19: The locals are so rude!

Ronan realized something was wrong; why did this voice sound a bit familiar?

Thinking carefully, he discovered that although this wisp of soul was sparse, if he stared at it for long enough, it seemed to resemble Shield Mountain.

Is this Shield Mountain's soul?

Ronan reached out, wanting to touch this wisp of soul, but to his surprise, it was absorbed into his body in an instant.

At the same time, the Godhead's notification followed immediately,

[Godhead preliminary repair in progress... 98%]

[Godhead preliminary repair complete!]

——— Miracle Godhead ———

[Owner: Ronan]

[wish power Reserves: 5]

[Status: Severely Incomplete (To be repaired)]

[Authorities: Deprivation, Bestowal, Descent]

[Trait: Analysis]

The status of the Godhead changed from 'Severely Damaged' to 'Severely Incomplete,' and a new trait called 'Analysis' was added.

This trait immediately reminded Ronan of the 'Wish Analysis' that appeared after Shield Mountain made a wish; this should be the source of its function.

The only thing he didn't expect was that Shield Mountain's soul would appear here after death, and that it could even be used to repair the Godhead.

From this, it appeared that repairing the Godhead did not necessarily require a specific item.

After the Godhead was repaired, Shield Mountain's soul had completely vanished.

If he knew that even after death he could be used as a consumable, he would probably be very gratified.

However, Shield Mountain died from the erasure of an unknown array pattern; why would his soul appear here?

It can't be that everyone who has made a wish has this commonality after death, right?

This question could only be left for future verification, if there was anyone else who could make a wish here... His soul returned; only a moment had passed.

Ronan decided to leave this place as soon as possible; such a large disturbance earlier would clearly attract many unknown entities.

Powerful monsters occasionally appeared on the outskirts of the Monster Forest.

Furthermore, the main force that the mercenary Russell mentioned might also be nearby.

Taking one last look at the bottomless crater, Ronan identified his orientation and strode in the direction Evil Axe had pointed before they were separated.

His Spiritual Power was currently only at half, which he had previously achieved by spending 1 point of wish power through a wish.

Thinking back now, he had been far too ignorant then.

Without having even fully figured out the wishing mechanism, and relying only on a few rules he'd summarized himself, he actually dared to make a wish so openly.

It was truly a stroke of luck that he didn't mutate into some strange creature.

To forge iron, one must be strong oneself; improving one's strength still relies on knowledge.

Only when one is strong can they better master the Godhead, wishing, the Temple, and so on... I don't know if it was because of the Skeleton Dragon's havoc, but the Beast Tide no longer appeared, and even the monsters were significantly fewer.

He walked for a long time.

The surrounding trees gradually thinned, and the flat ground slowly took on the outline of a road.

There were more humans appearing occasionally on the road, most of them carrying hoes; as soon as they saw Ronan, they immediately lowered their heads and silently hurried away.

At first, he called out a couple of times, but as soon as they heard his shout, they dropped their hoes and fled desperately.

Ronan dejectedly tidied his appearance again and again.

Excluding the traces of battle, this shell of a body could at least be considered a handsome young man; how did it come to this?

The locals are far too impolite.

"Old timer, which way is the road to the city?"

Ronan finally encountered an old man who didn't run away upon seeing him, so he immediately asked for directions.

"My Lord, please, I beg you to spare me, I really have no more money..." The old man pleaded bitterly, supporting his injured right leg as he prepared to kneel.

Ronan hurried forward to support the old man. "Old timer, I'm from out of town. Isn't this a misunderstanding?"

The old man was so thin he was just skin and bones, much lighter than imagined.

"My Lord, please stop joking, I still have urgent business at home..."

The old man insisted on leaving; Ronan suspected that even if he knocked the old man down, the old man would still struggle to crawl away.

What's the situation?

As a dignified Mage, is my reputation among the people really this bad?

Ronan simply did the opposite, grabbing a youth who was passing by with his head down and commanding,

"Hey, take me to your place."

The youth's eyes were full of terror, and he shrank his neck, not daring to make a sound.

After his eyes struggled for a moment, he lowered his head and cautiously walked in front of Ronan, effectively accepting his demand under duress.

The youth wore a set of coarse, short-cut clothes tied at the waist with a hemp rope, and the straw sandals on his feet were worn so thin the soles were almost gone.

"What's your name?"

Ronan sighed at the hardships of the common people's lives and asked curiously.

But this simple question was like a terrifying beast to the youth.

He trembled all over, unable to stammer out a complete sentence.

Ronan massaged his forehead, changed his peaceful tone, and shouted,

"I'm fucking asking you a question!"

"R-replying to my Lord, this lowly one is called Parker." The youth jolted, and his words immediately became much smoother.

"What do you do?"

"I raise pigs."

"Where is your home?"

"Jiuwan Village."

"Do you know where the town is?"

"I don't know."

He answered fluently.

It seems there's a reason Evil Axe speaks like that normally.

However, Evil Axe's sense of direction was clearly problematic.

Ronan had walked in the direction he pointed for so long and still hadn't seen where the town was.

Consequently, he could only go to a more populated place first and then continue to inquire about the town's location.

Following the youth, Ronan arrived at a dilapidated village.

He looked at the few scattered wooden houses at the village entrance and the stone-walled pig pens; compared to an Adventurer's fantasy journey, it seemed poles apart.

Seeing that he was standing still and that he had completed his task, the youth Parker emboldened himself and slipped into the village.

A short while later, there was a commotion in the village, and an old man walked out, surrounded by a group of people.

"My Lord, do you have any instructions? This village has already completed its tax payments for this year in advance."

The old man's status in the village should not be low; he spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, clearly accustomed to dealing with people like Ronan.

Seeing this, Ronan also abandoned Evil Axe's speaking style and asked politely, "Are you the Village Chief?"

"That is correct, my Lord." The Village Chief nodded.

"Hello, Village Chief. Do you know where the town is?" Ronan's face turned slightly red. "I'm from out of town and got a bit lost."

"My Lord, Moonless City is not far from here; if you follow this direction for half a day, you will arrive."

The Village Chief pointed in a direction and added,

"If you find it inconvenient, I can have a young man from the village lead you there."

"That would be wonderful. Please have someone lead me there."

To avoid another mistake like Evil Axe's directions, Ronan decided to follow someone who knew the way.

He fumbled around his body and finally found his only Silver Coin in his pack, handing it to the Village Chief.

"Consider this your reward."

The moment they saw the Silver Coin, the breath of the surrounding villagers hitched in unison.

"My Lord, this is too much." The Village Chief hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.

"Take it; I don't have any smaller denominations on me."

Of course, he didn't have any larger ones either.

Ronan waved his hand coolly, signaling for the other party to accept it. "If possible, give me some water and food as well."

Only then did the Village Chief nod, calling for the villagers to prepare food for Ronan while calling the youth Parker over.

"My Lord, this lad has some strength; let him take you to Moonless City."

Ronan took one look and almost switched back to Evil Axe's speaking style. "You brat, didn't you say you didn't know where the town was?"