Echoes of the Past

Chapter 3 Yes, yes, yes

Seemingly realizing that there were other people in this strange, empty space, she stopped in her tracks and squinted at Nan'an from afar.

After a few seconds of eye contact, she strode closer.

As the distance closed, the pair of beautifully curved, dark red bull horns with natural patterns on her head became clearer.

The highly recognizable features gave Nan'an a sense of absurd yet undeniable understanding.

The one who summoned him was actually dragged into this mess.

Her short, neat black hair had casual ends that didn't look messy.

His facial features were clearly defined, his eyebrows were striking, and his eyes were exceptionally bright, so bright that they seemed to push away the surrounding darkness.

His skin is a healthy wheat color, and the muscle lines in his shoulders, arms and legs are clear and sharp, showing that his body has undergone real training, with a taut feeling that combines strength and agility.

Information extraction complete, output result: Tomboy.

The way she walked with her hands behind her back resembled a solitary wild beast in the jungle, her seemingly casual glances around revealing an unconscious wariness.

Nan'an, who was standing in the center of the communication array waiting to be exploited, became her object of observation.

After circling around twice, she stroked her chin and asked, "Where can this magic circle take me?"

Nan'an was a man of his word. He cleared his throat and said, "Let me finish my self-introduction that was interrupted earlier. My name is Nan'an. In the Nora continent language, it means grain roots, wood ash, etc."

"Suiyue...wait!" Suiyue instinctively gave her name, then immediately stepped back warily, her eyes filled with suspicion. "You were the summoned creature from before, why are you here...wait, didn't I die? Where am I?"

That's a good question. Nan'an also wants to know what kind of weird place he is in.

"What year is it in the Gray Star calendar?"

"The Gray Star Calendar?" Suiyue's voice faltered for a moment, then suddenly rose, "Huh?"

"Such a strong reaction to the Gray Star Calendar, were you not on the Nora Continent when you summoned it?" Nan'an asked, puzzled. "But you speak fluent Nora language."

"Hey, hey, hey, what nonsense are you talking about? It's the 374th year of the Black Mist Calendar." Suiyue felt like she had dug up an antique with her shovel.

"Black mist...?"

Suiyue blinked her big eyes, staring blankly at Nan'an, thinking, "Is this the afterlife? You just bump into a ghost, and it's a veteran from the Gray Star era."

"Am I disturbing the peace?" she couldn't help but wonder. "People are sleeping soundly, still feeling like they're living in a wonderful gray calendar..."

Thinking of the scene after the black mist spread, Suiyue suddenly felt annoyed and wanted to slap herself.

The knowledge taught by the Church of Dawn rarely touches upon the Gray Star, and most people's understanding of the Gray Star era is limited to a single sentence.

"Black mist swirls, and Gray Star has come to an end."

Suiyue sat down cross-legged: "Senior Nan'an lived in the Gray Star Era. What kind of era was that?"

As someone who lived a life of constant danger, Nan'an only lingered within Nora's circle of adventurers.

The Gray Star has lived for a thousand years. Those few years he experienced, to put it in the words of a bookworm, were terrible, but they were also bringing about positive changes.

The path to uncovering the origins of magic is beginning to take shape.

The high-level mage seems to have discovered a path to advance to the next stage and become a god.

These are all too far removed from ordinary people.

For ordinary people on the continent of Nora, the cost of making potions was decreasing thanks to the efforts of that generation of potion masters.

The release of inexpensive and affordable drug formulas suitable for ordinary people has alleviated the problems of survival and treatment to some extent.

The cost of magical awakening is no longer prohibitively high; talented individuals can grit their teeth and gamble on fate's favor.

The use of plant elements and natural magic to increase crop yields has also made some progress, which has increased crop production to a certain extent.

Despite the immense power of nobles and traditional magical families, which hindered these rising stars at every turn, the struggles genuinely benefited ordinary people as well.

Nora spirals upwards in the confrontation.

"In the past, even with talent, one might not have been able to open the door to the Hall of the Twin Crowns."

Having caught a glimpse of the ladder to advancement, he announced with a sense of relief that the bookworm who had worked so hard to save enough money was leaving the team.

Everyone in the Red Rat Adventure Team did as they pleased.

Nan'an also gave away the half-dragon tooth he found in the slime's lair—it was his lucky charm.

Aslipan often said that Nan'an was incredibly lucky. He knew nothing about basic martial arts and had to accumulate practical experience from scratch. It was a miracle that he was able to stay by her side and make a living without losing any limbs.

"As long as you live, Red Rat will never break up the group."

Nan'an once held a status in the Red Rat region comparable to that of a lucky koi.

He personally lacks confidence in this regard.

It's unrealistic to expect someone who always gets a guaranteed pull before transmigrating, who routinely gets lucky with chests, whose world is constantly in chaos, and whose wife can't be found even if she gets lost in the gacha pool.

Therefore, Nan'an naturally felt that Feilongya had made the contribution, and of course, his outstanding learning ability and quick adaptation to the environment were also indispensable.

Seeing Nan'an recount his experiences with a touch of nostalgia, Suiyue couldn't help but sigh.

