Chapter 196: The Changing Era

A chance encounter might be nothing more than a minor detour for both of them, each with their own work to attend to.

Yet Li En also received some good news from Sallyman.

"A mirror spirit? Lady, you really are generous."

The mirror spirit's combat power is negligible, but its ability to traverse space clearly enters the domain of the divine—and it's a rare, precious spatial type.

Though these tiny mirror spirits seem comical and lack combat ability, they are in fact divine beings. Don't imagine divinity as lofty and distant; a single drop of water and the ocean are both water, yet utterly different in level.

In the domain of deities, in their divine realms and independent planes, their essence—their divinity—pervades like the local air and water; life that grows in such an environment often inherits unique abilities derived from the deity.

But once they leave their homeland, they inevitably weaken. Celestial beings, demons, devils, and elemental life-forms are all, in some sense, included in this category.

Only, the planes or deities they originate from are so overwhelmingly powerful that even after leaving their original plane, these beings retain considerable power—though they still inevitably weaken over time, eventually returning to their native plane.

And within certain deities' divine realms, the more a divine being relies on "local rules," the more extraordinary its authority becomes.

For instance, the wax-melt servant of the former Dark Elf chief deity possessed legendary, ever-shifting abilities.

The mirror spirit embodies both "shadow" and "mirror," granting it the power to tear and link spaces—a rarity even across the multiverse.

Yet they remain creatures that can only survive within the goddess of mirrors' divine realm; living in the primary plane causes them to steadily weaken, even to death.

Using their innate abilities repeatedly accelerates their weakening—so to deploy mirror spirits for full-scale underground exploration, these "divinely favored beings" must be constantly replaced.

Merely repeatedly opening doors to the shadow plane, letting these beings return to recuperate, then reopening the portal to send them back for more labor, consumes the deity's power.

After all, in some sense, these "derivative beings" are part of the divine realm itself.

They are the deity's Juanzu; outsiders cannot compel them—you can't persuade a deity's own cells to betray it.

Even if a few occasionally defect, without the divine realm's nourishment, they die quickly. Theoretically, these mirror spirits are entirely the exclusive domain of the Silver Mirror Goddess.

"They should significantly accelerate our exploration. At the current pace, clearing this unknown-depth ruin within two years is simply impossible."

Yet Li En knew reality was even harsher than estimated; the area currently known to surface dwellers was merely a fraction of the entire underground ruin.

The deeper you go, the more vital logistics and order become—and normal methods cannot solve this.

"They can shrink the distance between the surface and the depths."

Compared to other teleportation arts, this "divine authority"-based spatial teleportation is far more stable (unless interfered with by an equal-level entity) and nearly zero-cost for round-trip travel.

The mirror spirit's teleportation is its fundamental trait—it requires no mana expenditure whatsoever, a natural, instinctive talent.

Clearly, this could dramatically speed up the conquest of the underground ruin, even aiding the goal of reinforcing the "Evil God Seal."

Dainya idly fiddled with the ring in her hand; she'd tried several fingers but always felt a subtle wrongness. It wasn't that she couldn't wear it—many high-end magic rings auto-adjusted.

It was just that no finger felt right.

"Click." She switched fingers again, growing annoyed. She noticed the knights' strange glances, but when she looked over, each was busily polishing his sword.

So, with her maid's help, she took a necklace, hung the serpent-etched gold ring around her neck, and tucked it inside her clothes.

Behind her, someone kept breathing on Li En, occasionally extending a hollow left hand, while the young man pretended not to notice.

The pure remain pure—I truly meant nothing else!

Dainya didn't truly believe in the ring's power; she saw it as a comforting, friendly deception. When your neighbor's boy casually pulls out a rotten stone and claims it's a divine relic of some god, any sane person would disbelieve it.

How could it be so coincidental? She'd just mentioned her need, and he immediately produced a corresponding supreme relic. To Dainya, a device capable of deceiving a deity so easily wasn't even worthy of being called a relic.

And the god's name he mentioned? She'd never heard it before.

Especially that last name—so absurdly whimsical—it looked like nothing but a comforting joke or prank.

"Hmph, did you even ask my father if he asked my mother?"

In Dainya's view, Li En probably thought she had no choice and was just trying to comfort her.

"Since we're doomed to walk this path without return, at least walk it smiling."

Carefully tucking the ring against her chest, Dainya smiled sweetly.

At least someone genuinely cared for her—after becoming a chosen of the gods, she wouldn't have problems. She'd treat this as a joke, and try it later.

"Let's continue. When we reach the 'Trader's Hall,' we'll return."

