Asking an eight-year-old child to contemplate the Origin was no different from asking a newborn infant to ponder the ultimate questions of philosophy.
Three days was simply not enough time for Rei to arrive at an answer to such an ultimate question.
…
At last, the Kingdom's envoy arrived today.
This envoy had departed from the main city of Lord Leander's domain.
The capital was far away. If the envoy had come directly from there, even traveling day and night without rest would have taken at least a month.
Right now, inside Iz's room.
Standing before Rei and the others was a man with a thin mustache, wearing a red ceremonial hat. His manners were humble yet impeccably proper.
A Royal Envoy.
Behind him stood an attendant dressed in similar attire, holding a large tray covered with a long black-and-gold cloth.
"Lord Rei, you truly are a remarkable young man."
"Our Kingdom of Loren has produced such a genius. His Majesty is greatly pleased."
"He personally selected the reward that best suits you."
The envoy gestured with his hand.
The attendant stepped forward.
The envoy lifted the black-and-gold cloth.
Beneath it lay a long piece of wood—entirely black, yet flowing with countless multicolored star-like specks embedded within its grain.
Iz spoke immediately.
"Void Spirit Starwood."
"An exceptional material for crafting a magic staff. It's no weaker than the staff I use."
Iz smiled toward Rei.
"In the entire Kingdom of Loren, there's probably only this one piece. It seems the King has truly spared no expense."
After hearing Iz's explanation, Rei understood roughly how rare Void Spirit Starwood was.
The envoy continued speaking with a broad smile.
"As for the matter of the Death Priest, His Majesty is already aware of it."
"Once you arrive at the capital and confirm a few formalities, a special pardon token will be issued to you, allowing you to legally hold the position of Death Priest."
It seemed the King truly valued him.
Perhaps Iz and the others also played a role in that.
The envoy extended a bound manuscript draft with his white-gloved hands.
"This is a manuscript left behind by An Zheng."
"His Majesty instructed me to deliver it to the two of you."
When he said this, he was speaking to Iz.
Iz seemed to understand something.
He nodded solemnly and accepted the manuscript.
The Kingdom's rewards consisted of only two items.
But in truth, the value of Void Spirit Starwood alone far exceeded the reward normally given for saving a town.
Across the world, monster invasions erupted in countless places.
Battles against monster hordes occurred frequently.
Saving a relatively remote town like Rain Town didn't normally merit something as precious as Void Spirit Starwood.
If every town that survived received a reward equal to Void Spirit Starwood, the kingdom would go bankrupt.
The gift was clearly more about winning over a genius like Rei.
On the same day, the gold coins earned during the Monster Tide were finally distributed.
The payment arrived.
210,000 gold coins.
Stacks of glittering gold filled the space inside Rei's storage ring.
The feeling of being rich…
Was really nice.
Today was their final day of rest.
There was nothing left to do in Rain Town.
Early the next morning would be the day they departed.
Nothing unexpected happened when they left.
Along the road out of town, the villagers were extremely reluctant to see Iz and the others go.
They even gifted them many local specialties.
Akasei accepted everything without hesitation.
As they traveled farther away, Rei turned to look back toward Rain Town.
He felt a trace of reluctance in his heart.
Rain Town was the starting point of his life in this world.
He would never forget it.
Over the next few days after leaving Rain Town, they mostly spent their time traveling aboard the Dragon-Rhino carriage.
Occasionally, Akasei would suddenly jump off the vehicle.
After a while, he would run back to catch up—arms full of freshly hunted spoils.
The Dragon-Rhino carriage was extremely comfortable and spacious.
Its ride was smooth, with barely any bumps.
During the journey, Rei finally had the chance to talk with Obardes.
He also finally learned why he had almost never seen him before.
While they were staying in Rain Town, Obardes had been working in the hotel restaurant's kitchen as a chef.
Most of the meals Rei had eaten there were actually cooked by him personally.
Because he stayed in the back kitchen all day, they had rarely crossed paths.
At night, when they rested beside a campfire, Rei watched the stone-bodied being wearing a chef's hat, stirring a large pot with a ladle.
The sight felt both strange and oddly fitting.
Oh—he even tasted the soup.
So…
He didn't eat rocks after all.
Akasei had claimed he did.
Akasei, you really are a menace.
Traveling.
Exploring.
Hunting monsters.
Discussing magic.
Listening to stories of their past adventures.
In truth, with their personal speed, Iz and the others could travel much faster than the Dragon-Rhino.
But adventuring wasn't about rushing to complete a task.
It was about the journey itself.
Iz never considered himself a savior.
He simply helped when he saw someone in need within his sight.
As for suffering happening beyond his view…
He didn't concern himself with it.
This peaceful stretch of time allowed Rei to quietly reflect.
About magic.
About himself.
About Messer.
And about that fortune-teller.
After all, he had only just arrived in this unfamiliar world.
There were far too many unknowns.
Every time he learned something new, it immediately gave birth to yet another question.
North of Rain Town, after passing through several rugged paths and a few small villages, they entered the Nefei Great Forest.
They were about to leave Lord Leander's territory.
The monsters along the road became increasingly ferocious and powerful.
This area was far from human settlements.
No adventurers came here regularly to clear monsters.
Over many years, wandering monster tides had passed through this region, leaving monsters behind.
Monsters had long lifespans.
If no one hunted them, they wouldn't simply die off.
Thus, the farther a place was from human civilization, the more monsters gathered there—and the stronger they became.
Fortunately, Iz and the others were powerful enough.
They dealt with these monsters easily.
Rei often joined the battles as well.
While experimenting with new magical ideas, he also gathered souls whenever possible.
Nearly half a month had passed since leaving Rain Town.
Every day, Iz taught Rei around six spells.
He explained that learning too many spells at once would make one's studies overly chaotic and cloud their thinking.
Once Rei mastered Origin Magic, there would be plenty of time to study miscellaneous spells.
Right now, the most important thing was still contemplating the Origin.
Even so…
After half a month, Rei had already mastered more than 150 spells.
Among them, over 40 were self-created spells.
His total mana had finally surpassed 7,000,000.
However, as the total mana pool grew larger, the rate at which the upper limit increased became progressively slower.
Still—
If he unleashed all his spells at once, the destruction he could cause would be truly terrifying.
With so many spells under his control, the mana cost for simultaneous casting had already reached 200,000 mana.
With his current level of defensive magic…
Even Fourth-Tier Monarch-class monsters probably wouldn't be able to injure him anymore.
And Rei himself could now deal considerable damage to such monsters.
Compared to before, his strength had improved beyond recognition.
The only question was—
What would happen if he encountered a nation-destroying-class monster?
September 29th.
The group lay on the ground, gazing up at the night sky.
Iz watched as the final strokes of the celestial patterns settled into place and the heavens stopped shifting.
"It seems the Harvest Month has passed."
He paused.
"The Month of War and Fire has arrived."