Echoes of the Past

Chapter 41 New Mission

Gray Star Calendar 1601.

This was a familiar year for scholars who had direct access to the archives to study the history of the Grey Star.

High-ranking mages explore the path to godhood, new religions spring up like mushrooms after rain, and the friction between old and new religions intensifies, sowing the seeds of war.

Schools of thought, religions, and nations sought support from below, which promoted cultural enlightenment.

The rise in literacy laid the foundation for the widespread use of magic and provided ample "gunpowder" for the subsequent intensity of war.

The elves from the north of Nora were the first to make breakthroughs in the application of magical energy, which became the foundation for the prevalence of magical energy technology in northern Nora.

Before the arrival of the black fog, the chaotic yet thriving post-apocalyptic world of Gray Star, with its intellectual explosions and leaps in cognition that have impressed later generations, seems to have found an inspiring starting point in this year.

Nan'an died in the first year of the Great Contention.

Bewildering Raven believed that the Senate was also curious about Nan'an's past identity, so he took the initiative to invite the librarians to participate in the search for records related to "Nan'an" around 1601.

"Nan'an?"

The group of dedicated administrators, who had spent years studying and protecting the history of ancient civilizations, looked at each other in bewilderment.

The crows didn't understand their surprise: "Is there a problem?"

"Nan'an?"

Several administrators, who had devoted their lives to studying and protecting ancient civilization's historical materials, looked at each other with similar confusion on their faces.

The crow asked, puzzled, "Is there a problem?"

"We need to confirm..." The senior administrator pushed up his crystal lens, "Does Erlu need to check data related to 'grain roots and stems,' or information related to 'wood ash'?"

With the synchronization rate between Crazy Raven and Gunn at its maximum, I couldn't help but rub my temples.

Unlucky name.

Ultimately, is Nan'an its surname or its given name?

Even when ordinary families give their children a short name that is easy to use, they often add a word before such a potentially ambiguous term to distinguish it.

Even if Nan'an's parents came from a poor background and lacked education, he should have realized his mistakes after becoming famous.

Sure enough, when the administrators learned that "Nan'an" was a personal name, the crow saw undisguised confusion in their eyes.

For ten consecutive days, the Raven only left briefly in the early morning and late at night, spending the rest of its time in the museum assisting Gunn with the screening.

The term "bookworm" is an extremely common nickname that appears frequently in historical documents, and many scholars have been called this, which greatly increases the difficulty of identification.

As for "Athlipan," although he was once the leader of an adventure team in Nan'an, in the context of that era, he was just an ordinary person who lived on the edge of a knife and blood, far from being recorded in official history.

Of course, if she killed the nobleman with a single blow, her portrait would appear on the city-state's list of those to be attacked. This was the best way for an ordinary person to become a prominent figure in the documents.

Experienced administrators took the lead in completing the initial screening of Nan'an.

"No such person found?"

The old administrator replied.

"Not only 1601, but also 10 years ago, we have screened all the possible stories that could match the deeds of that recently famous Nan'an hero, and there are no similarities."

Another administrator added.

"To be on the safe side, we looked for some high-profile, malicious incidents with a slightly negative expectation... Given his cruel methods, the Senate advised us to do this, but in any case, there was nothing that fit the bill."

The crow fell into deep thought.

Did you ask?

The administrators immediately understood what the Raven meant—Angze had preserved much information that Solitz had not had time to salvage.

"Angze is searching, but it's said... he can't find such a person either." He couldn't help but add, "The museum's collection is already incomplete, and the black mist descended too suddenly, causing a large number of documents to be lost back then. The information about Nan'an might be among them. But if his deeds are enough to support his status as a 'heroic spirit,' he should have a certain degree of popularity and be corroborated by other historical materials..."

If Nan'an is not a heroic spirit, how could he be resurrected and descend in the form of a heroic spirit summoning?

Bewitching Crow slowly rubbed his temples.

The search for the names "nerd", "Asripan", and "Nan'an" yielded no results.

They are as if they were completely swallowed up by the long river of history, never having existed.

Do not……

Perhaps not.

The crow raised its eyes and stared at the vast, densely forest-like bookshelves before it.

They may have already read the pages that recorded his or her existence, but...

