Faerun: The arcane mage is still too imprisoned.

Arya stood there and suddenly laughed.

"Since you're a Primal Paladin, you must be on the Good side." She tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Lawful... you don't seem to be very lawful either."

Lance didn't say anything.

"So that means neutral good or chaotic good?" Arya looked at him.

Lance raised an eyebrow: "Hmm~"

"I guess you're chaotic good," Arya said, a smirk playing on her lips.

Lance shoved the bone dagger into his pocket without looking up: "Is there a problem?"

"No," Arya said with a smile, "there's absolutely no problem."

Lance didn't reply, and continued rummaging through the odds and ends on Mor's body.

The ring, tucked into my pocket.

A collection of prayers... I'll put it in my pocket too.

When Lance reached his hand towards the inside of Moore's thigh...

My finger touched something hard.

"Oh ho, am I about to find a big shipment?"

Lance looked delighted and picked it out with two fingers.

It was a thick sheet of parchment, neatly folded. Unfolding it revealed—

It's a map.

In Rilder City, seven or eight places are circled in red on the streets, buildings, and landmarks, with small labels next to them.

"Wow!" Lance's eyes lit up. "This is a big shipment!"

Arya leaned closer, looked down, and her pupils contracted: "This is...?"

"A map showing the distribution of outposts." Lance's lips curled into a smile. "The Thirsty Hands' hideouts in Rilder City should all be on this map."

Arya stared at the red circles, her voice tense: "What are you planning to do?"

Lance folded the map, stuffed it into his pocket, stood up, and dusted off his knees.

"Of course we just kill them, what's the point of keeping them alive?"

Arya paused for a moment, then asked, "Now?"

"Yes, now." Lance glanced at the Silver Guards who were still packing up around him.

"Before the others react, and before the news of Moore's death spreads, now is the perfect time to wipe them all out."

Arya opened her mouth, as if to say something.

Lance is too diligent. He just finished a major battle and he's off to fight again without even taking a breath.

But she remembered that Lance was a paladin.

Paladins, well, that makes perfect sense.

"Then be careful," Arya said, her last words.

"Um."

Lance turned and walked toward the basement entrance.

I had only taken two steps when I heard hurried footsteps coming from the other side.

Thump, thump, thump, it makes a really loud noise when you step on the ground.

Sissa was the first to rush down, while Zi Tong scanned the basement, locked onto Lance's location, and ran straight over.

Lillian followed behind, running slower and panting.

The two girls who were assigned to guard the gate had been anxiously listening to the commotion inside, but now they were finally able to come in.

Those cultists were incredibly determined; they fought to the death without backing down, leaving the two of them no chance to even show their skills.

"Lord Lance!"

Cielsa ran up to him, looked him up and down, and touched his arm.

When I touched his shoulder, my fingertips touched a tear—Moll had torn Lance's clothes, but after using a healing spell, the skin had healed, leaving only a faint red mark.

"It's nothing," Lance said with a smile. "It's just a superficial wound; it's already healed."

Sissa didn't say anything, but took the water bottle off her waist and handed it to him.

Lance took it, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

The water was still warm.

He glanced at Sissa. The girl had her head down, her eyelashes drooping, making her expression unreadable.

Lillian ran over at this moment and stood beside her mother, touching this and that.

After confirming that Arya had no wounds, her gaze fell on the pile of ashes on the ground, her eyes widening in surprise.

"That...that's...a projection of a deity?"

Lillian's voice was barely audible, as she had just witnessed the entire process of the Lord of Thirst's projection appearing and then dying at the speed of light from the doorway.

Arya hugged her:

"He has already been utterly destroyed by your teacher, Lance."

Lillian stared at the pile of ash for several seconds, then turned to look at Lance.

The light in those amber eyes was almost overflowing.

"Can I be this amazing someday?" she wondered.

Lance drank half of the warm water and returned the pot to Cecilia.

"I have to go to a few more places," he said. "You can just go home and sleep."

Cielsa looked up, her brow furrowing. "Where are you going?"

"The remaining hideouts of the Thirsty Hand." Lance patted his pocket. "We've got the maps; it'd be a shame not to go."

Sissa pursed her lips tightly, making them into a thin line.

She wanted to say something, but in the end she just nodded.

"Then please be very careful."

Lance reached out and ruffled her hair.

It feels great, soft and cool to the touch.

He then walked past Cielsa toward the basement exit, with Cielsa following behind him.

After everyone came out, Lance stood at the basement door and looked back.

He raised his hand.

[The Art of Being Greasy!]

[Flame Arrow!]

Flames leaped up from the center of the basement, licking at the wooden support pillars, and quickly engulfed them in flames.

Thick smoke billowed out of the ventilation ducts, and flames shone through the windows, flickering in the night.

Arya stood to the side, watching the building being slowly engulfed by the flames.

"Do you set fires every time?" She turned to look at Lance.

Lance withdrew his hand: "Most of the time."

Why?

"Fire can purify impurities." He said this with a serious expression.

Arya paused for a moment, then smiled.

Lance didn't say anything more and turned to walk across the street.

The night grew even darker than before, and his figure quickly disappeared into the darkness, walking further and further away.

Sissa stood there, staring in that direction for a while.

"Celsa, stop looking, let's go." Arya patted her shoulder.

"It's just dealing with some cultists who aren't even at the elite level. Surely nothing bad could happen to Lance alone?"

"Um."

……

Lance walked alone on the empty street and opened the panel:

Experience points: 5100/3000

You have more than enough experience to reach level 4.

Lance opened the spell list and filled in the gaps in his knowledge of first- and second-level spells that he hadn't learned before.

[Consuming 200 experience points, you have learned the second-level spell – Skin Painting!]

[Consuming 200 experience points, you have learned the second-level spell – Mirror Image!]

[Consuming 200 experience points, you have learned the second-level spell – Transformation!]

……

[Consuming 100 experience points, you have learned the first-level spell – Harsh Words!]

My experience points are dropping rapidly.

I had 3000 left, just enough to level up to level 4.

Before dealing with those cult members, let's upgrade our ranks first.

[Used 3000 experience points to level up to level 4!]

Congratulations on reaching Level 4 Arcane Mage!

[Your attributes +1!]

[You have gained a new class feat: Ascending Ring Casting!]

Your panel has been updated!

Name: Lance

[Race: Half-elf]

[Faction: Chaotic Good]

【Occupation: Arcanist】

[Level: 4]

Experience points: 0/4000

[Arc: 35/35]

[HP: 42/42]

--property--

【Strength: 15】

[Agility: 16]

[Physical Fitness: 16]

【Intelligence: 20】

【Perception: 18】

【Charm: 20】

——Specialty——

[Copying Scroll] [Spellcasting Material-Free] [Arcane Echo] [Quick Copying] [Projection Buster]

[Ascending Ring Casting: You can choose to consume more Arcs to cast spells. For every additional Arc consumed, the spell's effect increases by one level.]

—Spell—

[Zero-ring spells: Magic Trick, Fire Arrow, Tremor Shock, Preemptive Strike, Mana Burst, Tranquil Mist, Blade Burst, Aard Sign, Death Knell, Thunderclap...]

[First-level spells: Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Grease, Basic Dimensional Pocket, Invisibility, Slip Away from the Foot, Charm, Healing Mantra, Holy Slash, Featherfall...]

[Second-Circle Spells: Giant Growth/Shrinking, Bear's Resilience, Bull's Strength, Intermediate Dimensional Pocket, Lesser Spirit Bomb, Skin Reversal, Mirror Image...]