Lu Mingfei, become the King of Elden!

Chapter 380 Neferi's Aid
Lu Mingfei followed Lenia for about half a day and finally arrived at a shallow beach in the lake area.

Upon arrival, he discovered that the guy the girl had mentioned who knew about the lake region was actually a nomadic merchant.

Looking at that familiar straw hat, that familiar erhu, that familiar mule
These guys all look exactly alike!
But that's alright.

What surprised Lu Mingfei the most was that he actually ran into an acquaintance here!

"Yo."

A beautiful, dark-skinned woman dressed in the attire of a highland barbarian, with a wheatish complexion and a stunning figure, looked away from the items on the stall, waved to Lu Mingfei, and greeted him in a friendly manner.

"Why are you here?"

Lu Mingfei looked at Neferi in surprise.

"Ha, my godfather gave me a pretty long vacation."

Neferi shrugged:

"He seems to be busy with something else and doesn't need me. So I just came out for a stroll. What about you?"

"I'm looking for the way to the magic academy; I have some business there."

Lu Mingfei tilted his head, his gaze pointing towards Lenia:
"Also, help Diaros find his lost attendant."

Lenia quickly bowed to Neferi. Although she was somewhat lively, she had received a good education from a noble family.

Lu Mingfei turned to the wandering merchant wearing a straw raincoat and asked:

"Boss, do you have any information about the road to Reyalucaria Academy, or about the Radiant Stone Key?"

The merchant, holding his erhu, shook his head upon hearing this and replied slowly:

"Oh dear, esteemed guest, you flatter me. The Lienia Lake District is not like the plains of Nymgford. The giant lobsters lurking in the water could kill a small-time merchant like me at any moment, so I dare not wander around recklessly. I've never even been to the academy."

Lobster, lobster again.

Whether it was Seren, Tops, or the wandering merchant, they all told him about the dangers of lobsters, which aroused Lu Mingfei's curiosity.

Is this thing really that terrifying?

Putting his chaotic thoughts aside, Lu Mingfei sighed helplessly:
"Alright then, let me see what other goods you have here."

At this moment, Neferi spoke up:

"If you're looking to buy something, I suggest you consider this."

As she spoke, she picked up an item from the merchant's stall and casually tossed it to Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei easily took it and examined it in his hand.

This is a small, antique-style metal lantern. It is small enough to be held in one hand.

In the center is a special wick that seems to burn for a long time, surrounded by thin sheets of polished crystal that form a lampshade. A thin chain hangs above, clearly for securing it to a belt or saddle.

Bring a light.

A portable light that can be hung on the waist to illuminate the surroundings.

It can turn on the light after use, and turn off the light after another use.

Its illumination range is smaller than a torch, but it has the advantage of not needing to be held by hand.

The merchant immediately praised:
"The customer has a good eye. This is a 'portable lamp,' a very rare little item. There aren't many artisans left who can make it."

Lu Mingfei weighed the lantern in his hand and looked at Neferi:
"You don't want it?" Neferi laughed heartily, patting the leather pouch hanging from her waist:
“I already have one, I bought it when I was exploring the Sobbing Peninsula. This one is perfect for you, I see you don’t have any lighting equipment.”

Lu Mingfei no longer refused, paid the merchant the appropriate runes, and hung the portable lamp on his belt. The faintly glowing crystal lampshade swayed gently with his movements, bringing a sense of security to the dimly lit shallows.

He looked at Neferi, preparing to invite her to join him again, but saw the barbarian warrior cross her arms and reveal a sly smile on her face.

"Speaking of which, if you're looking for information leading to the magic academy, I might actually have some clues, but..."

She drew out her words, her golden eyes gleaming:
“I can’t just give it to you for nothing, Lu Mingfei. You have to do something for me.”

Lu Mingfei perked up when he heard about the clue and was about to agree, but Neferi waved his hand.

“No rush,” she said, glancing at Lenia beside her. “Let’s get this person safely back to the Round Table Hall first. We can talk about our business later.”

Lu Mingfei thought about it and agreed. Taking Lenia on an adventure was indeed inappropriate.

He nodded:
"Alright, let's go back to the round table first."

They teleported through a nearby Blessing Point and quickly returned to their safe haven in the spacetime rift—the Hall of the Round Table.

After settling Lenia in and informing her of Diaros's possible location, Lu Mingfei and Neferi found a relatively quiet empty room in the hall.

Neferi didn't keep them in suspense any longer. She took out a slightly worn but well-preserved sheepskin map from her bag and spread it out on the table.

Do you know the ruins of Lasca? It's not far from this lake.

Neferi's tone became slightly more serious:

"While I was exploring there, I encountered a... disgusting monster. It had a distorted human face, countless writhing arms on its body, and was emanating a highly poisonous miasma."

This description reminded Lu Mingfei of the limb-splitting nobles, but the limb-splitting nobles obviously did not have the highly poisonous miasma.

She frowned, seemingly still uncomfortable recalling the scene:
“My godfather once mentioned such a thing. He said it was called a ‘ghost,’ a pitiful creature that had been transformed by some evil force and died due to a curse. It was somewhere between a vengeful spirit and a physical being, and it was very troublesome to deal with.”

To escape it, I was forced to enter a small portal deep within the ruins of Laska.

Upon hearing this, Lu Mingfei's helmet moved slightly.

He knew that using such an unknown portal was quite risky, because you never knew what lay on the other side—it could be the lair of a sleeping dragon, or the slumbering place of a demigod completely corrupted by crimson decay.

Neferi continued:
"Then, I discovered that the exit of that portal led directly to the south gate of the Realucalia Academy."

Although the massive main gate of the academy had been completely sealed by powerful magic and could not be opened from the outside, I found this on the corpse of a mage near the gate.

Her fingertip touched the map.

Lu Mingfei stared intently at the map, sensing that it might be a special item.

Sure enough, a familiar passage of text gradually came to mind.

[Map for meeting up]

A simple map on the corpse.

The meeting point seems to be marked on it.

This man must have also been searching, for the only way to return to that sealed academy—
The Academy's Pyroxene Key.

"The Academy's Glowstone Key!"

The last six words exploded in Lu Mingfei's mind like a thunderclap, almost making him slam his fist on the table in excitement!

(End of this chapter)