This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

It's currently winter, and the days are very short. The sun is already setting, and it's expected to get dark in less than two hours. At that time, the temperature and visibility will drop significantly, which will make encountering enemies very troublesome.

Fortunately, they did not come away empty-handed; the corpses of several monsters were of great research value.

Apart from the one that was blown up by Dick, whose death was rather gruesome, the bodies of the other ones were relatively intact.

Dick planned to dissect the monsters on the spot and take some organs, such as kidneys, back for research. However, when they used sharp tools to cut open the monsters' corpses, they were shocked to find that they were not made of flesh and blood.

"This looks like..."

"Rotten grass, mud, withered leaves... frozen by ice shards. Interesting! These mountain demons are essentially magical puppets."

Dick held a lump of rotten grass in his hand, and could feel the lingering magical energy emanating from it.

So Dick ordered his men to continue smashing the monster's remains to see if they could dig out anything unusual, while he summoned Robert to inquire about local legends about the "mountain troll."

Robert thought carefully; the old man who told him the "Troll Legend" had once been the oldest man in the village. In this cruel world where the average lifespan is less than forty, the old man lived to be ninety-two.

The old man not only told them stories of mountain demons, but also swore that he had personally seen one when he was very young. It was a terrifying monster that only appeared in the harshest, coldest winters, and was the ghost of those who died from cold-induced illness.

However, these monsters generally do not leave the forests and valleys, nor have they ever attacked villages. They simply wander aimlessly, and will not be attacked unless you enter their territory. When spring arrives the following year, they will naturally disappear without a trace.

After hearing this description, Dick thought to himself that if the situation was true, then these mountain demons wandering in the forest were clearly guarding something.

"Damn it, we didn't find the strange tree, but we ran into a monster first."

A soldier who narrowly escaped death in battle kicked the monster's corpse in a fit of rage, but the kick unleashed a strange object.

The observant Rita noticed it immediately; it was a strange white object that resembled both a leaf and dragon scales.

Rita saw the thing and was about to reach out to pick it up, but she withdrew her hand in mid-air because she sensed an ominous aura emanating from it.

"Master, we've made some discoveries here."

Hearing Rita call him, Dick rushed over to check and immediately noticed the unusual nature of the white scale leaf.

He took out a distinctive sealed box from his spatial bracelet, carefully used his telekinesis to move the scales into the box, then immediately closed the lid and arranged for a sled to carry it.

The reason he didn't put it in the more isolated storage bracelet was because the storage space couldn't hold living things, but he sensed a strange "life force" from this scale leaf, as if it were alive.

With this discovery, the group immediately returned to Kevin Village. The wounded were handed over to Natasha, while the scale leaf was placed elsewhere, some distance from the village. The private army soldiers had set up a tent there specifically to store dangerous goods.

When everyone returned to the village, it was completely dark. Dick gave everyone involved in the operation a gag order, forbidding them from talking about the encounter with the mountain demon in the village. The wounded were told to say that they were bitten by wolves after getting separated, in order to avoid causing unnecessary panic.

Back at the makeshift clinic, Natasha had completed the screening of all the villagers, and as Dick had predicted, there were indeed two asymptomatic carriers. Both were young and strong woodcutters from the village, showing signs of chills, but neither of them considered the possibility of a cold-related illness.

The symptoms of cold-related illness are indeed easy to overlook because they are not obvious in the early stages.

After inquiring about the condition of the wounded, Dick then extracted some ice element for Jasmine, who was still receiving treatment. However, perhaps due to the exhaustion from unleashing magic and running around all day, Dick was somewhat dazed, and Natasha almost lost her balance and fell if she hadn't reacted quickly.

"It's okay, I just slipped."

"Don't push yourself! You're clearly overworked. I don't know much about the elves in this world. Since you're still growing, you should pay more attention to rest and nutrition."

“In this world, I am already an adult, and a governor at that.”

“A minor is a minor, and the governor is also a human being. I will not allow you to leave my clinic until your body has had sufficient rest.”

Perhaps it was the aura she developed while disciplining naughty children in the orphanage that made Natasha's face hard as she pointed to an empty bed not far away when faced with the stubborn Dick.

Dick had no choice but to obediently walk over and lie down.

Then, the moment my back touched the soft bed, a strong feeling of exhaustion washed over me.

You can only say that the body doesn't lie; Dick was indeed a bit tired today, and soon closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Just then, Natasha came over with a cup of hot milk. Seeing that Dick was already asleep, she hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she couldn't bear to wake him.

