When the plot-skips players into the game world-Chapter 461 - 362: Shepherd’s Nurturing Beyard

In the early morning, Eagle Cape Village returned to its original state.

The Sun still rose as usual, and the lush green forest exuded a natural direction. The scent of moist earth drifted through the streets bustling with people, who chattered and laughed, repeating the day-to-day life just as before.

It was almost as if last evening’s abnormalities were but an illusion.

And Hayna, leading the Gryphon and accompanied by Sherlock and Aiwass, walked along the forest path.

—Despite having the longed-for Gryphon, she chose not to ride it. Instead, she carefully led it by hand. It made one doubt what exactly she raised the Gryphon for.

If the Gryphon Liz hadn’t taken the initiative to carry the luggage herself, even Aiwass’s luggage would have to be carried by Hayna.

"What did you all do last night?"

Hayna looked suspiciously at Lily, then at Aiwass.

Maybe it was an illusion, but she always felt that Aiwass’s complexion had become a bit pale, while Lily exuded a vigorous vitality.

She had some speculations not quite suitable for voicing aloud.

But considering the Werewolf had been with them last night, she felt her speculations might be a bit too far-fetched.

"We just stayed up all night."

Aiwass calmly replied, "As Transcendents of the third Energy Level, going a few days without sleep is still not a problem."

"It also depends on the specific Path."

Sherlock added, "I get a headache if I stay up too long, but maybe that’s not an issue for a Priest."

At this moment, they were planning to send Aiwass and Lily away from Eagle Cape Village.

Yes, just Aiwass and Lily.

That’s because Sherlock planned to stay for another month—he intended to commission Hayna’s father, the Master Magnetic Hammer, to custom-make a staff for him. Afterwards, Hayna would bring Sherlock back, as her Gryphon had no trouble carrying an extra person like him.

Though having a Blacksmith craft a staff might sound like a joke, this was exactly why Sherlock needed to stay personally.

He needed to assist the Magnetic Hammer in engraving the Array with Spell inscriptions and completing the Mana infusion.

A qualified staff must have a core made of special materials to enhance the conductivity efficiency of a particular type of Spell—meaning to improve the casting speed of the corresponding attribute.

It should also have an Array engraved somewhere inside, outside, or in a corner, which would allow the storage of simple Spells that could be directly activated at the proper moment, without consuming Mana or requiting chant.

If that were all, Sherlock would just buy a staff. Although staves are expensive and rare, it’s not like there are none on the black market.

But as Hayna said, Sherlock’s requirements were too complex—only a staff that met his exact specifications could be commissioned from the Master Magnetic Hammer; nowhere else offered what he needed.

Aiwass also curiously inquired about Sherlock’s requirements for the staff. The more he heard, the more complicated his expression became.

Sherlock, taking into account the possibility of his own size changing in the future, requested a staff that could extend and retract to facilitate handling.

—Up to this point, the requirements were still relatively reasonable.

But Sherlock also prudently considered the need for concealment—as a staff essentially serves as a Weapon, an overly extravagant design could easily make people feel nervous on the streets and attract unwanted attention and targeting.

Therefore, Sherlock also requested the staff to be unrecognizable as a staff to the average person by sight. Moreover, since he occasionally needed to go out into the wilderness, he wanted the staff to also serve as a walking stick.

Then there was his proficiency in swordsmanship and staff techniques; he needed it to be sturdy enough at least for convenient bludgeoning. If possible, he would even like to fit in a miniature pistol for use when casting Spells wasn’t convenient—even if it had only a single bullet.

"... You sure have a lot of requirements," Aiwass remarked. Enjoy new tales from novelbuddy

—What kind of devilish client is this?

Listening to it all, Aiwass felt the need to break a sweat on behalf of the Master Magnetic Hammer: "Haven’t you realized that many of your requirements are conflicting? Using your staff as a billy club, aren’t you afraid of breaking the core?"

But Sherlock seemed unconcerned: "If it really isn’t feasible, then let the Master Magnetic Hammer eliminate the unreasonable demands. As the customer, it’s definitely better to clearly state all my needs—better than having to add new requirements halfway through."

"That’s true."

Hayna agreed: "Anyway, father is already pondering the design. When we left, I saw him taking wine to his workbench—he usually doesn’t drink when drawing blueprints, so drinking means he’s thinking about some special ideas."

Well, if the contractor has no objections, then there’s nothing more for an outsider like me to say.

Hayna and Sherlock accompanied Aiwass to the train station and saw him and Lily off on the train.

