Alain's return is the best news Roger has encountered since recuperation.

This means that Paramount Manor is regaining its owner.

The secrets of the Serra River will also be revealed.

In Alain's old-fashioned tone.

Roger had an idea of what was going on.

……

Alain's research on the Serra began many years ago.

In the confirmation of many ancient legends one by one.

He gradually discovers that the version of "Keeper of the Boundary" is the closest to the real thing.

The Serra River and its upper Bondre, including the death streak in the primeval forest—

They are like an unbreakable border that prevents the creatures of the north from going south.

Any transgressor.

will die like those warthogs.

It's like an artificial boundary!

Only the legendary Guardian has the authority to open and close the boundary.

But the keepers of the Serra River have long since disappeared.

This led to a complete closure of the north.

Meanwhile.

Ember clouds, symbolizing destruction, began to appear frequently in the north.

Towns are in ruins: unknown dungeons, Tongma Town, Limestone City......

Follow this trend.

All the settlements in the north will be spared.

This led directly to Wellington building the Skeleton Boat, trying to give it a shot and storm the Serra River barrier.

In front of the Ember Cloud and the Boundary River.

Necromancers and warthogs are not really superior.

In order to solve this problem once and for all.

On the eve of the decisive battle between Roger and the Bone Boat, Alain left everything behind and rushed to the source of the Serra River.

Roger didn't know what had happened to him there, and what price he had paid.

But when he returned.

He has become the keeper of the Serra River.

He's still Alain.

But he's different.

The sixth sense reminded Roger that the soul of the man in front of him was no longer whole.

He was still as upright as he had been when they first met.

But the slight hanging shoulders showed that what he was carrying now was ten thousand times heavier than when he was lord in Dawnlight.

on this.

Roger had a thousand emotions in his heart.

He actually had a lot of questions for Alain.

But Alain smiled and told him:

"The Keeper has the rules of the Keeper."

"I can't tell you anything outside of the rules."

Roger asked bluntly:

"I want to know the truth about the Boundary River, is it true that the creatures north of the Serra River are the descendants of sinners, as the legend says?"

Alain shook his head, nodded again, his expression was a little tangled, and finally said implicitly:

"The sinner's statement is debatable, and as for the truth of the boundary river, I can only tell you two words."

"First, the further south you go, the more abundant the mana becomes, and this phenomenon is not peculiar to the north of the Serra River, but to the whole of Mystra."

"In the second sentence, Mystra doesn't have more than this boundary river."

Roger's eyes changed slightly.

These two sentences are very informative.

He read a lot.

But there is more to it than not.

However, he didn't follow up, and turned to another topic:

"What about Ember Cloud?"

In the past six months.

Roger is ostensibly on his health.

But he never stopped investigating Ember Cloud for a moment.

He had been to Limestone City, the dungeon, and Tongma Town.

He wandered at the foot of Yuntai Mountain for a long time, but did not find any clues.

One of the more sensitive pieces of information is that Roger didn't find anyone's body!

Not to mention corpses.

Not even blood.

Although all the buildings were destroyed, the people inside seemed to have evaporated out of thin air.

In this case.

Roger doesn't make judgments about the nature of the Ember Cloud.

It's a pity that Tyria is still in a state of severe autism, and Roger can't tell her what happened on the day the Ember Cloud fell.

So he desperately wanted to learn the truth about Ember Cloud from Alain's mouth.

……

"I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you."

Alain said apologetically:

"There are only a few words about the description of the Ember Cloud, and the knowledge inherited by the Guardians."

"When an area loses its Keepers, Ember Clouds will appear frequently; And when a new Guardian appears, the Ember Cloud will disappear. ”

"It's a very solid rule."

Roger nodded slightly.

Alain's words inspired him a lot.

His thoughts became clearer.

In Roger's opinion.

Ember Cloud appears to be a passively triggered mechanism.

The trigger is triggered by factors such as "Guardian's Survival Status", "Area Mana Abundance", and so on.

The question is.

Who has set up so many complex mechanics on this planet?

Combining the legend of the end of the world and the statement of the sinner.

Roger has a bold guess!

"Assuming that Mystra is the "prison" of the nine planets, then it all makes sense!"

"The prison is filled with the descendants of the most wicked people, the so-called descendants of sinners."

"The biggest criminal in the prison may be an ancient evil like Ikadore."

