Pillar of Yita

The sunlight filtering through the tree canopy carried a beautiful emerald hue, gently swaying within the view.

A cramped wooden hut, its brown wooden walls studded with two rows of planks, secured with iron wire on which were lined up various bottles and jars—cloudy glass, pottery, and even wooden ones, containing cinnamon bark, lilacs, or sheep milk cheese and other spices. On another wall, a row of iron hooks held several animal hides, gray-brown or fiery red, resembling bear and fox furs, next to which was a window.

The late summer breeze brushed past the white mountain peaks, and rich green ivy climbed in through the window frame, its palm-sized leaves quivering slightly.

Outside the window were cloud shadows and celestial light, a solitary peak standing proud.

Fang Hong sat by the window, his hand propping up his chin, having gazed at this scene for some time. Under his scrutiny, the Emerald Sea unfolded into the distance, the majestic cloud mountains majestic as a backdrop, together forming a painting that could break one’s heart, as the giant beast’s slow strides receded further back.

The floor underfoot faltered with a slight tremor, rising and falling, giving off the illusion of being aboard a sea-drifting boat.

The reason why large beasts of burden are also called land boats, is not without cause—

”Hit it, hit it!”

Excited and surprised cries from Tianlan came from outside. In the forest, Luo Yu and Parker were leveling up—an Invoker’s more colloquial term. In reality, the two of them, along with a little French girl acting as an audience, were fighting three peculiar birds.

From Traveler’s Swamp to Elpaxin, the journey passed through the southernmost tip of Egon Forest, a Resonance Forest filled with Guy Primordial Crystal Stones that float. The forest was home to a large number of Aquen Pedal Feathered Dragons.

The birds had an appearance akin to that of a lizard’s head, flashy feathers, and long rectrices on their tarsus, typical traits of the Feathered Dragon. On Earth, pedal feathered dragons were even older than the Progenitor Birds, but here, they were living menaces.

Because of their overpopulation, along with their frequent attacks on passing travelers and even encroaching upon human territory, they had become one of the most infamous natives in the Rainbow Bay Area—and because they were Agility System Monsters, not many parties took them on for leveling up.

Of course, the few of them were merely passing by and took the opportunity to do the task. After all, doing something was better than idly sunbathing on the back of a Burden Beast, right?

After all, leveling up and adventuring were part of an Invoker’s daily life.

The experience of slaying monsters in the distance also reflected on the system window of Fang Hong, who was in the same team, even if it was just a faint tip line.

He then came back to his senses—

The tight space, rather than being called a hut, would be more aptly described as a cramped carriage. He was sitting on the edge of a bed—which was merely a layer of dry reeds and wood planks topped with a bedsheet, placed upon two trunks.

The bed was secured to one wall with ropes and could be stowed away when necessary.

All this was to save space. Because in reality, this space was originally a storage room, holding standby food and water for Atira and others, as well as wood, iron, and ropes for maintaining the platform, spare equipment, ammunition, and so on, crammed to the brim.

Yet it was here that just enough room was cleared out for a single person. Six people were living separately in the two carry houses behind, leaving no room for Fang Hong. Atira had made every effort to barely clear a bed’s space for him here.

But luckily, Fang Hong wasn’t too picky.

In fact, he quite liked it here. No matter how narrow the space, it was much better than sleeping rough in the wilds, and the safety was incomparable—additional shields were nailed outside the carriage for reinforcement, and the window panels could be pulled down to form a sturdy shelter.

And though the space was a bit cramped, he did have his personal space, and he had even found a spot to use as a crafting table.

He used a trunk by the window as a table, covering it with a plank to perfectly serve as the craftsman’s crafting table. Right now, the components of a basic Walker were laid out on the plank—the chassis of the Walker Mk II, too big to fit, was stashed underneath the table.

This cramped area was meeting his requirements. If it could be half a meter wider, Fang Hong felt he could ask for nothing more. At least anyway, the feeling of not having to rush the journey himself was truly great.

After finishing the last part of the Walker, he tied a note around it, marking the sequence of parts, he then relaxed. Stretching lazily, he turned back just in time to see the Fairy Construct left here by his master and servant.

The delicate doll girl sat at the head of the bed, leaning against his Emerald Bird αAE Magic Guided Reactor, her Core Crystal already removed and recharging.

The ’Heart of Fairy’ maintained the Ether network’s magic power which could be drawn from the Magic Guided Reactor, but sustaining the Fairy Construct’s basic mobility still required a certain amount of magic power. In fact, since the storage of magic power in the Heart of Fairy was very poor, it often needed to be recharged.

At that moment, the sunlight was slanting through the window, shining on the girl’s silver hair, twinkling with light. Her eyelashes were lowered, revealing a uniquely serene beauty.

On the side, Tata sat quietly on the table, positioned by the window frame, with hands and knees together, sitting opposite Fang Hong, maintaining a ladylike posture.

An elf girl had planted purple wisteria and harebell in a hanging flower pot outside the window—plants believed to be favored by Ameya. A leaf of the wisteria crept through the window, shading above Miss Fairy’s head, like a beautiful sunshade.