“Ahhhh—”
Just as Lance was enduring the pain without making a sound, a hysterical scream erupted from the back hall.
It was the Fourth Elder.
The Grand Elder was stunned for a moment before his expression changed drastically.
His Force surged, and with a sharp whoosh, he vanished from the spot.
‘So fast!’
Lance was startled. That kind of explosive power was definitely not something an Advanced rank should possess.
Even if this Takin Elder had not awakened his Elements, his physical constitution alone was likely not inferior to an ordinary Elemental Tier powerhouse.
Lance and the Elf exchanged a glance. They both nodded and rushed toward the back hall together to investigate.
The voices of the Grand Elder and the Fourth Elder rang out simultaneously.
“Karich! What happened?”
“Brother… Brother! It’s fixed! It’s fixed!”
“What’s fixed?”
“The Holy Lantern! The Holy Lantern!”
Turning the corner, Lance saw the Takin Fourth Elder with tears and snot streaming down his face.
He was half-kneeling on the ground, overcome with emotion, clutching the Grand Elder tightly as if trying to pull him down to kneel as well.
Being grabbed by the fur around his waist and abdomen, the Grand Elder’s face contorted. The sharp pain nearly made him cry out.
Seeing Lance and Astrid enter, he hurriedly pried the Fourth Elder’s hands away and asked again, “What do you mean the Holy Lantern is fixed?”
The Grand Elder composed himself, his eyes wide. This news was clearly sudden.
The Fourth Elder hastily explained how Lance had repaired the lamp earlier.
The more he spoke, the more excited he became, until he eventually tried to rush over and prostrate himself before Lance.
How could Lance accept that? He quickly stepped aside to avoid the gesture and firmly supported the Fourth Elder from the side.
“What are you doing? Please, stand up!”
However, Lance’s skeletal frame was naturally weak. How could he lift a Takin weighing several hundred pounds?
Seeing Lance’s predicament, the Elf also hurried forward to support the Fourth Elder’s other arm.
She said, “This was the Holy Lord’s arrangement! Why must you bow, Fourth Elder?”
Unexpectedly, upon hearing the words “Holy Lord’s arrangement,” the Takin Fourth Elder became even more agitated. He nodded repeatedly.
“Yes, yes, yes! This is a miracle from the Holy Lord!”
Seeing this, the Takin Grand Elder felt a massive headache coming on. He stepped forward quickly and hauled up the kneeling Fourth Elder.
“Stop making a scene! Let me see the Holy Lantern!”
Hearing his older brother’s words, the Fourth Elder realized he hadn’t shown the Grand Elder the state of the lantern yet.
He immediately handed the Holy Lantern to the Grand Elder and said, “It is definitely fixed! I just tried to test the limit of its Holy Power storage, and I ran out of all the Holy Power Stone reserves before it even hit the limit!”
“And the Purification function is countless times stronger than before! Brother, look!”
The Grand Elder took the Holy Lantern, his expression shifting slightly.
Though he couldn’t use Holy Power himself, the moment he held it, he could clearly feel the massive amount of Holy Power stored within the lantern.
It was the difference between a great lake and a puddle!
The Grand Elder closed his eyes and guided the flow of the Magic Runes according to the control method he remembered.
‘Evil soul containment, intact… Purification field, intact…’
As he checked each function, the joy between his brows deepened.
By the time he finished, his eyes were wide, and he looked at Lance with disbelief.
“Sir Lance? Are you an Advanced Magic Artisan belonging to the Nature Church?”
According to his younger brother’s description, it had taken this armored knight only ten or so breaths to repair the Holy Lantern from the moment he took it!
Who else but a Magic Artisan with a Church background could achieve such a thing?
The Grand Elder couldn’t help but be shocked.
Since ancient times, Magic Artisans had been the most precious assets of every major power, usually kept under strict protection.
Yet the person before him was clearly a Knight!
Thinking of the Church and hearing the mention of magic craftsmanship, Lance’s thoughts drifted uncontrollably.
He suddenly thought of that chestnut-haired Priestess Princess.
A scene of the white-robed priestess putting her hand on his shoulder flashed through his mind.
“This isn’t right. If you want to form a correct circuit, you need to do it like this…”
At this thought, the Soulfire in Lance’s eyes flickered.
He said calmly, “I only learned a few things from a teacher. I am not an expert in the path of magic craftsmanship.”
Hearing Lance say this, the Takin Grand Elder’s mind whirled, instantly imagining various possibilities.
Assuming Lance didn’t want to elaborate, he immediately dropped the subject.
Instead, he took a roundabout way to mention that their tribe wasn’t very wealthy and wondered if they could afford the reward.
Sensing the Grand Elder’s hidden meaning, Lance didn’t know how to respond.
Just as he was about to decline, the Witch in his mind spoke up gloomily.
‘Teacher? I haven’t taught you Magic Runes yet… and it seems I was the one who fixed that lantern…’
Lance froze. ‘Oh no,’ he thought, his mind racing as he tried to come up with an explanation.
By now, however, the Witch had already cursorily searched through Lance’s memories and quickly identified the “teacher” he was referring to.
In the mental world, the Witch pressed her fingers to her brow, cursing her own carelessness.
Earlier, to trick Lance into signing the Master-Disciple Contract, Falia had only skimmed through his memories very briefly, completely overlooking that white-robed priestess…
However, Falia did not do anything drastic. She seemed to have realized something and sighed softly.
‘Sigh… fine, fine. Although that Princess didn’t teach you anything real, she did provide you with a lot of help… giving you a Holy Office… teaching you the basic theory of Magic Runes…’
‘No wonder you’re unwilling to call me Master.’
Sensing Falia’s clearly dejected mood, Lance didn’t know what to say.
Actually, he didn’t care about titles at all.
The reason he called Falia “Master” was purely out of fear…
After all, “Master” sounded like a more respectful term than “teacher,” didn’t it?
While Lance was lost in thought, the amber eyes of the Witch in his mental world suddenly brightened.
The listlessness on her face vanished completely.
Falia truly hadn’t expected to be the latecomer!
Fine? How could she let it be!
The fighting spirit in Falia’s heart was reignited!
‘I might be the latecomer, but Lance is my disciple now! We signed a contract!’
‘Is it just help? I can give that too!’
Falia immediately pulled herself together and returned to her previous state, softly offering her suggestion.
“Just ask them for a Flesh Essence.”
“They have a well-preserved Flesh Essence in their treasury.”
‘Flesh Essence?’
It sounded familiar… wait?
The Soulfire in Lance’s eyes flared up.
Wasn’t that the medium for his promotion to a Ghoul?
“Once you become a Ghoul, you can go with the Takins to crusade against the Dream Eater. Otherwise, you won’t be able to anchor your soul at all. It would be very dangerous!”
“So you need to…”
The Witch became significantly more talkative.
Without waiting for Lance to ask, Falia proactively explained the current situation to him.
Nodding, Lance looked at the Grand Elder with a calm expression.
“Please do not say such things. Helping you is also helping myself.”
“How can that be? Repaying kindness is the fundamental spirit of our tribe!”
Upon hearing this, Lance looked very conflicted. But then, he suddenly perked up as if he had “suddenly” remembered something.
“Does your village have a material called Flesh Essence?”
“Flesh Essence? Yes! Of course we do! But… there seems to be only one…”
“Ah, one is enough!”
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