"The destruction of the gods is to fight against the ancient evil and eliminate the descendants of the criminals."

Alain implied that there were multiple boundary rivers, each of which was a fence that divided Mistra into areas; And each independent area is not a prison cell! ”

"Well, if you reason that way, the Boundary Keeper is the Jailer."

"And when there is no jailer guarding a prison, there will be a "ember cloud", and the function of the ember cloud may be destruction, and it is the most refreshing to do a hundred; It is also possible to be transferred, and the people in the cities destroyed by the ember cloud are transferred to other "cells......"

"As for mana abundance...... Lack of clues? No invalid reasoning is made. ”

Time.

Roger's mind is infinitely divergent.

"And if that's the case? The resistance to me leaving this planet is even greater. ”

"As soon as I got out of the novice village, I found out that I was actually in prison in the past, and then I was going to prepare to escape from prison."

"Just? It's pretty bald......"

Thinking of this? He couldn't help scratching his head, but there was a flash of excitement in his eyes.

At the end of the day, though, these are just Roger's analysis and speculation.

What is the truth? More clues are needed.

And the clue is in the south!

Now.

The door to the south was already open to him.

After Alain becomes the Keeper, the Serra River Bridge will be open as normal.

Gem City is just around the corner.

"So."

Alain solemnly lengthened the end note:

"Do you need me to arrange a trial for you?"

"Adventurers?"

Roger quickly shook his head in refusal.

He's just a weak warrior now.

Can't stand too much tossing.

"Half a month later."

I made an appointment with Alain.

Roger returned to Senroe Farm in a happy mood.

Preparations for a trip to the south began.

……

Two days later.

In the warehouse next to the main house.

Roger carefully dropped 1 drop of blood onto a miniature coffin.

Is the coffin pitch black? Quaint look? About half the size of a person.

This thing looks unlucky.

But it's one of two extraordinary items left behind by Wellington!

……

"The Last Shelter (Storage Items/Transcendent Items)"

"Rating: SS"

"Mode 1: Evacuation mode

In Evacuation Mode, you will be given a 200*200*80 (m) Evacuation Space, which has strong defenses and can resist the constant attack of an extraordinary squad for 240 hours.

Limited to one use per year."

"Mode 2: Normal mode

In regular mode? Will you get extra storage? Includes a main room, an arsenal and two warehouses."

"Activation Requirement: Quin's Blood Curse (169 Days)"

……

Today is Roger's 169th day of bloodshed.

After a strange jitter.

The coffin was finally Roger's.

Although this thing is not good-looking, it is indeed worthy of the evaluation of SS's transcendent items.

Not to mention the near-invincible evacuation mode.

The regular mode alone is enough to make it mouth-watering.

Unlike other storage items.

This coffin is inhabitable!

The main room of the shelter is a 10 x 8 x 6 (m) space where not only the owner can live in, but even invite guests to visit.

How can you decorate and decorate here? Not only can it be used as a bedroom, but it can also be developed into more functional areas.

And the warehouses on both sides are simple storage space.

Roger can take things directly from the warehouse in the room? But people can't get in.

Each warehouse has 24 compartments, for a total of 48.

The storage space of each compartment is equivalent to the size of a wardrobe.

This meant that Roger could bring a lot more things with him.

It is worth mentioning the independent "arsenal".

Roger looked at it.

Found this thing's arsenal equivalent to a shortcut slot? As long as your mind moves, the contents will appear directly in your hands.

It's just that there will be a delay of about 2S in this process? Can't compare to Tibetan swordsmanship? But it's also very practical.

There are currently 8 slots in the arsenal? Can place a large number of Roger's favorite items: Smoke Grenades, Rotten Eggs, Glitter Bottles, Primordial Bottles, Hand Tumor Bombs, Blinding Powder...... Something like that.

After having a refuge.

The crucible can be regarded as liberated, and it can be used as a medicine refining tool with peace of mind.

The only flaw is.

This thing is bigger than a crucible when it is placed vertically.

Roger thought that what he would carry when he went out in the future changed from a turtle shell to a coffin.

I always feel that the forced style has dropped a lot.

……

Another piece of equipment that Wellington gave him was a "philosopher's stone".

Name implies.

For a certain amount of money, this stone can be used to enchant unenchanted equipment once.

