Sunlight poured down in brilliant rays, bathing the road in golden hues. Walking upon it felt like striding down an avenue paved with gold.
Leilin Farell had deliberately changed into formal attire today, and Gelin personally drove the carriage, delivering him to the small building beside Meierfeile.
Meierfeile, also dressed in his finest, stood waiting to one side, gripping a short staff of pure black. Upon seeing Leilin, a joyful smile broke across his wrinkled face: "Welcome, my friend!"
"Sorry I'm a bit late!" Leilin called out through the carriage window.
"We haven't reached the appointed time yet — I simply chose to come out early!" Assisted by a servant, Meierfeile climbed into the carriage, and Gelin cracked the whip. The carriage set off toward the center of Polar Night City.
"Today the city lord is hosting a reception, and he's invited you as well. After all, as a host, one naturally grows curious about any guest who shows real strength…" Meierfeile stopped midway through his sentence.
"I know!" Leilin replied. As the ruler of a city, the fact that Jackson had waited this long into Leilin's visit before reaching out was already somewhat surprising.
"You seem a bit bored?" Meierfeile had clearly noticed Leilin's lack of enthusiasm.
"To be honest, I'm not very good at this sort of socializing. Given the choice, I'd rather spend my time in the laboratory…" Leilin gave a wry smile.
"Ha ha…" Meierfeile chuckled warmly. "Just like I was in my youth! But you need to learn to enjoy life, young man! Compared to dry experiments, sometimes delicious food and spirited women can spark far more enthusiasm!"
Leilin nodded. This was essentially the difference between a retired wizard and a newcomer on the path. Meierfeile had already reached the limit of what he could achieve as a wizard, so he had turned his energy toward other pleasures. Leilin's road still stretched far ahead — naturally he had to seize every moment for advancement and waste none of it on such trivial matters.
"Lighten up, lad! At the banquet, there are a few companions I'd like to introduce you to…" Meierfeile said with a mild smile.
"Could it be…?" Leilin's eyes lit up.
"That's right! The other wizard apprentices! They're all younger than me, so perhaps you'll have more in common with them!"
"I'm starting to look forward to this reception," Leilin said, a smile forming at the corner of his lips.
The city lord's manor stood at the center of Polar Night City, flanked by two rows of guards clad in full black plate armor.
"They're the Black Iron Guard of the city lord,
Meierfeile, having stepped down from the carriage, introduced them to Leilin.
Leilin looked around and saw many other carriages parked nearby. From time to time, finely dressed male nobles and young ladies in low-cut gowns stepped out.
Meierfeile appeared to command considerable prestige among the aristocracy. Several nobles approached to exchange greetings, and Meierfeile responded with smiles and a few words here and there.
A guard at the gate spotted Meierfeile and jogged inside. Moments later, a booming voice rang out.
"Meierfeile! My friend, you've finally arrived!" With those words, a burly middle-aged man strode out through the manor's front doors. The surrounding nobles and soldiers all bowed, clearly indicating he was the city lord — Viscount Jackson of Polar Night City.
Leilin's height was unremarkable by South Coast standards, but this Viscount Jackson stood a full two heads taller. He had the typical features of a fair-skinned man — a broad forehead and a face covered in a thick beard.
Jackson seized Meierfeile in a crushing embrace: "Little Jack has been missing you terribly!"
"I miss him too. What a lovable little fellow — one of the brightest students I've ever taught!" Meierfeile replied.
"This is my good friend, Lord Leilin Farell, come from far away!" Meierfeile then introduced Leilin to Jackson.
"Polar Night City welcomes you!" Jackson appraised Leilin with a look, then opened his wide arms and gave him a hug.
Leilin's smile stiffened slightly, though he masked it well.
At that moment, his attention was entirely consumed by the data displayed on his Chip.
"Jackson: Strength 7.9, Agility 4.5, Constitution 6.3, Spirit 3.5. Condition: Healthy. This human is extremely dangerous — host advised to maintain a distance of fifty meters or more!"
"These readings are definitely at the Great Knight level!" Leilin's pupils contracted.
"A Great Knight's constitution is extraordinarily high. Through the continuous stimulation and reinforcement of Life Energy, they have broken through the bottleneck of ordinary mortals. They even possess a slight resistance to zero-level spells!" Leilin recalled a passage describing Great Knights.
"Good! You're a knight as well, aren't you?" City Lord Jackson showed a hint of surprise at Leilin's strength, and his gaze toward Leilin noticeably warmed.
"I've only just broken through. Far from comparable to you, my lord."
Leilin humbly deflected while secretly issuing a command: "Chip! Simulate a combat scenario between me and this City Lord Jackson."
