Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong saw this message and finally confirmed his inner thoughts. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, ’What about the Dragon Worship Sect?’

R rolled their eyes.

’I’m not an encyclopedia, why do you ask me everything? I haven’t done much research on the Dragon Worship Sect; you’ll have to figure it out yourself. But the approach to solving problems is the same: unravel the threads slowly and carefully.’

’Hiding yourself in the shadows is indeed a wise choice. Do you know what this implies? It’s not just about safety; there is no absolute safety in this world. The key is you can observe from perspectives you couldn’t perceive before.’

’I’ve mentioned more than once, when conducting task analysis, information is the most critical thing, and this is why.’

Fang Hong nodded.

R continued, ’But I can give you a hint: focus on the main contradiction.’

’Main contradiction?’

’What is the true intention of the Dragon Worship Sect?’

’I’m not clear on that, teacher.’

’Foolish—you’re unsure of the information they deliberately hide, but if they hide information, they have to provide surface information, right? The true intention of the Dragon Worship Sect is naturally to resurrect the Dark Giant Dragon, silly.’

’I certainly understand that point. Probably everyone in Colin Ishurian knows about it,’ Fang Hong said, feeling a little aggrieved, ’But what use is knowing this surface information when I don’t know what they’re going to do?’

’You probably don’t understand,’ R replied, ’They want to resurrect the Dark Giant Dragon, Nikopolas is the Dark Giant Dragon, but the Dark Giant Dragon is not Nikopolas, isn’t this an obvious fact?’

’Ah?’ Fang Hong was stunned for a moment, immediately feeling that he had vaguely grasped something. The discrepancy between Nikopolas and the Dragon Worship Sect, and the hidden meanings behind the earlier conversation between Rolin and Pudra, suddenly became clearer.

Nikopolas is the Dark Giant Dragon, but the Dark Giant Dragon is not Nikopolas. If there is such a discrepancy within the Dragon Worship Sect, then all previous unreasonable things make sense.

The question now is, if it’s not Nikopolas, then what else could it be?

Fang Hong couldn’t help but let out a gentle breath. This was just like before; his teacher always could effortlessly pinpoint the crux of the matter, making him admire him all the more.

But then R shifted the topic and asked, ’Are you in Idus now?’

Fang Hong nodded in confirmation and described the previous situation.

R was silent for a moment before typing word by word:

’That girl you mentioned, I’ve actually heard of.’

’What?’

’She’s always been in that place, and quite a few people have seen her.’

This answer matched what the girl said, but Fang Hong was still very surprised, ’But how come I haven’t heard any related information?’

R replied, ’Perhaps it’s because Idus is too remote. Quite a few have indeed seen her, but there are always not many people going to that place for an adventure, so rumors about this task line are rare.’

’Teacher, task line?’

’That girl has a task line, but how should I say it… she asked you for help, right?’

Fang Hong nodded again.

’That’s the task associated with her. Actually, everyone who’s been to that place has completed this task. The task line is very short; she’ll ask you to help collect some materials and then go repair something.’

’After completing these things, this task is over. It’s like those subpar virtual games from the past; it’s a side quest that starts and ends abruptly, just to find an excuse to give you some insignificant reward. What’s more, there’s not even a meager reward in this task; the only thing you get is some inconsequential gratitude.’

’So you can imagine why such a task line isn’t well known.’

Fang Hong was slightly taken aback, immediately thinking about whether there might be some undiscovered element behind it. After all, he still had that logbook, and the position it indicated was precisely underground here. Could it be such a coincidence?

But R, as if guessing his thoughts, wrote:

’Are you thinking there must be some undiscovered clue behind this?’

’…?’

’Don’t be surprised, because you definitely won’t be the first to think so, and I suppose not the last. I have quite a few friends who have been to that place; some of them are better than me at task analysis, yet not one found the so-called ”hidden clues.”’

’It turns out it’s just another mundane task. The only thing that might have hidden factors is the ”sealing” that you go repair, but nothing could withstand the curiosity of an Invoker. Unfortunately, someone has already gone down there, and whatever was inside has long since escaped.’

’Some speculate it might be Nikopolas’ seal, though it doesn’t make sense, but this is almost the only possibility left.’

Fang Hong listened and frowned as he asked, ’Is that what you think, teacher?’

’No, that’s not my thought. I haven’t been to that place, so I won’t jump to conclusions; I’m just relaying the conclusions of those experts to you. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. You wouldn’t think you’re better than them, right?’

’But—’

’Alright, I understand. People always refuse to give up until they’ve tried everything. I fully understand your thinking. Fortunately, this task line isn’t long; if you have doubts, you can try it yourself, and it won’t waste much of your time.’

Fang Hong remained silent.

But R, knowing his habits well, asked, ’Have you made your decision?’

’Yes.’

And silence fell again.

Despite dismissing it verbally, R wrote: ’Alright, I happen to have some interest in this task too. How about this: I’ll go over the task with you. It’s been a while since we’ve analyzed a task together; consider it a chance to review and learn.’

Fang Hong was startled but then delighted. He knew well R’s competency, and with R assisting him in finding clues, the chances of finding them would increase significantly.

But R poured cold water on him first, ’Don’t get too excited too soon; you’ll have your struggles later. Although the rewards for this task line are average, its difficulty isn’t low. If you haven’t got some skills, I’d suggest you reconsider.’

But instead of being fazed, Fang Hong calmly replied, ’I’m much better than I was back in the community, teacher.’

R sent back an expressionless emoji.

But in the next moment, Fang Hong received a notification from the community, informing him he would enjoy free cross-realm communication traffic for the next forty-eight hours. Seeing this notification, he was slightly stunned.

R then replied, ’I’ll stay in touch with you later. You’ve just arrived in Eteliria not long ago; I’m guessing you’re probably dirt poor, right?’

Fang Hong opened his mouth, and if someone else said this to him, he might feel a bit embarrassed—because he actually could be said to be dirt poor at the moment.

But right now, he could only think of certain things. Back when he was in the community, R provided him with so many videos, materials, and various training software until much later actually.

He only realized then that those things actually cost money in the community, and not a small amount at that.

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