I spent nearly a day exploring the city. As dawn broke, I sat atop the outer wall, which was covered with lush green vegetation, gazing at the dawn light rising gradually from the depths of the distant sea of trees. The light, though bright, pierced through the gray areas, carrying a touch of melancholy. I felt a little lost.
The feeling of having discovered something, yet finding nothing substantial, is so unbearable it drives you crazy.
—What a waste of a day!
It makes you want to pound the ground and cry.
That being said, I didn't come away empty-handed. After some indirect questioning of residents living near several reconnaissance points, I was able to verify some of the information and speculations.
For example, I found an empty house that might have been inhabited, but unfortunately, it was destroyed by a sudden fire six months ago, leaving not a trace. It's really strange.
For example, when I was stealthily strolling through those rarely traveled dark alleys late at night, I unexpectedly discovered scratch marks resembling acid corrosion and faint traces of magic on both sides of the alley walls near the outer city wall and the city lord's mansion. Following the trail, I encountered a suspicious-looking man fleeing rapidly. As I followed him, I saw his figure turn into fragments of light and disappear in the darkness, only to realize that it was just a [realistic illusion] used to disguise himself as something real.
Of course, there was also a small matter that made me a little uneasy: I originally wanted to investigate whether there were any abnormal basements in the city, but based on my observations while wandering around the city, I found that there were many bubble-shaped cavities of varying sizes and relatively uniform and stable stress beneath the city.
Although magical aids and the presence of trees as the main building structure help maintain the overall stability and smoothness of the city streets, this is not a long-term solution. It is not surprising that some unstable areas will suddenly experience subsidence and collapse.
The message was relayed to the city lord through the fairy, but after a short wait, the only reply I received was the brief "I know".
I can't figure out exactly how he plans to resolve this, but that's not something I need to worry about.
To be honest, given the wealth of the Sacred Tree Barrier, all the problems could be easily solved by simply paying a small fee to hire a team of mages skilled in earth magic.
Honestly, after the widespread adoption of seemingly omnipotent magic and the accumulation of generations of new mages, most of the tasks that used to seem particularly troublesome and time-consuming can now be easily and pleasantly resolved, and efficiency has improved significantly compared to the past.
The few issues that haven't been fully resolved are mostly just that the timeline for confirmation of completion hasn't arrived yet, or they're stuck at a stage where a difficult problem needs to be tackled—just like a game getting stuck on a loading bar, the locations currently considered off-limits are in the same state.
Let's get back to the original question.
While I was sitting high up waiting, the flower fairy, following her connection with the pink flower, came over with a hint of curiosity and glanced at me. After relaying a few words that the fairy queen needed to convey, she hurriedly left again.
She now holds the position of conveying the decisions of the highest decision-makers of the fairy clan, and is also responsible for coordinating and facilitating cooperation between her group and the people in the city, so she is naturally very busy. The originally semi-transparent hem of her dress has also become slightly sallow, and while relaying the message, she repeatedly complained to me about things like she must come back from a long, angry rest in my little garden in the future, and other nonsense.
After the rising sun disappeared into the clouds, the world before my eyes lost its golden-red hue and some gray tones.
The birdsong of the day has gradually faded, with only a few scattered among the trees, creating a melodious tune.
But then, the birdsong stopped.
The world before my eyes was quiet, but behind me, within the city walls, a lively and vibrant atmosphere was gradually reviving as the sun rose higher.
Shouts, whispers, laughter and curses, even people's breathing and heartbeats, the slight friction caused by the quiet growth of the treehouse... I closed my eyes and felt the world spreading in my senses, as if I could feel the pulse of the world gradually becoming more active and beating non-stop.
The vibrant world was relaxing, which somewhat soothed the mental fatigue that had accumulated after a busy night.
After lingering for a while, I saw the city guards who had been on duty all night begin to change shifts. I took the opportunity to quietly float down from under the city wall, remove my cloak which concealed my figure, and prepare to head towards the gathering point that Shenxue had told me about the day before.
Then a voice from the side called out to me.
"Hey! It's great to see you so early in the morning!"
Covered in sweat, Hiro's eyes lit up, and he excitedly called out as he approached.
"...Just stand there!"
Avoiding the enthusiastic hug, I stepped back a few paces and looked the other person up and down, noticing their thin clothing, and couldn't help but wonder: "Are you doing your morning exercise?"
"You truly are my best friend! I just finished a city run as a warm-up!"
Hiro, quite pleased, took two more steps closer, but stopped without a care after I rejected him again. Wiping sweat from his brow with the towel around his neck, he said, "I suppose you're doing your morning training too! In preparation for the upcoming group hunt!"
"..."
I silently held my forehead and snapped my fingers to dry all the sweat on his body.
Although I knew all along that this guy was the kind of person who was single-minded, I still felt a sense of defeat at his hands.
Which mage would choose long-distance running as a warm-up for a major hunt?! And why waste precious energy on something like this when you know a high-intensity hunt is coming up?!
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