Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Current Situation

The youth was named Pullman, hailing from a remote village called Brownwood at the edge of the Westwind Kingdom.

Pullman said he had traveled east from home without stopping, taking about seven days to reach this place.

Lolan Hill estimated that, based on her past experiences, an ordinary person could walk no more than 50 kilometers a day. However, since they were in mountainous forest paths, the distance would need to be reduced. This meant that about 150 to 200 kilometers west of this forest, one could encounter human society.

“I made a mistake, so I ran away.”

After a long period of silence and hesitation, the youth finally spoke about why he was here, but did not explain what the mistake was.

As he spoke, his eyes dimmed, and his voice became low.

Seeing the youth fall silent again, the girl guessed there might be some unspeakable troubles.

Lolan Hill did not press further on the matter and asked another question instead.

“Where do you plan to go in the future?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll find a place in the forest to live, or maybe one day I’ll be eaten by a passing demonic beast.”

A self-deprecating smile appeared on the youth’s face as he buried his face in his arms on his knees.

The yellow campfire crackled softly through the night, dispelling the chill of the mountain air. The smell of burning wood filled the surroundings, and occasionally, distant insect sounds could be heard.

The forest was unsafe at night, especially in this uncharted Tisilam Mountain Range. Signs of powerful creatures with extraordinary powers were often seen. Fortunately, the hunting red dragonfly nearby had recently died, and other beasts had yet to expand their territory, so things were relatively stable for now.

The youth believed that entering such a vast forest as an ordinary person was akin to seeking death.

However, he had no other way out.

Why had he ended up here? He was a timid person who only wanted to live a simple life, helping others raise sheep.

If he had any greatest dream, it would be to win the affection of Auntie Sandy at the village head and get her to agree to his marriage with Jona.

Jona, despite having a few freckles, was genuinely lively, which he loved. Unfortunately, Auntie Sandy was a tailor, and her family was much better off than his, sometimes even eating white bread. In contrast, he had only ever eaten half a slice of white bread, given to him when his cousin got married.

The youth stared blankly at the campfire, lost in memories and contemplation.

“Have you never thought about how to survive?”

Lolan Hill placed several fruits near the fire, planning to eat them after they were roasted. The green fruit resembled tangerines in memory, with a sweet and sour taste.

“I don’t know.”

There was a flame of hatred burning in the youth’s heart, yet he felt defeated by his own weakness.

“How about this? Can you tell me about the outside world?”

“You, Your Noble Ladyship. Thank you for saving me. Ask whatever you wish; I will tell you all I know.”

“There’s no need to be so formal. Just call me Lolan Hill.”

“This… It would be more polite to call you Miss Lolan Hill.”

“Mm, you’re very concerned about manners. Has someone taught you?”

“No, I just saw everyone in the city calling those noble ladies that way.”

“Is that so? Have you ever been to school?”

“No, people like us commoners don’t have the right to attend school, nor do we have enough money. Only the village chief can read, and the rest can only recognize a few important numbers.”

“Well, then what era is it now?”

“It should be around the Third Age, over 1600 years. I’m not sure, but I once heard a priest passing through the village mention it.”

It has been so long already. Trinasha’s memories still belong to the Second Age, and she doesn’t know when it ended. And now, the Third Age has passed over 1600 years.

Lolan Hill sighed and continued asking.

“What countries are there on the continent now?”

“Sorry, I don’t know. The farthest I’ve been is to Tulin City, and I only know I’m in the Westwind Kingdom.”

“As for other countries, I’ve only heard of the Blackrock Duchy, which seems to be a mercenary nation in the north. I’ve seen some mercenaries claiming to be from the Witz mountains of Blackrock.”

Lolan Hill talked with Pullman for a while longer and roughly understood the current situation. Although Pullman knew little, from his descriptions of daily life, customs, and labor, the current world seemed similar to medieval Europe, where people had limited productivity and nobles ruled their territories.

Regarding extraordinary abilities, Pullman only heard that the captain of Tulin City’s guards had Sequence 1 strength, which was already incredibly strong. Even nearby bandits dared not provoke him.

Very weak indeed. Although Lolan Hill herself was also Sequence 1, due to her tutelage under Trinasha, a former key figure of the Mercury Dynasty, Sequence 1 was merely transitional learning in Trinasha’s description. At most, it could provide some support, while the dynasty’s warriors started at Sequence 2.

In fact, the dynasty’s elite combat units were all Sequence 5, such as the Crescent Death Sickle Knights, who were all Sequence 5·Death Sickle Knights.

There was no help for it. With thousands of years of accumulation by the elf nations, their average combat capabilities were very high, and soldiers without at least Sequence 2 strength were not even qualified to be cannon fodder.

What exactly happened in the Ivar World over these 1600 years, causing it to regress to such a state? And why didn’t the elves counterattack? Although the Silver Elves were exterminated, many Forest Elves remained, and the Ice Elves who migrated to the Northern Continent were still in good condition.

Many questions remained, but it was impossible to understand everything today. She stopped questioning.

“Miss Lolan Hill, where are you from? You seem to be from a great noble family.”

From the youth’s limited knowledge, he could only imagine that a great noble’s daughter would look and dress as beautifully as her, and her fingers were delicate, without any signs of hard work, which was not something an ordinary person could achieve.

“No, I’m just an ordinary person. I lived in the forest with my teacher until recently when my teacher passed away.”

The girl answered after a moment’s thought, which was basically true.

“Are you okay with your injuries? I see bloodstains on your clothes.”

“It’s fine, I won’t die anytime soon, but some things may never be done.”

The youth’s voice choked up.

“What things?”

The night wind blew through the forest, the campfire flickered, and the youth began to recount a simple yet sorrowful story.

(The chapter ends)