I, the final BOSS of the beta test server!

"Then, in this lost history, there must have been extraordinary powers that could be mastered by humans... These powers come in many forms, some mystical, and some technological."

"For example, I once participated in a raid on the Echo of the Disaster, and the location was an abandoned alchemical machinery research institute."

"The target we were targeting at the time was a massive, killing alchemical robot over ten meters tall that had been created as a weapon of war but had somehow lost control. We paid a huge price to capture it."

"As for the Sixth Epoch..."

Hiltina's gaze paused slightly on the diary.

"Perhaps it's because the Sixth Epoch is the closest to our own timeline, and the transcendental system of this epoch is very similar to that of the present world."

"Ever since the Iron Cross Plague broke out, the old order was destroyed, and the Cataclysm Chronicle began... perhaps some kind of world law has loosened, and sequence systems similar to ours have begun to appear on a large scale in the Sixth Epoch. From a timeline perspective, perhaps they are the pioneers."

"However, compared to the present world, where civilization is developing rapidly and knowledge is passed down steadily, you are well aware of the situation in the late Sixth Epoch. Order no longer exists, and the development of the extraordinary is completely in a stage of struggle and groping."

"Under such circumstances, a sixth-level expert was unexpectedly born... This secret organization called the Shore Guardians is quite remarkable. Perhaps they already possessed extraordinary knowledge long before the Cataclysm."

Hiltina explained:

"As for the so-called 'superpowers' of the Sixth Epoch, they are actually our 'Night Blades'."

"Although the Night Blades obtained by travelers are gifts from the Night World... they are the manifestation of our mental images, the power of our hearts. What the Night World does is simply to fully stimulate them and help us quickly master them."

"And since the Night World doesn't exist in the Sixth Epoch, it's undoubtedly much more difficult to unleash the power deep within one's mind. These transcendent beings with special abilities only appear by chance, and are one in a million exceptional cases."

As she spoke, she reached out and turned to the next page of her diary.

July 22, 94th year of the Cataclysm Calendar

【Thick fog, thick fog, all thick fog! 】

[The mechanical messenger I created with my supernatural powers flew in different directions for a day and a night, until my mental strength was completely exhausted. Before the mechanical messenger fell to the ground and was scrapped, all I could see was endless fog!]

I vaguely remember that the nearest town was only a few dozen miles away from Frozen Water Town. The mechanical messenger should have arrived after a day and night of flight. They're machines, and they won't lose their sense of direction and circle in circles like living creatures.

[There's something wrong with this fog! Once you enter it, you'll be lost forever.]

[It's pointless to stay at the lighthouse any longer. I must take action.]

[I'll rest today and recover my energy. Tomorrow I'll go to Frozen Water Town to check on the situation and ask for some food and water.]

……

[Undated]

[Crazy! I don’t know if I’m crazy, or if everyone in Frozen Water Town is crazy!]

When I arrived at Frozen Water Town a few miles away along the path, everything seemed normal. The townspeople were self-sufficient, and the heavy fog outside didn't seem to affect their lives.

[However, when I asked the mayor, the townspeople, the old farmer, the butcher, the tailor... why the fog lasted so long.]

They all looked surprised and said the fog only lasted two days.

[And when I asked them about the date, their answers all pointed to the same date without exception——]

[5 month 11 day]

【That was the date two months ago! 】

Chapter 57 You city people are really playing tricks

The words in the diary became sloppy and messy.

May 11th, how could it be May 11th?

I frantically confirmed the date with everyone in Frozen Water Town.

[However, the answers I received were all, without exception, the same time point: two months ago, on the third day of the heavy fog.]

Perhaps because I revealed my identity as a shore keeper, the mayor warmly invited me to stay at his home after learning that the lighthouse had run out of food and water. However, I wasn't in the mood for that at all.

Ignoring the townspeople's surprised looks, I desperately ran back to the lighthouse, repeatedly checking the scratches I'd made on the wall to record time, as well as the number of broken bottles and discarded cans. Fortunately, I wrote a log to meet the requirements above!

[Regardless of how I confirm it, the time I spent in the lighthouse was definitely July 23rd.]

……

July 24, 94th year of the Cataclysm Calendar

Last night I drank the last bottle of wine in the lighthouse and thought a lot of things through.

When writing this, Last noticed that the originally scribbled words in the diary had become neat again.

The edges and corners are clear and the strokes are sharp.

[There's no doubt that something strange has happened in Frozen Water Town. Perhaps it's related to the heavy fog... This reminds me of the pollutants I've heard of.]

[In addition to sending his followers to directly destroy cities and countries, the evil god sometimes lowers his sights to certain specific places, creating coincidences and causing pollution to fall silently... It is said that the fall of Deep Blue Harbor and the outbreak of the Iron Cross Plague were caused by this.]

[And perhaps there's some kind of pollution happening in Frozen Water Town right now. The thick fog is a cover-up. I don't know what will happen if Frozen Water Town is left alone, but if it leads to disastrous consequences like Deep Blue Harbor...]

The lighthouse, several thousand meters away from Dongshui Town, should be safe and out of the range of the mutation and pollution.

[Theoretically, perhaps the most rational option is to stay in the lighthouse, relying on the nearby stream water and fruits, hunting wild animals, and waiting for rescue from headquarters.]

My abilities and sequences aren't specialized for combat, otherwise I'd be standing on the front lines resisting the dusk tide instead of being an insignificant lighthouse keeper.

[But, even so—]

I am also a shore keeper.

After reading this, Last could feel that the owner of the diary was no longer as frightened and nervous as before.

Instead, he regained his composure, as if he had made some kind of decision.

