Eric hadn't noticed it before, as his nerves had been constantly on edge.
The little ostrich on his back.
Was a bit too fleshy.
Not to mention the two lumps pressing against his back shoulders, even the sensation of his fingers sinking into her thighs as he supported them was subtly tactile.
As Eric stepped across the rooftops, he even deliberately bounced once.
So plump.
Judy's calves dangled slightly, and her eyes drifted as she said,
"Why do you always take this kind of path, jumping around? It makes me dizzy."
"Cough, cough, isn't this the shortest way?"
Eric's old face also flushed, and his movements became much more honest.
With magic infused into the Wind Wolf Boots, their weight lightened, and they followed the same path back to where they had fought the Skeleton Mage.
The Skeleton Mage sat on the rooftop, one leg casually folded, the other leg missing from the knee down.
It looked very relaxed.
Judy's staff was no longer held tightly but rested horizontally on her thigh bone.
Eric and Judy glanced at it, then pulled their heads back.
"What should we do?" Eric asked.
Judy squeezed Eric's shoulder, her head tucked in.
"This, let's wait for Uncle Atai'er. It looks like it's free from the Lich's enslavement. We really can't fight it."
Eric nodded, turning to prepare to leave.
Just then, a voice directly entered both their minds.
"Come out, I've already sensed you."
Oh, this—
Judy straightened up, looking back. The Skeleton Mage had already turned its head, its empty eye sockets staring at them.
"That staff is yours, isn't it, little girl? Come and get it. You threw away my leg, do you expect me to hop over and return it to you?"
Judy forced an awkward smile and turned to Eric, saying,
"Run!"
But Eric shook his head.
Turning, he walked towards the Skeleton Mage.
"What are you doing?!"
Judy was completely terrified, struggling desperately on Eric's back, her hands repeatedly hitting Eric's shoulders.
The Skeleton Mage did nothing as the two approached, merely watching them silently.
Until the two walked in front of it.
Judy cowered, cautiously looking at the Skeleton Mage.
Eric met the Skeleton Mage's gaze, his heart unperturbed.
The Skeleton Mage picked up the staff and said,
"Thanks to this staff, I was able to retain some sanity during my enslavement. What are its materials?"
Judy pouted, hiding her head behind Eric, not speaking.
The Skeleton Mage didn't mind.
It handed the staff to Eric and said,
"Help me thank the little girl behind you. I never thought that a dead man from 500 years ago would actually have a chance to clearly see the starry sky of the Western Continent again."
Eric took the staff.
The Skeleton Mage's hand bones fell, and the bones of its body also scattered, finally rolling off the roof.
"Here's your staff."
Judy took the staff and tapped Eric's head:
"Hey, that was really dangerous, you know?"
Eric smiled and explained,
"If it had wanted to kill us just now, we wouldn't have had any chance to resist."
"But you still have to run! How do you know if you'll die if you don't run?" Judy said, puffing out her cheeks.
Eric shook his head.
Judy lacked an instinctual sense for enemies, while Eric was the opposite; he always had a strange feeling about whether they could win.
The Skeleton Mage just now gave Eric a feeling of utter powerlessness, of being crushed to death.
If it had wanted to kill Eric, Eric would have been dead before he even saw it.
"Let's go, we're going to find Father's longbow."
Judy caressed her staff, a happy smile on her face, and nodded heavily with an "Mm."
The two searched for a while in high places.
Or rather, the Ranger Skeleton found them itself.
Its eye sockets still burned with blue demonic flames.
It just stopped in front of Eric.
Eric put Judy down, and Judy stood nervously to the side, gripping her staff.
The Skeleton took a bone arrow from the quiver on its back.
It placed the bone arrow in Eric's hand.
Then it took out the longbow and held Eric's hand.
Just like teaching a child how to draw a bow.
It taught Eric hand-by-hand how to nock an arrow on the bowstring, how to draw the longbow, and where to place his hand.
Father had taught him these things.
Eric remembered them all.
The moment the longbow was drawn, a surge of magic guided Eric, making his own magic resonate with the longbow.
A mysterious power emerged within Eric's body.
Moonlight flashed across the longbow.
The Skeleton let go, and Eric followed suit.
Accompanied by a cold, white moonlight, the arrow flew into the distance.
Eric looked at the Skeleton Ranger; at this moment, the Skeleton Ranger's identity was clear.
A gust of wind suddenly blew past.
"Eric, you've grown up."
The wind brought a voice, and it also sought to carry away the undead that should not remain in the present world.
The Skeleton turned to dust, and the quiver fell to the ground.
Eric picked up the quiver.
Is this your obsession?
Father.
【Weapon: Moon Elf Longbow (Rare), Leather Quiver (Common)】
【Talent: Child of the Moon (Initial Radiance)】
【Skills: Silver Dew Blessing (Talent), Luminous Resonance (Talent), Basic Archery (Beginner) => Moon Elf Archery (Beginner)】
Eric held the longbow, feeling the qualitative change in the magic within his body.
When he opened his eyes, the sky was already faintly brightening.
Judy hugged her staff, looking at Eric with some concern.
She cautiously asked,
"Was that Eric's father?"
"Yes."
Eric looked at the sky.
Father had been gone for three years; the sadness that needed to be felt had long passed. Life always had to move forward.
Now Father had no last obsession.
Eric felt that he had no regrets either.
Next, it was his own life.
"Let's go, Judy, let's find Teacher."
He turned back to Judy, a smile on his face.
Judy's eyes lit up.
She pounced onto Eric's back like a rabbit.
"Carry me."
Eric quickly supported Judy's legs, saying helplessly,
"Can't you walk yourself?"
"Oh, walking is so tiring!"
"You're just lazy. You'll turn into a little fat pig later."
"No way! Teacher says this is 'voluptuous.'"
—
As the two passed the Duchy of Saxony's main road, the five Harpers' gallows had already been taken down.
There were five mounds of earth nearby.
In front of the mounds, a stone was placed, with candles lit on it, and the scent of wine still lingered in the air.
It seemed Teacher had already been here.
Judy prayed for a moment, while Eric did nothing.
He still remembered Teacher's words from last night:
"Don't let you and Judy end up like this."
I will definitely not end up like this.
Eric secretly vowed in his heart.
The two continued to return along the original path.
At the Saxony road marker.
Atai'er had already lit a bonfire; he sat on the stone tablet, his back to the two, a lantern beside him.
The lantern emitted green flames.
In the center of the lantern's flame, Eric vaguely saw a struggling and roaring green dragon.
Judy excitedly jumped off Eric's back and ran to Atai'er, happily raising her staff and saying,
"Uncle Atai'er, I found my staff!"
Atai'er ruffled Judy's head and said,
"Very good."
Afterward, he looked at Eric and said,
"You did a splendid job on this mission, Eric."
Eric shook his head, saying nothing.
He understood.
It made no difference whether he was there or not.
Atai'er paused; it was the first time he had shown such a clear smile in front of Eric.
He said,
"Those who see through the essence of things in half a second, and those who spend a lifetime failing to see the essence of things, are destined for completely different fates."
"Eric, I can assure you, you will definitely be the next Legendary."
Judy bounced, hugging her staff, excitedly pointing to herself:
"What about me? What about me?"
Atai'er smiled dotingly and said,
"You are also a part of the Legendary."