Natasha placed the milk on the table to the side, then leaned closer to Dick, unable to resist scrutinizing his slightly childish face. A slight smile played on her lips as she murmured softly.

"When she's asleep, doesn't she look just like a child?"

Chapter 024: Divine Remains

Dick slept until dawn. After getting up, he looked at the blanket covering him and was confused for a while before he realized where he was.

It's a temporary clinic set up by Dr. Natasha in Kevin Village. It's still in its early stages, and it has already treated three patients with cold-related illnesses and eight soldiers who were injured during the exploration, so there are extra beds available.

Dick thought about it carefully and realized that he had indeed been too busy lately. The fatigue was not only caused by leading the team to explore the forest and fight yesterday, but was a long-term accumulation process that had to be released after reaching a threshold.

Dick couldn't help but sigh inwardly, realizing the advantages of youth. A good night's sleep could restore his physical condition to almost full strength, like a complete refresh. Unlike his increasingly hazy and distant past life, where his physical functions declined significantly after the age of thirty, making him unable to withstand work pressure and ultimately leading to his sudden death at work.

Once again, Dick couldn't help but sigh deeply. He got out of bed, his shoes were right next to the bed, and his coat was neatly folded and placed on the chair.

After putting on his coat, Dick pulled back the curtain of the cubicle and saw Dr. Natasha asleep on the desk not far away, with the magic lamp on the desk still lit.

Dick crept in to take a look and found that Natasha was studying information about cold-related illnesses.

As a summoned transmigrator from another planet, Natasha, despite having the language advantage that transmigrates bring (unlike Dick, who transmigrated from another world), was able to communicate normally with the people of this world as soon as she arrived, but she did not recognize the local writing system.

Therefore, Hughie's research data was actually dictated by Dick and then rewritten by Natasha herself in Belloberg script. It was a clumsy method, but much more efficient than learning the language first.

Natasha doesn't yet truly understand what kind of power this world's so-called "magic" is, but she has extensive experience treating frostbite, which is very helpful in curbing the worsening of frostbite and alleviating the patient's suffering.

As for how to ultimately resolve the problem, Dick never placed all the responsibility and hope on her, a doctor who had been summoned.

Seeing Dr. Natasha fall asleep from exhaustion, Dick raised an eyebrow and thought to himself.

"And you still have the nerve to tell me to rest more!"

Given Dick's small stature, it was indeed difficult for him to lift Natasha, so he used his telekinesis to easily make Natasha float up, then took off his coat and boots, carried her to the hospital bed where he had just slept, and then personally covered her with a blanket.

At that moment, a very unexpected question suddenly popped into Dick's mind.

Does this count as me warming her bed?

Shaking his head to banish these strange thoughts, Dick quickly left the makeshift clinic, remembering he had a lot to do that day.

As soon as he stepped out the door, Natasha, who was lying on the bed, opened her eyes.

Even though Dick was very careful using his telekinesis, the feeling of weightlessness from floating still woke Natasha, who wasn't sleeping too soundly, but she still kept her eyes closed and pretended to be asleep.

It's strange, really. She's only known Dick for a short time, yet she has a strange sense of trust in him. This is partly due to the contract, but it's also largely related to the character Dick has shown her during this time.

Beneath the child's youthful appearance lies a mature soul.

According to his colleagues, Dick had a very repressed and incomplete childhood. The environment of the Duke's mansion forced him, as an illegitimate son, to mature as early as possible and to know how to be patient, which shaped his current personality.

According to Natasha's research in psychology, young people growing up in such an environment often have more extreme and dark personalities. But Dick did not become a twisted bad boy; he had his own ambitions and predicted that the empire would quickly fall into internal strife after the old emperor's death, so he wanted to take advantage of the chaos to rise up and make a great career.

However, he also had his own moral bottom line, which he always adhered to. He was decisive in killing evil people, but never bullied the weak. He said that the people needed management and guidance rather than protection, but he worried that the people under his rule were not well-fed and clothed, and he had to run around to protect these poor people whom he privately called "troublemakers".

At such a young age, he's already living like an old father!

At that moment, Natasha suddenly realized that she was already in her early forties, old enough to be the mother of an eighteen-year-old boy. Should she pay more attention to the boy to prevent him from being under too much pressure and developing mental problems?

