Chapter 19.1: Who Says Potatoes Can't Eat?

Atop the cliff, Mervant clutched the disc, trying to sense the direction of the link.

Nearby, Osar sneakily approached Yaine and asked, "Yaine, if I start learning incantations now, how long do you think it will take me to learn them?"

"Ah? Why are you thinking of learning incantations now?" Yaine eyed him skeptically. "Plus when you say learn… Just what degree of proficiency do you mean?"

"Aiyah, you're teaching that potato lad incantations, right?" Osar said. "I think he's rather interesting, so I was wondering if I could also learn a little and maybe chat with him in the future."

"Oh, you want to use it for conversation." Yaine sized up Osar and said reluctantly, "Forgive my bluntness, but that might be difficult."

"I know incantations are difficult," Osar replied. "But we have quite a bit of time here, so why don't you spare some time to teach me?"

"No, I'm not saying that incantations are difficult. I'm saying that you might be a bit lacking in talent." Yaine shrugged. "Your race generally has very poor magical talent. Why do you think there haven't been many high-level mages among your people over the years?"

"Ah, that…" Osar was momentarily at a loss for words and, after a while, said with resignation, "Yeah, that does seem to be the case, huh."

"But why do you want to chat with him?" Yaine inquired.

"Um, how should I put it, I just feel like he's a good lad?" Osar shrugged. "We've just met, and he's already cooking meals for us, plus his muscles aren't bad, and he even helped us in a fight. He's such a good guy; wouldn't it be a shame if we couldn't even have a conversation with him?"

"Oh? You think so highly of him?" Yaine was somewhat surprised.

"Alright, I guess. Probably not as highly as you think of him?" Osar joked.

"Me? Uh…" Yaine was first stunned, then the image of Liu Ji kicking the Tyrant's scout flashed through her mind. After a long pause, she nodded. "Mm, indeed. You are right, he is a good lad."

"So, perhaps we shouldn't have left him back there to keep watch?" Osar said. "He seemed like he really didn't want to be left alone."

"Oh, that…" Yaine turned to look toward the nearby forest. "Well, actually, that might not be the case."

"Might not?" Osar asked, puzzled. "What do you mean 'might not'?"

"I never said that he couldn't come with us," Yaine said. "Whether he comes or not is up to him."

"Eh? Is that so?" Osar scratched his head.

"Yes. Although I really didn't want him to come along and brave the dangers, it seems like he has already arrived." Yaine sighed.

Osar was taken aback and instinctively turned back to look in the direction where they had come.

Indeed, he spotted Liu Ji.

Currently, the latter was pressed against a tree trunk, gasping for breath as he waved and flashed them a goofy smile.

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Calidora and Girunini were walking along the ancient city's main street.

That's right, they had successfully entered, and it went rather smoothly. The gatekeeper did not speak to them but neither hindered their entry nor showed any sign of wariness. They were just allowed in.

Initially, Calidora was suspicious about the ease of their entry, but Girunini was bolder. She waved her hand in front of the gatekeeper and, seeing no reaction, entered the city without a second thought.

Calidora had no choice and could only hurriedly follow after.

Upon entering the city, Calidora immediately felt a strong sense of disconnection, although she had already sensed that the space here seemed to be isolated from the outside world. That sensation was more intensified than ever inside.

She could sense that the city was enveloped in a remarkably powerful barrier, even stronger than the final defensive barrier of the Dragon City of old.

But what was strange was that Calidora couldn't discern the purpose of this barrier. She could sense it had a function to isolate, but merely hiding seemed unreasonable since the entire city was clearly visible from the outside.

Even more peculiar than the mysterious barrier was the strange scenery on the city streets.

At first glance, apart from the residents looking like stone sculptures, the streets were no different from the commercial streets of bustling cities they had known. As they walked, the two occasionally received curious glances from passersby… if these eyes could indeed see.

But a closer observation revealed anomalies. First was sound. There were no voices in this city, only the heavy footsteps of stone beings moving about.

Of course, this could just be because these beings of an unknown race did not speak but instead had their own unique way of communication.

However, the strange thing was that whether it was the street vendors or those in restaurants by the sides of the streets, these beings seemed to be talking to each other as if using spoken language, their mouths moving but without any sound.

Even if this phenomenon was explained as lip-reading, what was even more bizarre was the merchandise sold by the vendors and restaurants.

The vendors' stalls varied widely, selling decorations, clothes, toys, and various tools. But whatever it was, all the items were made of stone.

Yes, including clothes. Could stone clothes be worn?

Bluntly speaking, even if they could be worn, these things shouldn't be called clothes but torture racks instead.

Yet, strangely, these people still bought them. After purchasing, they didn't wear these "clothes" and just carried them away.

And mentioning that, these stone people were very hard, with clear fractures at the joints, making their movements somewhat stiff.

The currency used to make purchases was also made of stone.

Even if these could hardly be explained as a unique racial culture, there were some aspects that Calidora just couldn't understand.

That was the food vendors and the street-side restaurants. As expected, what they sold was all stone.

Yes, stone eating stone. It made sense… probably.

But the problem was, these stone people didn't actually eat it; they just placed it near their mouths for show, much like children pretending to eat mud pies while playing house.

Everything seemed like an imitation of a typical human city and not a cityscape that should naturally emerge from this "stone race."

"Girunini, I feel something is off here…" Calidora whispered. "Can you smell anything?"

"Why do you make it sound like I'm a guard dog?" Girunini's mouth twitched. "But you're right, something is off. There's a very strange scent, and it, well, it even makes me shiver a bit…"

"Dear lady, if you're referring to the odor on me… Well, now that I think about it, it has indeed been many years since I've bathed, perhaps that's what amused you."

"!?"

Girunini and Calidora simultaneously turned around. Behind them stood a man with a genial smile.

The man's skin was ash-white, much like the appearance of granite. He wore a thick white robe, exposing one arm and half of his chest, seemingly unconcerned by the harsh desert sun. His hair was long and snow-white, shimmering like crystalline glass under the sunlight. In his hand, he held a staff intricately carved from flowing crystal.

Calidora had seen countless high-end staffs in her lifetime, some forged from the finest materials in the world, others meticulously crafted by master artisans, and some combining both aspects.

But all those staffs she had once marveled at paled in comparison to this one.

Girunini couldn't help gulping nervously before asking, "Wh-who are you?"

"Arriving uninvited at someone's home and not even knowing who the host is?" said the smiling man. "Ladies, that is somewhat discourteous…"

"Apologies, we didn't know…" Calidora quickly stepped forward.

"No, it's fine, actually. If you did know who I am, I wouldn't welcome you here," the man said, walking slowly between them, then turning his head and nodding. "Come with me. You girls haven't had anything decent to eat along the way, have you? How would you like to have a whole roasted lamb?"

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read