Bai Shi sat in front of the Site of Grace, trying to figure out why Melina had suddenly disappeared.
He had just put on the ring and wanted to ask how to use the whistle. It would be awkward if he couldn't make it work.
He also hadn't had a chance to ask some other questions, like whether he could fast travel or store items at a Site of Grace.
"Melina? Are you still here?"
"Whatever. Melina must have her reasons for doing this."
Bai Shi took out the Flasks of Tears.
"Let's see what they taste like. They'll just be refilled at the Grace anyway."
Bai Shi licked his lips. He had only been eating and hadn't had a proper drink of water since arriving.
He had also forgotten to ask Kale if he had a water skin, but he hadn't seen one, so Kale probably didn't have one.
After all, most of the people in the Lands Between were living corpses who didn't need to eat or drink.
"Gulp, gulp—phew!"
Bai Shi chugged the blue flask first. It tasted good, a bit like a cool, refreshing iced tea that cleared his head.
He then tried the red one. Yep, that was the taste, classic original iced tea.
I miss you, boss.
After quenching his thirst, Bai Shi watched as the Flasks were refilled, one drop at a time, and began to think about his next steps.
Right now, Bai Shi had no real combat skills to speak of. His past victories were only thanks to his body's high stats.
But that wasn't enough. He had to work harder to hone his skills. The Lands Between was too dangerous.
Against the powerful demigods, he would likely be crushed by their sheer power without the Fling Trainer.
And not to mention all the elite monsters on the way—Bai Shi couldn't afford to waste his Fling uses on them.
Given this, he had to be able to make this body perform to its full potential, and even beyond.
Bai Shi needed advanced combat skills so he could defeat enemies who were far stronger than him.
He needed someone to teach him how to fight.
The best person for that would, of course, be Knight Bernahl, who could teach him many useful Ashes of War.
But his lessons were expensive, and the journey to him was dangerous.
One path was to force his way through the heavily guarded Gatefront.
The other was to use Torrent to jump up the Spiritsprings on the cliff next to the Gatefront to get to the top of the hill, which was the Stormhill, an area full of Trolls.
Both paths were filled with a large number of enemies with a decent amount of fighting power.
While it wasn't impossible to get to Bernahl, Bai Shi had another teacher in mind.
On the Weeping Peninsula, there was a place called Castle Morne. Its lord was an exiled knight with excellent martial arts skills. While not as good as Bernahl, he would be very powerful for Bai Shi's current level.
If the timeline was synchronized with the game's, then Castle Morne was probably in the midst of a fierce rebellion, with constant conflicts between the Misbegotten and the soldiers.
The Misbegotten, while numerous, were not difficult opponents. It was the perfect place to hone his combat skills.
And on top of that, there was a girl on the Weeping Peninsula, the Lord's daughter Irina, waiting for Bai Shi to rescue her.
As Bai Shi thought, he unconsciously fell asleep. The day's fighting had taken a toll on him.
As a former shut-in, Bai Shi's adaptability since transmigrating could be considered terrifying.
After just two days, he was already fearless of combat and killing.
Perhaps he was never meant to live in a peaceful era. Peace only allowed the beast in his heart to sleep.
Bai Shi was a person who loved peace, and his desire to bring peace to the Lands Between was genuine.
But he had yet to realize that he was also obsessed with the killing and bloodshed that filled the path to peace.
Melina sat quietly beside the Site of Grace. Torrent was lying on his side on the ground, acting like a couch for Melina to lean on.
She had run away earlier because Bai Shi's actions had completely flustered her.
In the Lands Between, wearing a ring given by someone on your left ring finger is part of the marriage ceremony.
But Melina had only seen the ring as a whistle. Don't people usually wear a whistle on their index finger to make it easier to blow?
She never would have imagined Bai Shi would put it on his left ring finger.
Only after he put it on did Melina realize that his gesture could be interpreted as a marriage proposal.
And what's more, it would be a proposal from Melina to Bai Shi.
She thought Bai Shi was intentionally toying with her and, feeling a bit angry, left without a word, turning into a spirit.
But then, seeing Bai Shi's confused expression, Melina started to have second thoughts.
Could it be that they don't have this ceremony, or where he's from? Did I misjudge him?
In the end, Melina decided to put the matter aside. This was not the time to be thinking about such things.
She still wasn't sure if he would truly follow the guidance of Grace. She didn't know if he would face the challenges head-on.
Although Torrent had chosen him, Melina was still worried. The journey to the foot of the Golden Tree was difficult, and she had to get there.
If he had no intention of fulfilling his end of the deal, or if he wasn't capable of it, Melina would just have to find another way.
Looking at Bai Shi's childlike, curled-up sleeping posture, Melina shook her head.
And this is the guy who said he would protect me...
Melina shook her head again. The word "protection" was a distant concept to her.
She couldn't even imagine what it would feel like, because aside from the mission she had yet to remember, she had nothing at all.
But who wouldn't like the feeling of being protected?
Truth be told, Melina was just a pitiful young woman.
Someone's firm promise to protect her gave her a feeling she couldn't quite describe.
She was already a spirit; there was no such thing as "protection" for her. Yet, she found herself unexpectedly yearning for it.
For the first time, she yearned for a distant, unknown concept that had nothing to do with her mission.
It wasn't that she didn't long for a magnificent journey like those in hero's tales, or that she didn't want to explore the Lands Between freely.
But she had to find the reason why she was still alive, even with her physical body burned away and only her soul remaining.
There must be something, some very important mission waiting for her to complete, even as a spirit.
When he woke up, the sky was already bright. Bai Shi felt completely refreshed, and he felt incredibly strong.
He shook his head hard to get rid of the childish thought.
It wouldn't be funny if he died because of his arrogance.
Bai Shi stood up, and the space enveloped by the Grace dissipated.
The soldiers in the distance saw someone suddenly appear and started shouting to their comrades, preparing to surround him.
But Bai Shi wasn't afraid now.
He raised his left hand and blew hard on the ring on his ring finger.
With a whoosh, a large gray horse with horns appeared out of thin air.
Torrent affectionately rubbed against Bai Shi with his head. Bai Shi laughed out loud, swung onto the horse, and it felt as if he had done it countless times before.
"Hahahaha, Torrent, let's go!"
Bai Shi rode off into the distance on Torrent.
In the spiritual world that he couldn't see, Melina was sitting sideways behind him, quietly enjoying the scenery along the way.
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