Frilian: The Adventure of the Hero

The Central Kingdoms, the Grese Forest.

The three of them walked along a path through the mountains, chatting casually as they went.

"...No wonder the lineage of the Sages disappeared after the unification of the empire; it turns out that your cultivation method requires such a massive supply of resources."

"After the empire's decline, humanity and the demons were locked in a long and bitter war, once on the verge of extinction. At that time, even survival was a problem, so how could there be any time to cultivate sages..."

Philen lowered his head in thought.

This was the first time Philon had heard Shane and Frilian talk about anything related to the "Sage".

Previously, she had only seen a few documents about the great sage Evish from the mythical era on Mr. Haita's bookshelf.

At that time, she didn't read it very carefully.

She simply thought the sage was incredibly powerful, capable of creating unimaginable magical formulas and crafting powerful magical artifacts. She remembered that the great sage Evisi had once created the famous [Ring of Domination].

However, judging from Mr. Shane's description, the growth of a "Sage" is indeed slow and resource-intensive.

Shaen had previously guessed the same thing about Philon: the reason why the [Sages] disappeared after the Empire was most likely related to the war between humans and demons.

Of course, besides the war, it is also very likely related to that "mad sage, Charles".

"Mr. Shane, when will you be able to cultivate yourself to become a [Great Sage]?"

Xia En remained silent.

"Okay, I understand."

You don't understand...

As they were talking, a small village appeared ahead of them.

The names originally written in ink on the wooden archway at the village entrance have faded so much that the strokes are no longer legible.

Frilian looked up and carefully examined the area before confirming that this was their destination—the village near the seal of the Corrupt Sage, Guval.

The village was very quiet.

Only a few elderly men sat around a corner of the room, basking in the sun and chatting idly.

One particularly short old man noticed them, squinted, and glanced in their direction.

The three of them walked over.

"Excuse me, I have something I'd like to ask you..." Frillie said to the old men.

However, before she could finish speaking, the short old man interrupted her.

"Could you be Ms. Frillie?"

Frillie asked in confusion, "You know me...?"

The short old man stood up from the stool, patted his trouser leg, and without answering, walked forward mysteriously, saying as he went, "You want to ask about the location of the seal of the Corrupt Sage Guval, right? Come on, I'll lead the way for you."

Guided by the old man, the group left the village and continued along the mountain path.

On the way, Frilian asked the old man why he knew about the seal. The old man didn't hide anything and said that before the hero Simmel died, he would come to check the seal every few years. He also told the villagers not to worry that Frilian would naturally come to deal with it when the sealing time was up.

"The hero is very responsible."

The old man sighed.

Frilian nodded; it was indeed something that Simpel, that kind old man, would do.

"But Ms. Frilian, you're being rather heartless. You haven't come to check on things for so long; aren't you afraid something might happen to the seal?"

Upon hearing this, Frillie felt somewhat guilty.

"I'm so sorry..."

Xia En couldn't help but smile.

Elves have a different concept of time than humans.

Humans typically consider their worries in very short timeframes.

Because time is limited, they plan many things carefully. But elves are different. They have a very indifferent concept of time. It doesn't matter if things are delayed for a hundred or two hundred years. Even if they don't care for a thousand years, there won't be any problems. After all, their time is close to eternity.

Shaen even felt that if the [Seal] hadn't had a time limit, allowing Guval to escape, Frilian probably wouldn't have thought to deal with it for a very long time.

The setting sun gradually sank into the earth.

After a long journey, the three of them successfully arrived at the sealed land of Guvar.

The tall and imposing [Corrupted Sage] stood alone on the mountain like a colossal stone statue. The last rays of the setting sun bathed its seal, casting half of its body in the glow of the sunset and the other half in darkness.

Upon seeing Guvar, Philen nervously gripped his robe and couldn't help but move closer to Shane.

Xia En gave her a reassuring look.

Frilian stepped forward, looked up, observed for a moment, and then touched the petrified seal.

rustling sound—

Some small stone chips fell off the seal, clearly indicating that the seal was no longer very stable.

"Let's break the seal and deal with it tomorrow." She then looked at Shane and Philon. "How about we camp around here tonight?"

Xia En nodded; he had no objection, saving him the trouble of making another trip up and down the mountain.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

night.

Night fell.

The three people sat around the campfire.

Not far from the camp, the tall, shadowy silhouette of Guvarna could be vaguely seen.

Philon hugged his knees, staring blankly at the distant silhouette, lost in thought.

Xia En gave her an apple.

"Are you scared?"

"Isn't Mr. Shane afraid?"

"Fear……"

"Then you..."

"What's the use of being afraid?"

"..."

Philon was speechless. Next time you speak, could you please not take such long breaths?

Shaun took a bite of the apple, raised his chin, and pointed at the distant Guval.

"Frilian and I once explored a labyrinth in a town in the southern kingdoms. There were nine ancient beings in that labyrinth."

"Nine!"

Philon's breathing became rapid.

Frilian had already told her the whole story of sealing Guval, and she knew very well that Guval was very strong, even Frilian and the others couldn't defeat him back then.

Mr. Haita also said that Guval was one of the top mages in the Demon King's army and a very strong fighter. That encounter caused them to suffer serious injuries. If they hadn't retreated in time, the hero's team would probably have been wiped out here...

The [murderous magic] she once used, now the [normal attack magic] she frequently employs, was invented by Guval.

We'll be facing such a formidable opponent tomorrow.

"Nine Guval, Mr. Shane, how did you manage to defeat them back then? Tomorrow... can I really do that?"

Xia En took a bite of the apple and smiled.

"Of course, don't underestimate your usual practice."

"The skills you painstakingly hone will never let you down. Philon, have confidence in yourself."

"But……"

Philon hesitated. Was this really something that could be done simply by having confidence?