Book 5: Chapter 48: Anna Artemis

Qin Lun suddenly understood why he had seen the white deer earlier. It turned out that Anna Artemis had a request for him!

“I have a rough understanding of what you’ve said, but it still doesn’t clear up my confusion. What could someone like me, a small figure, possibly have that you need?”

“Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough. I don’t need your physical energy, but the law of a certain item on you.” Anna Artemis said calmly. “Hmm… It seems like a small metal piece of some kind!”

“A small metal piece?” Qin Lun thought for a moment, then slightly raised his eyebrows. “… The Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross!”

He finally understood. The only thing on him that could interest a deity-level figure like Anna Artemis had to be the Sub-legendary Item—the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross!

The Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest honor for soldiers of the Third Reich. The law on it contained the faith and glory of the world’s most elite army from that era, as well as the admiration of all the German people. Even people from the Allied nations acknowledged this honor, although their acknowledgement was filled with strong fear and hatred.

In the eyes of the Forest Goddess, this kind of honor medal was actually a form of faith power, and it was one she didn’t have! Otherwise, forget a Sub-legendary Item, even a true Legendary Item wouldn’t attract Anna Artemis’s attention.

Actually, there was another point Qin Lun didn’t know. The Forest Goddess didn’t immediately seek to trade for every law she didn’t have; she also considered the target and the type of law.

For example: Hansen’s Black Winged Angel, the Miniature Nuclear Bomb, Hill’s “Confession” Cross, the Soul-Sucking Bracelet, and so on. The Forest Goddess didn’t have similar laws for these either. However, the Miniature Nuclear Bomb belonged to the high-tech law category, the Black Winged Angel and the “Confession” Cross belonged to the evil faction laws, and the Soul-Sucking Bracelet came from the “Oni Warrior” race in the Phantom Demon World—it was a type of undead law.

Anna Artemis’s divine duties were as the Forest and Moon Goddess of the absolute neutral faction. Why would she bother to absorb these dark, evil faction laws? Only the pure faith law power on the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross was her supplement.

As for the trading partners the Forest Goddess would choose… The Casey trio, also in the Silent Forest, were High-Rank Apostles who had experienced dozens of Quest Worlds. They also had laws that Anna Artemis was interested in.

However, the Casey trio were high-level experts with fixed career paths. The skill items they needed were things the Forest Goddess might not necessarily have.

The ordinary local products or World Treasures produced in the Silent Forest—unless they faced a life-and-death crisis, they would never trade their own Legendary Items for them. After all, those Legendary Items were the core equipment of their professions. If what the Forest Goddess offered wasn’t suitable for them, it was better not to trade at all.

The Silent Forest was equivalent to the Forest Goddess’s divine realm. Within the forest, Anna Artemis could see through the strengths of any professional below the Legendary level at a glance. She could immediately tell if the Apostles entering had items she needed and whether they would trade with her equally.

After Qin Lun came out of the hill cave, why did he see the white deer?

Because Anna Artemis was waiting for him to fall into a life-and-death crisis so she could step in and trade! The Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross was important to Qin Lun, but it wasn’t a core item. If he had lost the fight against Qingming, the Forest Goddess wouldn’t have minded at all “taking advantage of his predicament” to obtain what she needed.

Thinking of this, Qin Lun wore a bitter smile. This goddess really wasn’t likable! Although it was an equal trade and he could refuse, given the situation outside, refusing the trade meant death. He simply had no choice.

Since he didn’t have the right to be picky, Qin Lun was straightforward about it. With a calm expression, he took out the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, flicked his finger, and sent the medal flying in an arc toward the Forest Goddess.

“You’re quite direct!” A hint of a smile flashed in Anna Artemis’s eyes as she reached out and caught the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross. However, the goddess then did something Qin Lun couldn’t bear to watch. After getting the Iron Cross Medal, she actually put it in her mouth and gave it a light bite.

“Crunch!” A corner of the Knight’s Cross instantly broke off. The Forest Goddess smacked her lips with satisfaction, nodded carefully, and then stored the now-toothed Iron Cross Medal into her personal pouch.

She really is a country bumpkin who’s never seen the world! Qin Lun’s face twitched slightly as he thought sourly.

“… Now that you’ve gotten what you wanted, what about me…” Qin Lun asked with an awkward smile.

“Don’t worry, you won’t die!” After getting what she wanted, Anna Artemis was rather impatient to continue chatting with Qin Lun. She tilted her head in thought and then said, “Just replenishing your missing life force doesn’t seem quite fair to you. Alright, I know this item could boost your physical attributes a bit. Let me help you make up for that power. That should be acceptable, right?”

The Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross boosted physical attributes by a percentage! How much could you possibly replenish? Besides, it also had Iron Will and two other sealed skills! Qin Lun thought expressionlessly to himself. But before he could speak, Anna Artemis waved her hand, and a green light shot toward him, directly blasting the young man out of the divine realm.

…

“Ah!” Qin Lun sat up abruptly, covered in cold sweat.

“Oh, you’re awake!” A surprised voice came from beside Qin Lun.

“Master Vi… Vima! Is this… your room in the camp?!” Qin Lun propped up his dizzy head with his arm and looked around, suddenly quite surprised. He had clearly seen himself and the others still in the forest earlier when he was in the Forest Goddess’s divine realm.

“Yes, we came back long ago. You passed out while using ‘Tree World Descent’. It’s already the evening of the second day now!” Vima made a cup of green tea and placed it on the log stump serving as a table in front of Qin Lun.

“I was unconscious for a day and a half!” Qin Lun slightly raised his eyebrows, quickly checked the prompt messages in his Death Notice, and then a look of understanding appeared on his face.

The time flow in Anna Artemis’s divine realm was different from the outside world. The time he spent in the divine realm was only an instant outside. However, his Law Body was still adapting to the divine power modification at that time, which was why he remained unconscious for so long.

“Teacher, are you alright? What happened at the end of that battle?” Qin Lun asked urgently.

“I’m fine!” Looking at Qin Lun, Vima felt a surge of complex emotions. The seemingly innocent and cute Casey turned out to be a fake only after the treasure. And this young Elf, whom she only slightly appreciated a day ago, had instead become her half-disciple. Awakening from a serious injury and coma, he immediately showed concern for her safety. It seemed she really needed to re-examine her judgment.

“Your ‘Tree World Descent’ was very successful; it drove all those people away. One of the boxers died on the spot, and another armored Knight and a Rogue were found dead on the forest’s outskirts. Casey… that jerk and his two accomplices ran away. There’s no trace of them in the Silent Forest; they probably already left the forest!” Master Vima quickly composed herself and said with a smile.

The entire Fink team died? Qin Lun’s eyes flickered as he immediately realized that this was probably the Casey trio, after their plan failed, using them to recoup their losses.

This is what Apostles were like. Unless they were truly close comrades who formed a real team, and without the official restraints of an Apostle city like Devil’s Horn, then it was all about strength—big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp! If you had value, you were okay; if you had no value, you immediately became prey in the mouths of the strong.

No wonder Casey once said that an Apostle’s apparent Plot Identity was their strongest weapon. Once their true identity was exposed, death wasn’t far off. No matter how strong an Apostle was, they had weaknesses. If overt methods didn’t work, covert ones would. Once surrounded, whether you were a Silver Apostle or a Golden Apostle, you’d all end up dead.

Qin Lun’s current level was still low; he entered Low Magic Worlds with few Apostle competitors. As his level gradually increased in the future, he would have to enter Mid-Magic Worlds like Nars, where every quest had several Apostle teams competing. The kind of battle situations that occurred these past two days would become the norm.

Thinking of this, even with Qin Lun’s aloof personality, he felt a deep sense of trepidation and increasingly felt the importance of having a team. No matter how high a person’s intelligence and strength, they were limited. Everyone makes mistakes; without the power of companions, any Apostle was destined not to go far.

“Don’t worry. This time, you provoked Casey and his companions because you were saving me. I won’t let them harm you.” Seeing Qin Lun lower his head in silence, Vima thought he was worried about his future situation and immediately comforted him with a smile.

“Your fighting style is already formed; you can’t follow the Druid career path anymore. I can’t teach you much. However, I know an old friend in the camp who is a Legendary Hunter. I’ll ask him to take you as his disciple.”

Qin Lun smiled wryly upon hearing this. He only had two days left before his stay was over. Once he returned to Devil’s Horn, he might never run into the Casey trio again, so what was there to worry about? Hatred was the least needed emotion for an Apostle—just look at what happened to the Fink team. The matter between the Casey trio and them was over; neither side would pursue it further.

However, seeing Vima like this, it seemed she genuinely regarded him as a disciple. This wasn’t what Qin Lun wanted. He only had two days left in Nars; what could he possibly learn from a Legendary Hunter in two days? He’d rather Vima treat him as an outsider and dump a pile of Legendary Items on him as repayment for saving her life.

It seems I overacted and outsmarted myself! Qin Lun subconsciously touched his chin and said to Vima with a smile, “Teacher, I’m just worried it might be inconvenient when I go out hunting normally. Other than that, there’s nothing much.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. I’ve already made some preparations for you!” Vima clapped her hands cheerfully, turned around, pulled over a treasure chest, and took out several items from it, placing them on the log stump serving as a table.