Chapter 501 – Aramir’s Letter

Only then did Aramir relax. “Give me one more day, and we’ll set off for the Elven Woods!”

This Planting Pot Card only had a three-day usage period — far too short. There was no way it would last long enough for him to return to the Elven Woods.

But there was still Trial Task Two.

As long as he successfully invited one spellcaster, he could earn one redemption for a {Temporary Item Card — No. 9 Spatial Planting Pot (9 days)}.

That wasn’t difficult for him at all.

Having lived in Lance City for so many years, while he didn’t have many close friends, he was acquainted with quite a few spellcasters. Finding ten people would be easy.

He took out the ten invitation letters that came with Trial Task Two, using the default template content. Then, on his own specially crafted oak-leaf patterned paper, he wrote ten personal letters. He sealed each one together with an invitation and sent them out via the city’s couriers.

The ten people he’d chosen all lived in Lance City. One day was more than enough time for every letter to reach its intended recipient.

*

Big Beard Forge.

“Mr. Rolf! You’ve got mail!”

“Who is it! Just leave it there — let me finish this sword blank first!”

The burly Dwarf swung his great iron hammer, striking the sword blank again and again.

His thick, ash-grey beard was braided into a tight plait and flung over the back of his neck.

The letter was placed on the low table by the door.

When he finally finished the sword blank, Rolf wiped his sweat and stepped away from the furnace. He caught a whiff of that unpleasant natural scent and sneezed.

“That smell! What kind of nonsense is that pointy-eared fellow up to now?”

He snatched up the letter and tore it open in a few quick motions.

“Filthy stinking beard, I’m heading back to the Elven Woods…”

Rolf read the first line and immediately grinned. “You annoying pointy-eared pretty boy, finally getting lost! Tomorrow I’m taking my axe to that hundred-year-old oak and chopping it up for firewood!”

“…Don’t you dare think that once I’m gone, you can chop Yar down and stuff him into your furnace.

I’ve obtained a spatial planting pot, and Yar will be coming back to the Elven Woods with me…”

“What the hell? A spatial planting pot? What kind of dumb luck did this guy stumble into to get something like that?” Rolf’s nostrils flared with indignation.

“…I know you’re green with envy over my good fortune, but don’t worry — considering we’ve known each other for over a hundred years, I’m giving you this invitation. Attached is an excerpt from the 《Dawn Society Resource Catalog》 that I copied out. I think you’ll find it interesting.

— Aramir.”

“…” Rolf stared wide-eyed. “What invitation? Is he trying to scam me one last time before he leaves?!”

He flicked the letter paper, still reeking of that natural scent, with suspicion, then continued reading the so-called resource catalog excerpt.

“{Material Card — Mountain Soul Steel}, {Material Card — Dragon Radiance Stone}, {Material Card — Abyssal Forged Iron}, {Material Card — Thunder-Veined Obsidian}, {Material Card — Crimson Star Copper Ore}…”

Rolf’s eyes grew wider and wider until his face was practically pressed against the paper. “What kind of rare magical ore bonanza is this? What did pointy-ears say this was a resource list for again?”

He flipped back to check. “Oh~ The Dawn Society!”

Then he looked at the invitation enclosed with the letter, and sure enough, it read “Dawn Society Invitation” in bold letters.

Rolf looked at the invitation, then back at the resource list that had nearly made him drool.

Finally, gritting his teeth, he signed his name on the invitation.

With his trained eye, he could tell at a glance — this wasn’t a Demon’s contract, and there were no unfavorable clauses.

But that didn’t stop him from grumbling indignantly as he signed. “Pointy-eared bastard, if you dare scam me, I’ll march into the Elven Woods and start chopping trees!”

The invitation transformed into a trial card. Rolf turned the card over and over in surprise, examining it many times. “Interesting! Interesting!”

【Trial Participant: Rolf Maxwell】

【Trial Task One: Read the 《Dawn Society Resource Catalog》, 《Dawn Society Mission Statement》, and 《Dawn Society Confidentiality Regulations》, and pass the examination to become an official trial member of the Dawn Society】

【Reward: Achieve an excellent score on the examination to earn one redemption for {Material Card — Mountain Soul Steel 1g}】

When he saw that he had to read and take an exam, Rolf nearly tossed the card into the furnace. But when he saw that an excellent score would reward him with 1g of Mountain Soul Steel, he gripped the card tightly in his hand.

“It’s just reading! Think that’s going to stop me, Big Beard?”

As for the subsequent task of inviting spellcasters, Rolf declared he’d deal with that after he got his hands on this 1g of Mountain Soul Steel first!

He hadn’t forgotten — this invitation came from that annoying pointy-eared fellow. What if it was all a scam?

*

The highest floor of the Lance Mage Tower.

The current Grand Duke, Clara Lance, also opened a letter carrying the scent of nature.

“Mr. Aramir is leaving?”

A nostalgic expression crossed Grand Duke Clara’s face.

Lance City had changed a great deal, but many things had remained constant.

Mr. Aramir and his Oak Inn were fixtures in her memory — unchanged for many years.

She remembered how, as a child, whenever she gazed out over all of Lance City from the top of the Mage Tower, her eyes would always be drawn to that one towering oak tree.

The oldest oak in the city was Mr. Aramir’s friend.

Clara walked to the window and looked toward the Oak Inn, but she couldn’t see that familiar patch of green.

“Mr. Aramir took the old oak with him too? How did he manage that?”

She continued reading, her eyes coloring with surprise. “A spatial planting pot? The Dawn Society? An invitation?”

When had such a civilian organization appeared in Lance City?

Clara frowned slightly, but looking at the invitation, there really didn’t seem to be any traps.

It genuinely appeared to be nothing more than an organization that wanted to guide those lost in darkness toward the light.

But as the ruler of the Duchy of Lance, well-versed in the rules of the Mage Empire’s mages, she knew perfectly well that even the imperial treasury might not be able to supply this many resources.

What was the Dawn Society’s background?

She naturally wouldn’t rashly sign an invitation that clearly carried the binding force of a power of contract. But that didn’t stop her from having the Governing Mages look into this organization.

*

Lance City Administrative Hall, office of the Governing Mage Council’s leader.

Dayla finished reading the report sent back from the five southern border villages, wrote her instructions, set it aside, and picked up the next document.

“To Witch Dayla”

Dayla caught the fragrance of leaves and raised an eyebrow. “A letter from Aramir?”

She unfolded it and fell silent.

Mo Lan and her companions had only arrived a few days ago, and already a Dawn Society invitation had landed on her desk?

And it had come through a letter from Aramir, a long-time resident of Lance City, no less.

At Mo Lan’s request, after they arrived in Lance City, Dayla had provided no assistance whatsoever, nor had she looked into their whereabouts or activities.

But now, she genuinely wanted to know what they had been up to all this time.

Were it not for Mo Lan having mentioned the Dawn Society to her previously — asking that if Dayla ever discovered the Dawn Society was connected to witches or Sorceresses, she would help run interference —

Dayla would have thought some new civilian organization had sprung up in the Duchy of Lance!