Since Aiwass bought the tickets, they naturally were first class. They had a private room that assured privacy, which even included two single beds, a long sofa, and two single-seat sofas. Aiwass lay lazily on a bed, while Lily sat at the edge, peeling an apple for him.

Lily’s shadow trembled slightly, then flowed into Aiwass’s shadow.

"My dear."

The honeyed voice of Miss Assassin, laced with melancholy, emerged from the depths of Aiwass’s heart: "Do you really wish to waste your blood like this?"

"Is this a waste?"

Aiwass chuckled lightly, toying with the necklace hanging at his chest, "Moreover, remember to call me master, my loyal hound."

That was Ysolda’s Teardrops, a life-saving piece of equipment that Isabel had lent to Aiwass. She worried that Aiwass might encounter danger on his journey, so she specifically lent it to him.

Of course, to say it was lent... Aiwass always felt that Isabel intended to take the opportunity to give it to him.

On one hand, it had protected Isabel through those every pitch-black night, enduring days filled with the unknown fear of sudden death. Now that Aiwass had helped her break the curse, she no longer needed it. Instead, looking at it every day would remind her of her not-so-bright childhood.

On the other hand, she wanted to pass on this necklace, heavy with her burdensome past, to Aiwass. With his help, she had overcome her past self and had become stronger. It was proof—hence giving him the necklace did carry a hint of the cute desire to show off, like "turning in an assignment."

Should he return it to her? Or would giving her a better gift in return be better...

Aiwass thought to himself.

"That was what you had agreed with me, my dear master."

And the Shadow Demon’s discontent was nearly spilling over: "Now that you can use the Shepherd’s Nurturing again, every drop of blood is so precious. Why feed it to a werewolf? She is not a Phantom Demon, it won’t make her stronger."

"Don’t be so impatient, it’s just blood."

Aiwass said airily: "It doesn’t contain any mana... If you want it, I’ll give it to you right now."

As he spoke, he patted Lily’s back.

And Lily, understanding his intentions, moved aside from the bed.

She struck a match and lit the brand-new large candle at the bedside—first-class cabins even considered the possibility that a priest might wish to pay homage to the Candle Master, with ritual items prepared at various places for convenient worship.

Aiwass extended his left hand, gently pinching the candle flame as if toying with a jewel. As he pinched the flame, a burst of vigorous life force sprouted out from it, infusing into Aiwass’s body.

"—Or perhaps you’d like something warm?"

Aiwass chuckled lightly: "I just performed the Fire Rite Skill, and the blood in my body is boiling hot."

"If I could order, I would like something cool."

The Shadow Demon transformed into a slender black serpent, coiling upward along Aiwass’s waist, with its head resting on his neck, licking at his throat and murmuring softly.

But Aiwass pushed it away, pressing the serpent’s head back into the shadow pool cast by Lily from beneath her.

And quickly, the black serpent swam back up, only to be pushed away by Aiwass again.

"No."

Like training a dog, Aiwass gave a firm refusal: "If I don’t give it to you, you can’t have it. What I give you, is yours."

Watching the Shadow Demon roll into a tangled mess at his side, Aiwass finally could not hold back a smile: "But such a small request, I can still satisfy you."

He rose from the bed and walked to the bathroom.

When she came back, she had transformed into number 14.

The shadow beneath Lily turned into a salivating dark hound, circling around 14.

"I know what you want to drink."

Number 14 chuckled lightly, her youthful and innocent smile bearing a certain demonic aura: "First, turn into Miss Beyard, my pet."

Quickly, the dark hound took on the appearance of Miss Beyard.

She rushed to hug 14 from behind, kneeling on the ground as if begging for something.

Lily handed over a silver ritual dagger from the side.

But the girl refused it.

14 leaned into Beyard’s ear and whispered softly: "This time I’ll give you something fresh."

As she spoke, she bit directly into her own wrist and her sharp fangs punctured a hole in it. Blood dripped steadily down her fingers.

She kissed Beyard, letting her lap up the sweet blood from her mouth. But it didn’t have the divine light of nurturing, just sweet blood.

While the Shadow Demon watched Aiwass’s fingers impatiently, 14 chuckled lightly: "Change back into a doggie."

She spread open her right hand, the blood pooling in her palm, shimmering with a red but sacred glow, attracting the Shadow Demon’s gaze like a bewitching magic pool.

She brought her hand close, allowing the loyal and dark shadow hound to lick her palm.

She murmured softly, her young face radiating a motherly light: "Enjoy as much as you like, little dog. This is my flesh, my life.

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"This is my grace to you."