Wizard Master

The village before them was but a microcosm of the world.

Yet as the underworld drew ever closer,

One day,

The entire world would become this very sight.

Civilization would vanish, the living would cease to be, leaving only wandering spirits upon the silent earth.

"Great Wizard," Servia, hidden beneath her cloak, suddenly spoke. "If I ever get the chance to meet the one responsible for all this, I want to strike him with my sword."

Xu Xi replied, "When that time comes, strike him once for me too."

To better observe the land,

Xu Xi chose to settle near the edge of the mountaintop.

With another step forward,

The thick soles of his boots crunched against the gravel, accompanied by the crisp sound of shifting stones. Beside him, the valiant Servia followed closely, fulfilling her duty as a guardian knight.

The yellow wind howled through the gaps of the ruined buildings,

Tearing away the thatch,

Dislodging the bricks.

In this desolate and barren village, only the footsteps of Xu Xi and Servia echoed, amplifying the eerie solitude.

The parched earth bore scarcely a weed, as if this place had been forgotten by the world itself.

And this—

Was under a sun that had returned to normal.

Had it been the pitch-black sun, the scene atop the mountain would have been far more unsettling.

Yet it was in such an environment that

Xu Xi and Servia encountered someone entirely unexpected—two elderly peasants, their life force nearly extinguished, frail and weathered.

Their expressions shifted from shock and confusion to fear and hesitation.

Instinctively,

They began to kneel.

Xu Xi reacted swiftly, using his wizard's hand to steady the two elders, helping them back to their feet.

"How is this possible? Survivors here?"

...

[You descended upon the nameless mountain peak with the undead girl, prepared to wait for the world's changes, adapting to the unknown with stillness.]

[In your heart, you quietly planned how to strengthen yourself and study the girl's body.]

[Your footsteps rang clear, echoing through the abandoned village.]

[You never imagined]

[That in such a ruined village, there would still be humans alive—two elderly peasants at that.]

[Farmer Hansen and peasant Mina]

[Commoners living in Baron Toregu's Territory]

[The nameless mountain you now stood upon was once part of the baron's domain.]

[Once, this mountain and the lands at its base were ruled by the baron, taxed and governed—until the tide of undead grew too fierce, and the baron perished decades ago.]

[The villagers either fled or clung to survival atop the mountain.]

[Now, only the trembling elderly couple remained before you, dressed in tattered hemp clothes, their hands and eyes fidgeting nervously, addressing you as "lord" and "master."]

"You needn't do this. I am neither a noble nor a lord," Xu Xi said.

"I am merely a passing wizard."

The elders' deference was excessive.

Xu Xi felt nothing toward it.

He explained, urging them to speak normally. Yet the elders' address merely shifted.

"Great Wizard Lord!!"

Xu Xi: ?

With no other choice, Xu Xi patiently reassured the terrified elders.

He assured them he was not here to collect taxes or take anything from them.

With Servia adding her own gentle words,

Eventually,

Hansen and Mina calmed, though traces of their subservience lingered. Still, they became certain that Xu Xi was a kind wizard lord and Servia a noble lady of good heart.

They would not harm them.

Experience had taught them that

Nobles with ill tempers—like the late Baron Toregu—would have lashed out with whips long ago.

They would never have explained so patiently.

"Great Wizard Lord, what brings you here...?" Hansen, his temples long gone white, voice trembling, mustered the courage to ask.

He cautiously offered his services, should Xu Xi require anything.

Only, he pleaded, let it not involve his wife, Mina.

"You needn't worry," Xu Xi said, gazing at their weathered faces and the ruins around them. The scene reminded him of the people of Qingniu Town from his third simulation.

His voice softened in reassurance. "I only wish to stay atop the mountain for a time."

"Live as you always have. Pay me no mind."

"If there is any help I need..."

"It would be answers to some questions."

The world was broken. The mountaintop was barren.

The liveliness of the past had long faded.

The village was now but an empty shell.

Xu Xi wondered—how had these two elders evaded the undead? How had they survived here until now?

Faced with these questions,

Hansen and Mina exchanged glances, their rough, humble faces carved deep with the marks of time. They were puzzled, unsure why such a great figure would ask such things.

Yet they answered truthfully.

A natural spring lay halfway down the mountain, their source of water.

With it,

They managed to grow just enough crops to sustain themselves.

And because the mountain path was rugged, littered with obstructing rocks, the mindless undead often stumbled and fell from the heights.

Without lifting a finger, the two elders had been granted a natural sanctuary.

Loneliness was inevitable.

Fear, too, had its place.

Of those who had remained in the village, only Hansen and Mina were left.

They had once considered ending it all.

Taking their own lives.

But in the end, they chose otherwise.

For they realized—their lives were nearing their natural end. The limit of their years.

Strangely, knowing death approached had stripped away their fear of the dark.

Hansen and Mina made a pact.

They would live out their remaining days in peace.

In this lonely world of theirs, they would await death together.

As they spoke, their timeworn, wrinkled faces briefly softened with a faint smile.

"So that's how it is..."

Xu Xi rose slowly.

He hadn't expected to stumble upon such a story on this nameless peak he'd chosen at random.

It was small.

Far from grand.

Yet in this world of wizards, Xu Xi doubted many could claim greater happiness or contentment than these two elders.

They dwelled in a world of darkness,

Yet walked a path of light.

With his questions answered, Xu Xi looked upon their aged faces, marked by time, and bid them farewell.

"Thank you for your answers. May you find happiness."

"Servia, let's go."

On the way to the mountaintop's edge,

Servia was unusually cheerful.

Her emerald-green eyes, bright as jewels, conveyed all her emotions, replacing the need for words.

"Great Wizard," she said.

"Grandpa Hansen and Grandma Mina's story—it's so touching!"

After years of travel, the once-stoic warrior now seemed to revert to her youthful self, endlessly praising the love story of the elderly couple.

"Yes, it truly is touching."

Xu Xi smiled.

He understood Servia's joy.

The world of wizards was far too heavy, too oppressive—a place of endless killing and death.

To witness the existence of Hansen and Mina was, indeed, a rare and heartening sight.