[I will return to Frozen Water Town to investigate possible pollution out of control and do everything I can to prevent the situation from spreading.]

I left my diary in the lighthouse, filling in as many details as I could remember.

I don't know if I'll have the chance to write this diary again. If not, I hope it can be helpful to those who come after me.

The writing in the diary ends here.

After turning the page, a silver winged emblem that was sandwiched between the diary fell onto the table.

Compared to the badges of Rast and Hiltina, this shore guardian wing badge is obviously much older, and traces of corrosion by the sea breeze can be seen everywhere.

Rast picked up the old wing emblem and saw words carved with a knife on the back of the wing emblem.

No. 63301, Foden

This is the name of the diary's owner and his number among the shore watchers.

Last put away the old wing emblem, then turned around and looked at Hiltina beside him.

She had finished reading the diary and was now scanning the old cans and broken bottles in the lighthouse, as well as the knife marks on the wall, as if trying to determine whether they matched the contents of the diary.

After a moment, Hiltina nodded gently: "The contents of the diary should be credible."

"It seems that this lighthouse outside Frozen Water Town, as our spawn point during this reverberation of the catastrophe, should also be a safe zone in some sense."

Luster said, "How about we wait in the safe zone for a while and see what happens?"

"The diary has already stated that there might be some kind of pollution or mutation happening in Frozen Water Town. If we continue to wait in the safe zone, the situation may worsen."

"I think the annihilation of the previous reconnaissance team might have been due to this kind of thinking."

"Besides—do you think it's in line with my character to stop just because there's danger?"

Hiltina dug out a rope from the pile of old things in the lighthouse, wrapped it around her slender waist, tied a knot, and then handed the other end of the rope to Last.

Luster looked at the rope that Hiltina handed over, his eyes becoming somewhat subtle. "Ms. Hiltina, it seems that our relationship has not yet developed to the point where Ace is in love with her."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Hiltina was stunned for a moment. "There's probably something fishy about the fog surrounding Frozen Water Town. Based on the cases provided by the Mystery Tower, it's quite possible for people to get separated in the fog... or even reunite after being separated, only to find their companions have been replaced by another creature."

"So, connecting them with ropes is a necessary measure."

"In theory, the safest connection is a chain. Ropes also have the risk of breaking, but there's no such thing in the lighthouse, so we have to make do with it."

"Nothing, I just didn't expect you city people to have more fun than I thought."

Rust calmly took the other end of the rope and wrapped it around his hand.

"Let's go."

The two walked down the lighthouse and headed towards the Frozen Water Town in the thick fog.

……

As a third-level "Chariot" series, Hiltina's physical fitness is naturally needless to say.

Since Rast awakened the Night Blade, he felt that his physical fitness had also improved as he equipped the card "Chariot·Hiltina" in the "Fool's Library".

Although Last himself is only at the first level, this increase is negligible compared to Hiltina, who has reached the limit of the third level and is qualified to be promoted to the fourth level.

But for Last, whose physical fitness was previously equivalent to that of an ordinary person, this is already a considerable improvement.

Walking along the winding path shrouded in thick fog.

In just a few minutes, they arrived at the Frozen Water Town shrouded in fog.

……

PS: The second update still needs to be revised, so it will be posted later. You can read it tomorrow.

Chapter 58 Hourglass in the Firelight

Just as it was written in the diary, Dongshui Town looked calm on the surface and was just an ordinary seaside town.

The townspeople make a living from fishing, agriculture and animal husbandry. Their lives are not particularly rich, but they have enough to eat and wear.

"Hello, could you tell me today's date?"

Hiltina stopped a passing townsperson and asked.

"November 5."

The middle-aged peasant woman raised her head and glanced at Hiltina, her gaze pausing for a moment on her rather neat knight's uniform and the sterling silver shore guardian's wing emblem.

"You guys should be coming from the inland, right?"

"I've heard the mayor mention this badge before. I think it's called something like 'Guardian'..."

Her expression was filled with awe. "The mayor said that if anyone sees someone wearing this badge, they should be invited to his mansion immediately. You are all great people and should be treated as honored guests."

"There's no need for you to lead the way. Please tell us the location of the mayor's mansion." Last said.

"Yeah, okay." The middle-aged peasant woman nodded and simply pointed the way for Rast.

"Thank you."

After saying goodbye to the peasant woman, Rast walked towards the direction she pointed, towards the center of Frozen Water Town.

Hiltina followed behind Rast without asking any questions.

Her long-rank sequence is "Chariot". While this long-rank sequence provides her with considerable destructive power, it does not provide her with much help in the mystical and spiritual realms... Otherwise, the dancer she and Last encountered in the Deep Blue Harbor would not have such a strong restraining relationship with Hiltina.

If possible, Hiltina wouldn't mind just performing a True Name Liberation and leveling the entire town in front of her...

However, this town called Frozen Water, shrouded in layers of fog and the echoes of the disaster, is obviously not an easy place to pass through.

Based on previous experience in Deep Blue Port, in this situation, handing over command to Last is undoubtedly the best option.

Dongshui Town was not too big. The two of them walked along the road inside the town and soon arrived at the center of the town.

At this moment, Hiltina suddenly stopped.

"Flan!"

She turned abruptly and shouted at a figure walking along the street.

However, the woman who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old did not move at all after hearing what Hiltina said. She continued to maintain her current posture and walked along the original route.

Soon, it disappeared at the end of the street.

Hiltina tensed her body and was about to chase in the direction where the figure disappeared.

But then she found herself being held captive by Lastr.

"I have to catch up and ask her clearly, she is the strategy team..."

"Flan, a sophomore at Starry University, ranked eighteenth in the Obelisk."