"I've been dead for hundreds of years..."

He licked his lips, suddenly feeling a little impatient.

"How's Nora doing now? Has potion become completely accessible to the general public?"

"In the year 1600 of Gray Star, the establishment of public libraries, the enlightenment of education, and the reform of magic beginner tutorials were all progressing simultaneously."

"Is the current magic system still based on 10 ranks?"

"Shouldn't gods have been born, or at least proven to be real?"

"What pantheon is the mainstream? Has it ever descended upon us?"

Perhaps because she hadn't had anyone to talk to since her resurrection, Nan'an poured out all the questions that had accumulated during this time.

It's like a veteran player who quit the game long ago, returning after many years, and asking a "newbie" all sorts of questions.

Suiyue suddenly felt a severe dryness in her throat and didn't know how to face Nan'an.

After a while, she carefully considered her words and tried to explain the current situation on the mainland as simply as possible.

After a long silence, Nan'an sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"You mean, after my death, magic will be severed, knowledge will be sealed away, black mist will permeate, abnormalities will rage, black tides will surge, and order will collapse?"

Suiyue nodded and added, "There are also sea routes that have been cut off. In fact, in the first year of the Black Mist, some ocean-going ships returned with great difficulty, bringing back news that... other continents had also suffered the same fate."

"Where did the black mist come from?"

"I'm afraid neither Solitz nor Onze can answer your question, senior."

Nan An rubbed his temples; to him, these were the names of two completely unfamiliar countries.

According to Suiyue's description, the territory currently ruled by the two countries is less than one-sixth of the total area of ​​Nora.

The remaining part has become a dangerous, foggy zone.

As she spoke, Suiyue fiddled with the orange peel on the ground, gesturing to Nan'an as she gently peeled away the edges of the peel.

He understood—the black mist was shrinking.

Over the past few centuries, the black fog has slowly eroded the areas that were not yet shrouded.

The being known as the "Nightmare" by the Nora people is highly active in the black mist.

They have no uniform entity, and their appearances before observers are incredibly varied. There are even special cases where their entities cannot be observed.

Suiyue could not provide any further information; her knowledge was mainly based on official announcements from Solitz and Onze.

The only good news is that nearly a century has passed since the last time the Nightmare Gods were highly active and caused widespread disturbances in 283.

Of course, this also comes from an official announcement.

Whether the Nightmare God has already gone out of control in some area remains unknown.

"Then what were you fighting when you summoned me?"

"Oh, that's a living erosion, it is..."

Suiyue's voice seemed to be erased out of thin air, and her body, crystal clear, vanished rapidly like particles.

Under Nan'an's astonished gaze, she disappeared from sight.

"Suiyue, Suiyue, wake up."

Nan'an looked around blankly, searching for the source of the sound.

The surround sound made the gentle yet powerful male voice seem to be right beside you, but you couldn't find its source no matter what you did.

Inside the cell, Suiyue's shoulders were being shaken, and she opened her blurry eyes.

Staring at the crow's face, she glanced at the stack of bowls and plates not far away.

Last night we had a wonderful meal, and the plate was so shiny it could be used as a mirror, with every drop of soup licked clean.

"Uh..." Suiyue was stunned. "I... I'm not dead?"

Realizing that she had fallen asleep from exhaustion after eating, she couldn't help but recall everything that happened in her dream.

The crow smiled wryly and pulled a scroll from its robes: "Take a look and see if there are any objections."

Suiyue sat up straight against the wall, frowned, and quickly read through the report. She found that it was a report from Huoya, who had led the [Evil Deer] team back to the scene of the incident for a second investigation and confirmation.

"Summoning spell usage traces confirmed; summoned creature contamination detection result: not detected."

"Execution procedure: Observer level".

"The observation and confirmation of harmlessness conducted in the Windvelvet Potion Interference Cell in Kren City can be considered 'temporarily harmless' under the interference and sealing measures."

Suiyue immediately stood up.

"Are you alright?"

"It's alright for now, but you'll still need to stay here for the next 30 days."

Will my food standards worsen?

The raven looked at the crystal wall and pursed its lips: "I don't think the governor would change the recipe just for you."

"What does that mean?"

The voice that suddenly echoed in her mind startled Suiyue, and she patted her ears.

"Do summoning rituals still equip summoned creatures with offline monitoring capabilities?"

She couldn't help but reach out her index finger and rummage around.

"What does that mean?"

The sound was still echoing.

The crow sighed helplessly, "I admire your courage to go against the tide. This passion deserves a better outcome. Please don't doubt everything you hear. I guarantee with my name that after the 30-day observation period, you will be free."

"No... what does 'no' mean?" Suiyue muttered.

Seeing that she seemed hesitant to speak, Huoya muttered to himself, puzzled.

"Miss Suiyue, were you dissatisfied with the food the governor provided last night? Did he deliberately make it poorly, or... did he add something extra for you?"

"What is this guy muttering to himself? Could it be that she can hear me?"

Suiyue clicked her tongue: "Yes, yes, yes."

The crow frowned.

Outside the cell, Pirion, who was also waiting for the outcome, felt the cold gazes from the members of the [Erlu] squad around him.