to that conclusion—but that worked out just fine.
When you're out in the world, your identity is whatever you give yourself.
All that money hadn't been wasted. With this assumption in place, obtaining the Sacred Text afterward would be much easier.
He waved his hand casually.
"Believe whatever you like. In any case, today we must capture that monster and eradicate it."
"Hal, sir—"
"Please, just call me Hal. I don't deserve 'sir.'"
Hal hurriedly interrupted while wiping his sweat. He was just a commoner—if others heard that title, who knew what rumors would spread.
That elf was powerful too.
Yuhran nodded. "Alright, Hal. From now on, you stay in this room."
"You should be able to sense the monster's presence, right?"
"Remember to signal with your hands."
As he spoke, he glanced at Miliarde leaning by the door, signaling her to close the windows and connect the power.
They were using a diesel generator—one of his camping supplies—so she wasn't surprised at all.
Whoosh. As the windows shut, the room plunged into darkness.
"Hal, close your eyes."
The instant the power was connected, it was as if a rising sun had ignited inside the cramped space. Blinding white light flooded every corner like a tidal wave!
Hal reflexively shut his eyes, yet tears still streamed uncontrollably down his face.
So bright—was this heaven?
A moment later, when he cautiously opened his stinging eyes, the sight before him left him frozen.
—the entire world seemed submerged in milk. With shadows erased, all objects appeared flat and distorted.
At that instant, something struck him. He turned his head and looked behind himself.
His shadow was gone.
His lips trembled, his throat bobbing.
This… the joy welling up inside him was impossible to put into words.
"Th… thank you."
He bowed deeply to Yuhran, his voice choked. A man in his thirties, yet at this moment, he looked like a child.
Yuhran smiled. As long as it worked.
The only pity was that clothing could still cast shadows.
He glanced at the small patch of darkness lingering near Hal's neck and thought that, to be safe, even such tiny flaws needed to be eliminated.
"Yuhran, do I need to stay?"
Miliarde asked, her cool voice breaking the brief silence.
This time the monster hadn't chosen her—perhaps because hunting high-magic beings carried risks.
But there was no guarantee it wouldn't change targets.
Caution was necessary.
Yuhran rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Stay if you want. But just in case, you'll need to change clothes."
Miliarde's cloak cast shadows. Her long skirt cast shadows.
A short skirt wouldn't.
Of course…
He glanced at Hal and pulled out a black blindfold.
…Sorry. It wasn't exactly a moral hang-up, but as his companion, her "benefits" weren't something others should see.
Alright—fine. It was a moral hang-up. Yuhran didn't bother pretending otherwise.
Hal accepted the blindfold, stunned for a moment. Then he watched Yuhran put one on himself and nodded in sudden understanding.
Ah, so that's it—he's worried I might panic and cast magic again?
If I can't see the monster, my other senses will sharpen.
He even considered this angle…
As expected of the Central Continent.
"Rest assured, sir," Hal straightened his back and said solemnly.
"I'll follow your commands completely. Should I put it on now?"
Yuhran told Miliarde to turn off the lights and open the windows, replying casually:
"Whenever you like. Monsters usually attack at night, so we'll start then."
"Miliarde," he beckoned to the elf, "come change clothes with me. I don't know what styles you like."
The two left the room, the wooden door closing softly behind them, leaving Hal sitting alone on the floor.
He watched their retreating backs, a trace of envy flickering in his eyes.
Aren't elves usually cold and aloof?
Is it because of Lord Yuhran's status?
With that thought, he sighed.
A country bumpkin really is just a country bumpkin.
Who knows when he'd ever be transferred to the Central Continent to see the real world.
Lost in sighs and melancholy, time passed quickly. By evening, Yuhran returned with a completely refreshed Miliarde.
He signaled Hal to put on the blindfold before letting her enter.
She now wore a knee-length blue skirt, her pale calves exposed. When she sat down, no shadow appeared at all.
She seemed a little uncomfortable, but for the sake of safety, she endured the strange feeling.
Night fell. Hal's nerves were stretched taut.
In the dead silence—
His whole body jolted. He snapped his head up.
"It's here."
Yuhran immediately caught the hand signal.
In an instant, all the lights blazed on at once. Like an avalanche of radiance, pure white light flooded the space, shredding the darkness to pieces!
"Ah—!"
Within that absolute brightness, a shrill, inhuman scream exploded, shaking the wooden windows.
From a corner, a wisp of black smoke twisted upward. A limp white object was flung out by some unseen force, landing on the floor with a wet slap.
It looked like…
A dead squid.
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