"Such a flamboyant attitude is not like your personality."
The little ghost witnessed the whole thing and said in a surprised tone.
“This place is not like the temple. It’s already troublesome enough to defend against demons on the frontier. If internal strife and mutual scheming occur, no one will benefit in the end.”
Maggie watched Charles's departing figure, her voice calm.
"To avoid trouble for me, it's best to deter those lurking in the shadows."
For example, Dewen.
Maggie silently added in her mind.
She was trying to stir up trouble so obviously that even an idiot would have noticed.
Taking out the Ash Core, Maggie finally had time to close her eyes and examine it carefully. The energy inside was extremely chaotic, neither belonging to magic nor coming from demons, nor from the undead. It gave people a feeling of oppression, dullness, emptiness, and nothingness.
Suddenly, Maggie opened her eyes.
She had felt similar energy to the core of ash before, not from anyone else, but from her beloved father!
Duke Zevenaya!
Realizing this, Maggie felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar. Despite the bright sunshine, she felt as if she were in the dead of winter, with even her fingertips gradually growing cold.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Roy noticed that something was wrong with Maggie and landed in front of her worriedly.
"How are you?"
The little jellyfish hesitated for a moment before floating up to Maggie, but it was too shy and couldn't shake its habit of stammering.
"fine."
Maggie covered her face and forced herself to speak in a calm voice.
She didn't want Roy and the others to worry.
But various speculations swirled in her mind, constantly turning and converging, eventually transforming into possibilities she had never imagined.
If we assume that part of the Duke's power comes from monsters, or perhaps from the unknown behind monsters, then the suspicion that he has no demonic aura becomes quite reasonable.
But he clearly summoned a demon in the comics... otherwise, where did his power come from, and what were the main characters fighting?
Or rather, wasn't the demonized monster that the leader of the Silver Wheel finally killed the Duke himself?
If he successfully escaped, he should reappear as the big boss later in the story. How come there isn't the slightest sign of him?
"Why don't you throw this thing away first? Will it affect you?"
The little ghost had been hovering arrogantly to one side, not getting close to Maggie, but seeing the gloom that Maggie was exuding, a hint of awkward concern appeared in his beady eyes.
At that moment, Roy also looked at the Ash Core in Maggie's hand, a conflicted look in his eyes, as if he was thinking about how to take away this harmful thing.
"No, I'm fine. The Ash Core can't affect me."
Although Maggie didn't know the reason, she could clearly feel that the Ash Core couldn't corrode her; she had a special protective shield.
"real?"
The little ghost looked Maggie up and down suspiciously, his face full of disbelief.
"real."
Maggie nodded sincerely.
Distracted by this, she also climbed out of the vortex of her thoughts. Thinking about these things now was not very useful. Even if there was some earth-shattering conspiracy, it was not something that a newbie like her could solve at this point.
Moreover, she had just made a significant discovery. After carefully examining its internal structure, the ash core was particularly noticeable to her and could be easily located.
Even if she were to throw this Ash Core out randomly right now, she could pinpoint its location with her eyes closed.
This is a task that no one else could have done; they would have been harmed by the Ash Core, but Maggie wouldn't, which is why she can conduct her research without restraint.
If... she could pinpoint the exact location of the Ash Core inside the monster during the beast tide, wouldn't the battle to defend the city become much simpler?
The Ash Core is actually very fragile; once destroyed, the monster will instantly turn to ashes.
Everyone knows this is the monster's weakness, but searching for the weakness by hiding it deep inside is too inefficient; it's much faster to bombard it with spells.
However, if Maggie uses magic to specifically target the Ash Core amidst the beast horde, she can precisely strike its weakness.
Although low-level monsters do not have the Ash Core, they do not pose a threat. As long as the strongest monsters are locked down, the battle to defend the city will become much easier.
Maggie clutched the Ash Core, a faint smile appearing on her face. A breakthrough on her very first day here was truly good news.
This also indirectly eased Maggie's unease about thinking about that pile of things.
...
With this assurance, Maggie felt much more relaxed. On her first night in the border city, instead of sleeping, she took advantage of the darkness to stroll around the city.
The local customs and culture here are completely different from those in Santa Fe City. Most people here are mercenaries and adventurers, and there are very few commoners or nobles.
Of course, there is a lot of foot traffic and many shops here, so it doesn't look desolate.
Once you leave the war zone, it's not much different from an ordinary city.
Maggie didn't bring the paladin with her; she came out alone. Here, she had far more rights and freedom than in the temple, and no one could disobey her orders.
"Perkins, do you like it here?"
Maggie knew he was lurking in the shadows, and as she walked down the street, she casually asked him.
The shadow in the darkness gradually solidified into a human form not far from Maggie. A pair of eerie green snake eyes seemed to glow as it silently watched Maggie. If Maggie didn't know his personality, she would definitely feel that she was being treated as prey.
"like."
He slowly walked to Maggie's side, obediently lowered his head, and whispered in her ear. His soft voice and breath filled her ears, making Maggie feel a little uncomfortable and want to cover her ears.
But the moment she raised her hand, I felt inexplicably familiar with this scene.
It's as if I've experienced it before.
The strange feeling made Maggie lower her hand, her eyes filled with confusion.
It is said that people sometimes feel, for a moment, that everything in front of them is as if it has happened before; this is known as the hippocampal effect.
For now, Maggie can only attribute this illusion to a lapse in her brain.
Perkin rarely expressed his preference, and she didn't want to be a spoilsport.
"Then come walk with me. It must be boring to always hide in the shadows."
Maggie concealed her earlier awkwardness, stepped forward, and spoke to him casually.
Perkin followed silently behind her, not answering for a long time. Maggie was used to his taciturnity and didn't expect a response, but she didn't expect him to answer suddenly.
"Not boring."
I'm not bored watching you.
Perkin's earnest voice surprised Maggie. She turned around and met Perkin's focused gaze, which seemed to be telling a story.
Maggie was stunned; she even felt the wind blowing across her face turn hot.
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