As long as the money is sufficient, there is no upper limit to enchantments.

However, the effect of the enchantment is random.

Roger excitedly tried it with Akatsuki.

As a result, I was addicted to it.

……

"You enchant Akatsuki (Normal) with a Philosopher's Stone."

"Your enchantment has worked! Akatsuki's Sharpness +1"

"Do you cost 100 Bronze for a secondary enchantment?"

……

Roger didn't hesitate to try.

……

"You use a Philosopher's Stone to enchant Akatsuki (Sharpness +1)."

"Your enchantment has worked! Akatsuki's Durability +1"

"Do you spend 500 Bronze for three enchantments?"

……

Roger hesitated and chose to continue.

……

"You enchant Akatsuki with a philosopher's stone."

"Unfortunately, your enchantment failed, and your Akatsuki is damaged."

"Do you consume a small amount of Bronze to enchant other items?"

……

Bang.

It's not just the sound of Akatsuki shattering.

It was Roger's heartbroken voice.

He can see it, this is a philosopher's stone, it's clearly Kelly's money shredder!

The initial enchantment of Philosopher's Stone only costs 50 Bronze.

But the subsequent costs multiplied!

The point is that the failure rate is also rising.

Deep inside Roger there was a devil who told him:

Strengthen, strengthen, as long as you spend enough money, you will definitely be able to strengthen a "never-destructible" Akatsuki.

Thankfully, he restrained himself.

In the end, Roger spent more than half of the money to enchant all of Akatsuki and some normal items in a single attempt.

So.

He had 106 Akatsuki with different attributes.

Actually, there should have been 126.

……

Except for otherworldly items.

Wellington left Roger a large amount of money, materials, scrolls, and books.

This wealth does not have to be spent for the time being.

And the rest of the equipment.

He picked out a few useful ones to put on:

A Purple Scale Inner Armor with +18 Defense replaces the broken Mithril Heart Armor.

A bracer that summons wolves, called "Call of the Wild", is worn on his left wrist.

There is also a "Merchant Boots" that increases movement speed and comes with "Greasing the soles of your feet" five times a day.

The rest can only be temporarily stored in the warehouse.

……

A week later.

Roger carries the "Last Refuge" on his back and walks on the bridge over the Serra River.

The early autumn wind slapped on his face, and it was extremely cool.

Behind him.

It's a mighty macho team.

The gargoyle rested on his right shoulder and made a flattering sound.

It didn't take long.

They came to the other side of the bridge.

The scenery in the distance is unobstructed.

Roger quietly activated his sixth sense.

A flood of images flooded into his eyes and mind.

……

On the plains at the end of the horizon.

A towering mountain rises in the sky.

Mid-air at the foot of the mountain.

Six floating roundabouts are located on tracks of varying heights.

Orbiting like a satellite.

There is a waterfall falling on the floating island.

Under the sunlight, the waterfalls are like the most brilliant jewels, sparkling.

Floating islands and mountain peaks.

It is a devastated ruin.

It's a dotted farm.

It's an obscure gray mist.

It is a deserted cemetery.

Roger closed his eyes and heard Alain's introduction ringing in his ears:

On that floating island out of reach.

The descendants of the first post-Orderers are struggling to maintain their power and majesty.

All kinds of open and secret battles have never stopped.

And below the floating island.

A large number of creatures and monsters are gathered here.

They are also fighting.

It's just that the theme of the struggle has become survival and reproduction.

This is Gem City.

Different soul winners will define him differently.

And for Roger.

He is only worried about how his future siblings are doing now?

How's the reproduction?

Will the population be too small?

"You can't wait for me to come, it's an endangered species!"

He thought so.

Suddenly, he sprinted to the southwest.

At the moment when I just opened the "full sixth sense".

He sensed that someone in front of him was being injured by a monster!

Sure enough.

It wasn't long before he saw a white house with a lonely tree on the side of the road.

At this moment.

A giant dryad has entangled the entire house.

The sound of a woman sobbing could be heard faintly in the room.

"I'm chivalrous, it's time to be chivalrous!"

Roger jerked the dryad as guilty.

Then he beckoned the little brothers to come up.

A moment later.

……

"You killed 1 Dryad"

"You've got a slight increase in the stiffness of the hair on both sides of your pubic bone."

……

"Gan!"

Roger was furious.

……