The continuous, high-intensity screening of historical materials has pushed even powerful beings like the Raven and Gunn to their mental limits.

After leaving the museum, the two returned to the study in the Erlu mansion and sat down in silence for a long time.

They thought they could finally unveil the mystery surrounding Nan'an, but instead it felt like they had stumbled into an even thicker fog. The more they explored, the more confusion, bewilderment, and chilling the air became.

After an unknown amount of time, the bewildered crow, which had been gazing at the shimmering surface of the lake, suddenly spoke.

"Send him to Rostarek."

Gunn frowned slightly: "You want him to enter the black mist?"

The crow nodded: "Last time, it was only Nan'an and Suiyue, so we knew very little about what happened inside the Black Mist. Let Nilar come along this time; I heard they've gotten along quite well."

"Are you trying to shut up the doubters?"

"The Kroro Mine in the Thousand Maple region has been completely stabilized." The Raven tapped its fingers lightly on the table. "A stable entrance located within Nora, not on the edge of the Black Mist, and safe and controllable... is of great significance. Throughout the entire Black Mist history, nothing like this has ever happened before."

He stood up, walked to the balcony, and gently placed his hand on the cool wooden handrail:

"It's hard to say whether this is good news or a harbinger of disaster. Ellu did everything in his power to barely stabilize that twisted passage and turn it to his own use... If this is indeed the beginning of some catastrophic change, all we can do is seize enough leverage from it as soon as possible to prepare for the next fierce battle."

Gunn rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought, and said, "If Nan'an is the 'miracle' we need... then he really needs to prove himself before entering the Kroro Mine, otherwise, it will be very difficult to get past the chief elders."

As he spoke, he suddenly laughed.

"Since you've valued his existence so much, why haven't you allocated funds to the Keren Deep Cave? There's still some budget left this year, so let him take good care of Suiyue, who is an important vessel for him."

The crow turned its head, giving it a look that said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Wasn't a sum of money already set aside in the Karen Cave?"

Gunn was taken aback and pondered for a moment.

"It seems...it seems so. Then it looks like I remembered it wrong."

"Buzz~~"

"Buzz~~~~"

A rapid and continuous buzzing sound suddenly pierced the silence of the study.

On the third floor, in a room specifically designed to house remote communication arrays, magical light flickered rapidly through the crack in the door.

Gunn quickly pushed open the door and stepped into the magic circle.

A blurry human figure emerged from the crystal suspended in the center of the magic circle.

"Erlu, Gunn Palka."

"Just call me Grave."

The other person's voice carried a suppressed tension, and a hint of disbelief.

"We are the 'Radiant Owl' team, currently assisting in the exploration of the Black Mist in Sickle Water Canyon. We are reporting to Ellu... We have observed a Black Mist anomaly similar to that of the Kroro Mine."

Gunn's voice suddenly rose: "What?!"

"I've ordered the Fogbreakers to leave, and so far there have been no missing persons or casualties," Grave continued. "Strangely, the passage here doesn't show the twisted marks that often accompany the Krollo Mine; it's unusually quiet, until someone in the Radiant Owls realized they'd returned to Gransor Keep..."

"Click!"

Guen turned around upon hearing the sound.

The crow standing by the door had its fingers deeply embedded in the wood grain of the door panel.

"Are you sure it's Granthor Fortress?" The Raven's voice was terrifyingly low.

"One of the team members' families had a contracted fairy left behind by her mother. That fairy... was a survivor of the Battle of Gransor. It was her former homeland, so there was no way she could mistake it."

"Not a hallucination?" Gunn pressed.

"We won't question Ellu's professionalism, and you shouldn't have asked Yaoxiao such a foolish question," Grave said seriously. "Please have Ellu send someone to the site to confirm as well."

Disconnecting the communication, Gunn turned around and spoke in a commanding tone.

"You are not allowed to go."

"Most of the people in Elru who are still able to move are currently finishing up the stable work at the Kroro mine." His voice was calm. "The others have their own responsibilities and can't leave for the time being. Do you think Elru has any other options right now?"

After he finished speaking, he fell silent.

There is indeed one "idle" member of the Ellu team, whom he personally appointed not long ago.