Meanwhile, Dick, having left the clinic, was unaware that Natasha was concerned about her mental health. He had barely stepped out of the warm clinic when a gust of cold wind blew right into his face, instantly waking him up.

"It's only November, and the temperature has already dropped below minus ten degrees Celsius. I wonder how many people will freeze to death this year when the winter gets even colder?"

Dick got a headache just thinking about the awful weather in Lagug.

The local population was already small. Apart from the regular exiles sent from the mainland to fill the labor camps in the mining area, only poor people who had no land and did not want to become tenant farmers would risk coming here to settle as pioneers.

The lack of human resources is expected to be one of the main problems that will plague Dick in the future.

Just then, Dick saw Rita walking towards him, reporting on the situation of the scale leaves.

They placed the object away from the village, separated by a section and several tents, and had it guarded by twenty soldiers led by Black and White Gunner.

Currently, the scales have not shown any signs of damage, and the health of the outer soldiers is also fine; the fire elemental amulet is effectively protecting each and every one of them.

"That's good. Where are Kasumi and Ayane?"

"They went on a reconnaissance mission, monitoring that wooded area from the outside."

"They've had a tough time."

"By the way, this is a letter sent by Tia from the castle. Two more villages have discovered patients with cold-induced illness."

"Red Oak Village, Maple Forest Village? I remember those two villages are located around..."

"They're all located near that pine forest; Red Oak Village is in the southwest, and Maple Forest Village is in the northwest."

"Send someone over there to take care of the patient and bring him back to the castle clinic."

"Yes, I will draft a reply right away."

Over the course of the night, the situation deteriorated further, and the core of the problem pointed directly to that pine forest, where something extraordinary must be hidden.

After thinking for a moment, Dick stopped Rita and asked her to add a sentence to her reply, asking her to call Belfast over.

"You want to concentrate your forces?"

"Yes! If necessary, erase that forest from the map."

Just as Dick finished speaking, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the village, heading towards the place where Dick had ordered the scale leaves to be placed. He and Rita's expressions changed immediately, and without even thinking about replying to the letter, they rushed to the scene.

When the two arrived at the scene, the situation was chaotic, but still under control.

Bai Qiangdai was leading several soldiers, blocking an old man in a gray robe from approaching the tent.

The old man looked to be in his sixties or seventies, but he was very energetic. What was most eye-catching was the deer antler headdress on his head. Upon seeing this, Dick immediately remembered something and hurried over to greet him.

"White, you all step back. Do not be rude!"

"Master, do you know this old gentleman?"

"I know them but have never met them, though we do have some connection."

"???"

Somewhat confused by Dick's words, Dick bowed respectfully to the old man.

"Master Behemoth, hello."

"You know me?"

The old man in the gray robe looked at Dick with some surprise.

“I am Dick Best, and Master Grandor is my master.”

"You're that kid's apprentice, no wonder... When did he take on another apprentice?"

"Five years ago, I actually took the initiative to become a disciple."

The old man in the gray robe was called "Behemoth," and he was a fellow disciple of Dick's master, Grandor. According to seniority, Dick should address him as "Uncle-Master."

However, Behemoth had been traveling all over the world for years, so Dick had only heard his master mention that there was such a senior master, but had never had the chance to meet him before.

The main reason I could recognize the other person at a glance was their eye-catching antler headdress.

That thing looked strange, but it was actually a divine artifact called the "Wild King's Crown".

As Dick introduced himself, Behemoth was also sizing him up. Behemoth, like Grandor, was a Saint-level mage who was traveling the world in search of a breakthrough.

Grandor, however, chose a different path from his senior brother, believing that the Saint rank was the limit he could reach in his personal cultivation and had little interest in further breakthroughs. Therefore, he devoted more of his energy to magical research, occasionally taking on a few promising disciples to teach, thus earning the title of "Grand Magister".

Dick hadn't expected to run into his senior master here, and it seemed the other man was after the scale leaf. But Behemoth stared at him for a long time before suddenly asking a question.

"How old are you this year? At what age did you awaken your magic and start learning it?"

"I am eighteen years old this year. I awakened my talent at the age of twelve, and I will start formal schooling at the age of thirteen."

"So, you've only taken five years to reach the advanced level?"

"Uh...more or less."

Dick wasn't surprised that Behemoth could see through his true strength at a glance. After pondering for a moment, Behemoth suddenly put on a slightly stiff smile, reached out and put his hand on Dick's shoulder and asked.

"Young man, I see you have exceptional talent. How about becoming my apprentice?"

"..."