Who Says I’m Not a Legitimate Adventurer?

She wiped away the fine beads of sweat on her forehead and felt mentally exhausted.

“It’s almost completely organized now.”

The girl looked at the noticeably dimmed glow on the crystal’s surface and encouraged herself.

“If I work a little harder after dinner tonight, this node can be completely dealt with.”

According to the mission scroll issued by the guild, there were probably still two similar small nodes in this area waiting to be cleared.

Just as she was about to stand up and stretch her body—

Her delicate nose suddenly twitched hard as a rich fragrance drifted into her nostrils along with the evening breeze.

She turned toward the source of the smell.

Lance was sitting beside the warm campfire, holding a sharpened thick tree branch in his hand, upon which was skewered an enormous wild boar leg.

This was the ingredient personally delivered to Lance by an unfortunate Ironhide Boar that had recklessly crashed right into him earlier.

Under the even roasting of the flames, the thick leg meat had already developed an enticing golden color on its surface.

Rich oil seeped out from the heat, continuously dripping along the plump muscle texture onto the charcoal fire below, producing delightful sizzling sounds.

Lance had just sprinkled a handful of crushed salt and spices over it, and the aroma blending meat fragrance with seasoning instantly awakened Cecilia’s appetite.

The girl swallowed hard and eagerly moved closer.

Squatting beside the fire, she supported her chin with both hands while staring fixedly at the roasted meat, looking exactly like a well-behaved puppy begging for food.

Seeing the girl’s adorable greedy-cat appearance, Lance could not help laughing softly.

He picked up a sharp dagger that had been wiped clean and skillfully sliced off several pieces of the tenderest and juiciest leg meat.

Then, using a clean wooden plate beneath it, he handed the roasted meat to Cecilia.

“Careful, it’s hot.”

“Thank you, Senior.”

Cecilia impatiently accepted the roasted meat. Ignoring the heat, she directly took a huge bite.

“So delicious!”

The meat juices exploded inside her mouth, and the Half-Elf girl’s eyes instantly lit up, curving happily into two beautiful crescent moons.

For someone responsible for cooking, Cecilia’s completely unrestrained enjoyment was already the highest possible praise for Lance’s culinary skills.

Just as the two were nearly finished with their hearty dinner—

A bright full moon had quietly risen above the towering treetops, scattering silvery moonlight across the entire woodland.

Tonight was a full moon night.

Lance raised his head and looked at the night sky, then sharply noticed a faint glowing light slowly rising from deep within the flower sea ahead.

Soon came a second light, then a third…

As if some mysterious ritual had been awakened by the moonlight.

Hundreds upon thousands of golden points of light separated themselves from the flowers on the ground and lightly drifted into the air.

Their faint yet densely packed glow intertwined together like a dazzling galaxy fallen into the mortal world, clearly reflected within the pupils of the two of them.

“Wow! So beautiful.”

Cecilia stopped chewing and could not help letting out a soft exclamation of admiration.

“When midsummer’s full moon scatters frosty radiance, the stardust fireflies…”

Lance softly recited that line of poetry.

So this was the breathtaking sight personally witnessed by that legendary Witch all those years ago.

Curiously, Cecilia extended her fair finger, and a softly glowing firefly slowly landed upon her fingertip.

The little insect flickered twice before vibrating its transparent wings and flying back into the dark night sky.

Neither of them spoke again. They simply sat quietly beside the fire, immersed in this rare beauty.

Cecilia hugged her knees, lightly resting her delicate chin atop them.

“I really wish time could remain frozen at this very moment forever.”

The girl’s voice was very soft, as though afraid of disturbing the fireflies dancing through the sky.

“What’s wrong? Don’t want to return to White River City?”

Lance turned his head and softly asked while looking at the gentle side profile illuminated by the firelight.

Cecilia nodded vigorously.

“This has truly been the easiest week of my entire life.”

She turned her head, her gaze landing upon Lance’s calm face.

“I don’t need to respond to the heavy expectations of the elders anymore.”

“As long as I stand here, I can feel a freedom unlike anything before. I can truly be myself.”

The corners of her lips lifted slightly, revealing a sweet smile that came from the bottom of her heart.

“Thank you, Senior.”

Lance returned a gentle smile, though he did not speak.

In truth, he did not feel that he had done anything particularly remarkable. On the contrary, because of the special passive effect of his broken system, this innocent girl before him had suffered many unspeakable hardships for no reason at all.

The summer night breeze passed through the dark forest, lifting several dry fallen leaves from the ground and lightly brushing past the hems of their clothes.

The two simply sat there quietly, allowing the cool wind to pass through their hair.

As time passed, the lights in the sky gradually began to disperse.

The countless fireflies drifted along with the wind and slowly disappeared into the dense shadows of the distant trees.

Even the most dreamlike scenery had its time limit.

Cecilia supported herself on the soft grass with both hands and stood up. She forcefully stretched both arms upward in midair, loosening her somewhat stiff waist from sitting too long.

“Then go get some rest. I’ll keep watch tonight.”

Ah?! Sleep?!

Cecilia’s face instantly flushed bright red.

Countless embarrassing scenes uncontrollably flooded into her mind.

Just thinking about sleeping so close to her senior—wouldn’t that… wouldn’t that practically be the same as sleeping together?!

The girl’s heart pounded wildly like a rabbit trapped inside her chest, and her entire body grew scorching hot.

In her current state, how could she possibly calm down enough to sleep?!

“Senior, I… I’m going to completely organize the final remaining threads of that node!”

To conceal the panic in her heart, Cecilia casually made up an excuse and fled like a startled deer.

She returned to the dark purple crystal cluster once more.

Don’t think about it, don’t think about it…

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she also used this as time to gradually accept things. After all, it was impossible for her to crouch here all night.

She continued mobilizing her mental power to guide the remaining mana radiation point.

As strands of outer Chaotic Aether were organized into ordered structures, the purple energy surrounding the interior gradually dispersed.

The completely transparent crystal core at the center of the cluster finally became fully exposed to Cecilia’s senses.

But the instant Cecilia clearly saw this inner core, she instinctively sensed that something was wrong.

“This…”

The girl’s pupils suddenly contracted.

“Why do these patterns look so much like an artificially carved trigger spell formation…”

“No!”

The moment Cecilia realized the danger and prepared to forcibly sever her mental connection to stop the organization process—

It was already too late.

After losing the outer layer of Chaotic Aether covering it—

The crystal core instantly erupted with a blinding pale red light.

That radiance transformed into a straight red beam that directly shot toward the pitch-black sky.

At the same time—

Nearly all the mana radiation points hidden throughout Copper Creek Forest suddenly began releasing identical pale red light, as though they had received some kind of command.

These countless red beams converged and overlapped high in the air, rapidly weaving together into a gigantic web of light that covered the entire sky above Cecilia.

Meanwhile, over at the campsite, Lance had already stood up.

The relaxed expression he wore moments earlier had completely vanished.

“So it’s finally coming?”

In truth, he had been patiently waiting for this moment all along.

Along with the strange phenomenon in the sky—

Several glaring lines of red system warning text appeared across Lance’s retina.

【Sub… Sub-instance…】

【Large-Scale Composite Ritual Spell Formation: Fate Trajectory Tampering · Historical Echo Projection】