Coming down here isn't easy. Now that they'd confirmed the mirror spirits' utility, Dainya and the knights planned to proceed as scheduled.

"Trader's Hall? You mean that giant banquet hall underground?"

It was a spacious area within the underground ruin, said to resemble a giant's dining hall, later cleared and repurposed as a temporary transit point. Some merchants sold supplies or offered appraisal services there, naturally turning it into a gathering trade zone.

But rumors claimed supplies there cost thirty times the surface price—truly a black merchant's paradise.

"Yes, we plan to turn it into a permanent outpost with direct teleportation to the surface."

This was undoubtedly excellent news. If a direct teleportation point existed midway through the journey, not only would travel costs plummet, but vast quantities of supplies could enter and exit the underground ruin far more easily.

Meanwhile, stationing soldiers and knights from the kingdom at the outpost meant surface order was beginning to seep into this underground world.

"So these tents and wooden planks are for setting up camp there?"

The knights also protected some craftsmen who would establish camps and shops in open areas, transforming the temporary encampment into a permanent town.

Normally, reaching this point would take over a day, with enemies along the way. If a large mirror spirit established a teleportation point here, elite squads could depart and return directly from this location.

And if supplies could be sold directly within the ruin, frontline warriors would receive powerful logistical support.

"Wait, you're just using them as a transmission gate and communicator?"

Li En, however, was slightly surprised.

Since they were going down together, they naturally walked together.

"What's your opinion?!" The good mood from receiving the gift ended instantly. Suspected of undermining her "innovation," Dainya's brows shot up in anger.

Li En considered, then spoke out. No one was dumber than another; some things were simply unfamiliar, requiring time to adapt and explore.

But right now, what they lacked most was time! Wasting a few more months could change everything.

"I thought you planned to have the small mirror spirits accompany elite squads, maintaining real-time communication," Li En finally spoke.

"We were planning to do exactly that," Dainya said proudly; she'd already thought of using small mirror spirits as long-term communication tools.

"You could transmit combat footage and battle plans directly to the rear, allowing specialists to analyze, provide intelligence support, and guide squads in real time," Li En said—something that had precedents in another world.

"For example, if Team A faces a tough enemy while Team B is nearby, you can redeploy them. If they're outmatched, you can guide escape routes. If a particularly dangerous monster appears in one area, summon several squads for ambushes and have the mirror spirit deliver countermeasures."

"Uh… we're still considering it." Dainya paused, realizing it might actually work.

The emergence of these little mirror spirits made real-time battlefield command systems with live feeds—and even "air-dropped" supplies and weapons—a tangible reality.

Some things Li En didn't plan to spell out clearly, but were vital: with live feeds from the small mirror spirits, "underground bandits/ambushers" and "team traitors" would think twice.

In the deeper underground, seeing a human silhouette was more terrifying than seeing a monster.

Lack of trust made most adventurers reluctant to go far or recruit strangers—no one knew what might happen down there.

"Indeed, this could effectively reduce crime. Any other suggestions?" Dainya nodded. Matters of this scale quickly overrode personal feelings.

Li En considered. Perhaps he could push the line a little further, accelerate progress a bit more.

"Many adventurers descend not just for money—they fear most dying silently below. Ultimately, they seek fame. For many young people, honor equals future status, equals recruitment by other organizations, equals a better future."

The kingdom had repeatedly raised bounties for underground monsters, but the results were mediocre—it truly meant trading one's life for money, and it was too unstable (too long a cycle, too dependent on luck).

At this moment, not only Dainya listened to Li En, but the surrounding knights and attendants also took notice.

"Set up a large mirror spirit in the busiest part of Huicheng and broadcast live footage of the underground ruin's battles—let ordinary people and surface warriors observe the combat conditions."

Li En shrugged. This tactic was common in his past world—some nations fought wars while livestreaming, even engaging in full-blown public debates and insults.

Actually, this situation was even better: it was PVE, not PvP, so no need to worry about a sudden "condolence" or "pleasant surprise" appearing mid-stream.

Yet making this choice wasn't just for immediate gains.

"They want fame? Give it to them."

Similar dueling tournaments and arenas were also opportunities for the young to rise—fights to the death, PVP—but often only a few occurred yearly, rarely watched by nobles.

"But when mirrors bring fame, profit, and opportunity to the victors, those watching others grow rich will naturally join in."

Li En had already seen the future.

"Heh, perhaps even powerful masters will travel thousands of miles just to come here for fortune and fame."

"And they, perhaps, will become the very free, ready-to-fight forces we most need."

(End of Chapter)