“Okay… Okay… I understand…”
“So, you’re very sad that you hurt Chillingus, right?”
Lance summarized, shivering. After hearing the Ice Bird’s description, he felt that the situation was utterly absurd.
These two Element Lords weren’t actually fighting each other; they were in love!
The Fire Element Lord, Chillingus, was currently on the verge of madness, risking the depletion of his very essence just to get close to this Ice Bird.
However, their domains clashed. Since the Ice Bird was slightly weaker and could not fully control the power of her own domain, the Fire Element Lord ended up returning with heavy injuries every single time.
And every time Chillingus was seriously hurt, the Ice Bird became even more sorrowful, leading to the current situation.
Learning all this left Lance completely speechless. He truly understood what it meant for the common folk to suffer when the gods fought.
Takin Village had existed peacefully for hundreds of years, yet it was now facing the crisis of a forced migration simply because of the relationship issues between two Element Lords.
“Yes, I really… I don’t want to hurt him anymore, but he keeps chasing after me every time… *sob sob*…”
After staying in the snow for so long, Lance felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. His heartbeat, which was already slower than a normal person’s, became even weaker.
Before he could even speak, he collapsed straight into the frost-covered grass.
“Ah? What’s wrong with you?”
The Ice Bird’s eyes flickered. She leaned down and tapped Lance’s armor with her beak, clearly perplexed.
“Um, could you please restrain the release of your ice elements? My body seems to be frozen solid…”
“Ah — I’m so sorry, I didn’t notice!”
The Ice Bird apologized profusely and withdrew the stray ice element power around her. The chilling mist permeating the area immediately diminished by a significant portion.
Seeing that Lance’s condition had not improved, the Ice Bird mobilized her elemental power and created a large block of ice out of thin air, freezing Lance inside.
The moment he entered the ice block, Lance felt threads of warmth gathering around him from his surroundings.
In just a few moments, Lance felt his body being completely healed. Clearly, the Ice Bird had cast a healing-type spell on him.
With a *crack*, the ice block shattered, and Lance was released.
The Ice Bird also noticed something different about him.
“You’re an Undead?”
“That’s right.”
“How strange. You’re so weak, yet your consciousness is so clear.”
That really stung Lance’s heart.
Although a High Rank was no longer considered weak in the Maze City of Siofra, from the perspective of an Element Lord who had fully mastered the Power of Factors, he was likely no different from an ant on the side of the road.
He was someone who could be dealt with using a single Elemental Tier spell.
After pouring out her troubles to Lance, the Ice Bird’s mood had clearly improved.
Upon learning that Lance was a visitor from the Surface, her attitude became even more friendly.
“I’ve been in the Maze since I first gained consciousness. I’ve never been outside… What is it like out there?”
Hearing that the Element Lord was interested in the outside world, an idea sparked in Lance’s mind. He thought of a way to get this Element Lord to leave Takin Village.
“The outside world is very big… How big? Uh… probably as big as hundreds of Mazes!”
“Danger? There’s no danger at all! With your strength, your presence alone is the danger out there!”
Lance answered fluently, painting a glowing picture of the outside world, making it sound as if the Element Lord could dominate the entire world the moment she stepped outside.
However, whenever Lance hinted at persuading her to leave this place for the Surface, the Ice Bird would shake her head and refuse, only to immediately ask more questions about the outside world.
This left Lance utterly confused. Did she want to go to the outside world or not?
Hadn’t she just been crying about wanting to stay away from Chillingus? Why was she unwilling to actually leave?
Hearing Lance’s confusion, Falia, situated in his mental world, burst out laughing.
‘Lance~ You really don’t understand anything, do you?’
‘Uh… please enlighten me, Master.’
‘If she really ran far away, what would that Fire Element Lord do if he couldn’t find her?’
‘Didn’t she say she wanted to be away from him?’
‘Tsk, tsk, tsk… Little Lance, it looks like there’s one more thing you need to learn.’
‘You won’t be able to get along with “female friends” if you’re like this~’
Lance remained silent. He felt that Falia was acting strangely, as if some switch had been flipped inside her.
She kept blathering in his mind about how to get along with female friends.
It left Lance in a position where he could not answer, yet could not ignore her either.
Reflecting on it, Lance felt that Falia’s entire personality was erratic.
Sometimes her thoughts were erratic and she craved validation; other times, she was deep, reserved, and highly aggressive.
And now, Falia was like a young girl immersed in romantic topics, chatting with Lance about trivial things.
These unpredictable changes made it impossible for Lance to figure out how to deal with this mysterious Witch.
He could only choose to communicate by cautiously testing the waters.
Feeling that if he let her continue, the Witch would go on forever, Lance took the opportunity to interrupt.
‘Then do you have a way to make them leave this place?’
Falia, sitting on her high-backed chair, shifted her expression. Her previously joyful face quickly vanished, replaced by a cool, playful smirk.
With a light chuckle, the Witch spoke slowly.
‘Why should we make them leave? This is one of those rare opportunities to rapidly increase your strength.’
Lance was startled. While managing the Ice Bird’s questions, he asked inwardly with confusion: ‘Increase my strength?’
‘Yes.’
‘These elemental creatures are certainly powerful, but… a lack of spirituality is their common trait.’
‘And a lack of spirituality makes them very easy to exploit and enslave.’
‘Just as countless fire elemental creatures in Hell are enslaved by low-rank demons, you have an opportunity now.’
Falia’s words began to sound extremely seductive, like a devil whispering in Lance’s ear.
‘I’ve investigated. She doesn’t have a name… You only need to use the Demonic Language to guide her, making her proactively ask you to name her. Then, I’ll have a way to directly forge a real Master-Servant Contract.’
‘A Master-Servant Contract~’
Falia’s words left Lance dumbfounded, almost unable to believe his ears.
‘You can do something like that?’
‘Naturally.’
Having received a positive answer, Lance’s heart raced, and his breathing grew heavy.
It was exactly as Falia said — this was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
If he succeeded, it would be a massive help in pushing open the Gate of Elements! Even if he couldn’t push it open immediately, it would establish a very solid foundation!
But after thinking for a moment, Lance realized where the problem lay.
‘But… I’m not an Elementalist. I don’t have an Element Pool to house her.’
Hearing this, Falia chuckled.
‘You don’t have one, but I do~’
‘So… do you know what to do now?’
His throat tightened slightly. Lance looked up at the Ice Bird, who had clear eyes filled with longing. Lance’s heart was caught in a struggle.
Seeing Lance stop his stories about the Surface, the Ice Bird tilted her head and gently lowered it to poke Lance’s helmet with her beak, as if checking if he had frozen solid again.
Snapping back to his senses, Lance spoke slowly.
“Names are necessary in the outside world. Do you have a name?”
“A name?”
The Ice Bird shook her head repeatedly. She replied, “I’m not going outside, so I don’t need a name.”
Lance waved his hands quickly in rebuttal. “You need a name even if you don’t go outside. Isn’t that how it is for Mister Chillingus?”
The Ice Bird’s crystal-clear eyes flickered. She was clearly moved, seemingly persuaded.
After a moment, she became a bit anxious and said with a hint of worry, “But… but I don’t know how to choose a name…”
As soon as she finished speaking, small ice crystals began to form in her eyes again, and a chilling mist began to drift around her.
Startled, Lance quickly spoke up.
“I can give you a name! I used to be a noble on the Surface!”
Pausing for a moment, Lance’s tone changed. Using the Demonic Language he had learned from Falia, he said:
“So… Would you like me to bestow a name upon you?”
The Ice Bird’s expression immediately brightened. She replied instantly, “Yes, please!”