"Ding! Task established. Character data entered. Simulation environment constructed. Battle prediction in progress…"
A vast panel of light flickered rapidly before producing a result: "Simulation complete. At fifty meters or greater distance, host victory probability is 89.8%. At fifty to twenty meters, host victory probability is 58.7%. Within twenty meters, host victory probability drops to 33.9%!"
"As expected — a Great Knight's physical explosiveness is formidable. Their instantaneous speed can absolutely surpass a wizard's casting speed. Unless you maintain distance, the disadvantage for a spellcaster is overwhelming!"
Leilin's expression remained unchanged as he entered the manor's grand hall alongside Meierfeile.
The hall had clearly been meticulously decorated. The polished marble floor was so smooth it could reflect the images of those walking across it.
A massive golden chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling, its countless candles casting multicolored light through gems of various hues. Along one side of the hall, several rows of musicians in black tailcoats played a variety of soothing melodies.
Long tables draped in white cloth lined the surroundings, laden with golden and silver platters heaped with assorted fruits and roasted meats. Open wine pitchers and silver goblets stood nearby, their rich aromas filling the air.
The center of the hall had been left wide open, where numerous noble men and women danced hand in hand.
"So it's a dance party combined with a buffet format," Leilin observed, nodding slowly.
"Make yourself at home! I'm going to greet a few old friends," Meierfeile told Leilin.
"By all means." Leilin shook his head, casually picked up a glass of wine, and settled into an armchair at the side.
He then noticed that Meierfeile had immediately joined up with several scantily clad women of striking beauty. Before long, they disappeared together into an adjoining private room, leaving Leilin somewhat speechless.
"At his age, still putting on a show — can he even keep up?"
"Mind if I sit here?" Just as Leilin's mind was drifting through rather unflattering imaginings, an elegant female voice came from beside him.
He looked up to see a young woman in a purple ball gown. She had a cascade of golden hair and skin as fair and smooth as milk.
Glancing around, Leilin realized that nobody else was sitting nearby. Combined with the fact that the original Leilin's body was reasonably handsome, it was only natural that he had attracted some attention.
"Of course not," Leilin replied with a light smile, and fell into pleasant conversation with the young woman.
For him, with his past life's experience and the body's memories, keeping a young girl entertained was child's play.
Before long, the girl was completely immersed in the stories Leilin wove.
"Ha ha… ha ha! Running naked down the street? He actually did that?" The girl abandoned all pretense of ladylike composure, laughing so hard her whole body shook, her curiosity burning bright.
"Apologies for the interruption! But Leilin, our friends have arrived!"
Meierfeile, having finished his prolonged bout with the noble ladies, walked over — though his clothes were suspiciously tidy, which caught Leilin slightly off guard.
"Well then! I should be going." Leilin made an exasperated expression and rose from the sofa.
"Mister… may I ask your name? We've been talking all this time and I never even asked!" The girl slapped her forehead.
"Leilin Farell. Or you can just call me Leilin."
"I… I'm
"Ha ha, so you're popular with the ladies too!" After the two had walked away, Meierfeile teased.
"Just a girl who found my stories interesting. Have the others arrived?" Leilin asked.
"They're all here already. Follow me!"
Meierfeile led Leilin to a small room beside the ballroom. Inside, several wizard apprentices were already waiting. Leilin probed faintly with his senses — they were all first-rank and second-rank apprentices.
Meierfeile clearly held the highest status in this small circle. The moment he entered, the apprentices all rose to greet him.
"Good!" Meierfeile surveyed the group. "Allow me to introduce a new companion! Leilin, from the west…"
After Leilin had finished introducing himself, he couldn't help but ask Meierfeile: "Can we really meet like this? Is there no issue?"
"It's fine. Jackson keeps a half-beastkin on staff — his nose is sharper than a dog's. He's known our true identities for a long time. We just never explicitly say so!" an apprentice with a ruddy, drink-reddened nose replied, taking the occasional swig from a silver flask.
"Oh! My Mollyphyl, my darling Mollyphyl!!!" At that moment, a man's heavy, panting voice boomed from the adjacent room.
"Oh! Darling! So hot! So wonderful!" A woman's moans followed close behind.
It seemed the room next to their private quarters was occupied by a pair in the throes of passion.
Meierfeile's face darkened with a network of black lines. He flicked his hand swiftly, and a thin membrane of energy particles enveloped the room, instantly cutting off all sound from outside. "An accident! An accident!" he sputtered, a look of genuine embarrassment crossing his aged face.
Leilin felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. A voice echoed endlessly in his mind: "Fine. I really shouldn't have held any expectations of the wizards here. They're all a bunch who have completely lost their vigilance and ambition!"