Seeing his old friend's sharp gaze, Bewitching Raven's tone softened slightly.

"If it's true, there's no one more suitable to be the explorer than me."

"Don't give me that. Others may not understand what Gransol means to you, but do you think I don't!" Gunn warned. "If you dare to enter the Black Mist, I'll go in with you."

"You call that a threat?"

"Without you and me, Erlu will be completely paralyzed. You know very well that the successor the Senate is grooming for Erlu is far from our level."

The crow shrugged: "What happens to the world after I die is none of my business."

The question is, can you let go?

A silence fell between the two elderly people, whose combined age was nearly 300.

The lake breeze outside the window rustled softly as it passed through the half-open window, stirring the scattered papers on the desk.

In the distance, the faint shouts of shepherds driving their flocks back to the pen could be heard, long and indistinct, like echoes drifting from another world.

Their minds briefly drifted away from each other, wandering out the window.

The crow laughed again, its voice brimming with bitterness: "Why bother?"

"What if?" Gunn's voice suddenly softened. "What if, in our lifetime, we really do see the black mist dissipate? You've been working towards that for 150 years... What if that 'what if' happens tomorrow?"

The crow slowly raised its eyes and looked out the window at the lake surface that was gradually sinking into twilight.

The afterglow of the sunset spread a patch of dark golden light across the water, swaying gently with the waves.

"It's been a long time... since I've dreamt of a miracle, of the world returning to normal overnight," he said softly. "I think it started about forty or fifty years ago when I believed that if gods truly exist, they must be beasts!"

The Nora don't need faith; they need hatred.

They hate the hypocritical gods who have never saved humanity.

If every idol that is still receiving offerings truly has a spirit, it should feel ashamed!

Gransor Fortress, that familiar name brings back distant memories.

The crow slowly exhaled a breath of stale air: "You make the arrangements, I'm tired."

Gunn breathed a sigh of relief: "If all else fails, try learning from Wahdeen, it works."

The raven's voice drifted from afar: "Right now, women only annoy me."

Instead of using a communication array, Gunn opted for the traditional method of sending messages via messengers—this would give Nan'an Suiyue a few days to recover, as they had experienced too much recently.

While they were busy at the museum, Nan'an killed two more live eclipses.

It's still a folding design, but this time the head of one person was removed and smashed down on the other, killing him.

He could already imagine how the people in the Senate would react upon seeing the description.

If it weren't for the fact that it doesn't match the notorious evil spirits of history at all, the label of Nan'an evil spirit would have been firmly established.

It is said that one of the chief elders commented that it was "like the methods of old-school adventurers on the frontier during the Gray Star era."

This did salvage Nan'an's tarnished reputation to some extent.

The problem now is...

What did an adventurer do to qualify as a Heroic Spirit?

It's impossible to explain no matter how you look at it.

Summoning the messenger who was exclusively for Elu, Gunn personally placed the letters for Nilar and Suiyue into the box.

He hesitated, glancing at the allocation form on the table, which had been drafted long before the crow returned, and fell into a brief moment of thought.

"It seems there are indeed reserves... Why would I want funding?"

Seven days later, the message was received by the Kren Deep Cave. By then, nearly two Nora months had passed since Nan'an's resurrection.

Starting with basic humanities, he learned about all the common sense that a normal person should have after the Black Mist experience, which can be considered as being reborn and reintegrating into society.

Just moments before receiving a direct message from the big boss, he was still investigating the origins of the JK uniforms circulating in Solitz and Onze.

Of course, it's not just JK uniforms, there are even stockings...

It's unbelievable! These things seem to have appeared out of thin air from history, suddenly exploding at the end of the Gray Star era and becoming a popular fashion.

The key point is that the source is untraceable.

"What are you trying to do by looking at these clothes all the time?" Suiyue asked warily. "You don't mean you want me to wear them, do you?"

"What's wrong? You don't like these clothes?"

"Hey, do you know how expensive a whole set is?" Suiyue emphasized. "We're poor, so don't go for anything fancy."

Nan'an was a rebellious person. The more he said he didn't want to wear it, the more he wanted to see what Suiyue would look like in it.

Once the mission is completed, Coralina should show some appreciation, as there will be plenty of supplies...hehe.