The Paladin in the Abyss

"A distant country?" Lancelot heard the term for the first time, "What is that?"

"An existence beyond the known universe." Tijana waved her hands around the Array Plate, trying to disrupt the invisible connection between the Array Flag and the Array Plate, "It might be an undiscovered plane or even another Multiverse, with its own set of magic rules, and its Magic Power occasionally leaks into our Multiverse. In fact, many magicians derive their powers from this, and it seems you are a living example. My advice is, be careful when using that kind of power, especially when you're not clear about the price you'll have to pay."

"Understood." Lancelot nodded, "But this Formation actually creates a blank area in your perception, which seems to go against its purpose of Concealing Breath..."

"No, because I am the Lord of Twin Bridges Town, I was able to notice the anomaly." The Succubus gave up after finding her attempt to interfere was ineffective, retracted her arms, and turned to Lancelot, "Your Array is really quite remarkable... interested in making a bigger one?"

"Uh, I'm afraid I'm not capable of that yet." Lancelot scratched his head, "When it comes to Formations, I still have a lot to learn..."

"Whenever you are able, come find me, and don't worry about materials; you can use whatever Twin Bridges Town has to offer." The Succubus Lord waved her hand magnanimously, "Alright, let's leave this basement, I will go and strengthen the illusion around the manor once more..."

"I'm going to prepare dinner." Lancelot enthusiastically called out, "I bought some really nice ingredients at the market today; care to try my grilling skills again?"

"Not today." Tijana cast an apologetic glance at Lancelot, "Your strange conditions here disrupted my work, and I have many things waiting for me to handle when I get back."

"Understood." Lancelot nodded again, "But I still want to talk to you about the Dwarf legion. I heard quite a few discussions in the Craftsmen's District today..."

"... Okay." Tijana hesitated for a moment but still nodded, "Two hours from now, then. Come directly to the barracks to find me."

After the discussion, Lancelot and Tijana returned to the garden, where the Succubus took a minute to strengthen the Illusion Technique she had cast earlier, prolonging its duration by a week. She would have to repeat the same action five more times to make the Illusion concealing Hagrid Manor permanent.

After bidding Tijana farewell, Lancelot stood somewhat forlornly for a while before turning and heading back toward the small building. When he pushed open the door, he found Bruto, Kalalin, and Alamir sitting upright in the living room in a court-like manner, waiting for him.

"What's up?" Lancelot couldn't help but feel puzzled, "Why are you looking at me with those expressions?"

"It might just be my imagination, but it seems your relationship with Tijana has... changed," said Bruto while twitching his eyebrows desperately, "Did I misunderstand something?"

"I don't think so. Although the Succubus is not my field of expertise, I'm quite certain Tijana's attitude toward you is highly unusual," Kalalin said, propping his chin with his hand and relaxing comfortably in his chair, "as if you're someone... very important to her."

"Stop guessing, you two definitely have 'defined' the relationship already." Alamir appeared confident, as if he held all the cards, "And I have irrefutable evidence."

"What?" Exclaimed the three in the room in unison, Bruto then teased the Elf with a mocking tone, "So you're a voyeur, huh... What did you see? Come on, tell me the details! How long did our big brother hold out? In the end, who 'won'?"

"What are you thinking in that head of yours? I neither saw nor heard any of the things they did together last night," Alamir looked at the Dwarf with disdain through his nostrils, "But this morning, during my regular prayers, I directly heard the Goddess's voice!"

"Your Goddess?" Kalalin sounded very surprised, "The Divine Powers seldom pay attention to matters in the Abyss... What did she say?"

"She said she is very pleased with the garden I arranged, that its beauty has allowed a couple to accept each other." The Elf Priest said with devotion, then sternly addressed the Dwarf, "By the way, you're speaking with someone who can use Fifth Circle Divine Arts now, try showing a little respect."

"Oh my, not this again!" The Dwarf reclined abruptly, collapsing into the sofa, "So tell me, what can your Fifth Circle Divine Arts do?"

"The most important, of course, is resurrecting the dead. As long as the body is intact and the person has not been dead for more than ten days, I can make the deceased stand up again," the Elf shrugged, "Of course, that's assuming the Soul is willing to return and isn't bound by something else, otherwise what stands up would be a living corpse. I can now use a Fifth Circle Art once a day, and a Fourth Circle Art three times, all of which will provide great help in combat."

"Cough, friends, I also have good news to announce," Kalalin intervened, "Earlier today, right inside this building, I successfully cast my first Fourth Circle spell. Of course, it was with a scroll, but this means I'm finally qualified to call myself a Wizard."

"What spell did you cast?" Lancelot asked curiously.

"Arcane Eye, an invisible magic eye that flies through the air and allows me to see whatever the eye can see. A very practical detection Skill, especially when exploring dangerous areas," Kalalin said with a coy smile tinged with pride, "Although it's just the simplest of the Fourth Circle Spells, its complexity is not comparable to those of the Third Circle. I will begin studying other Fourth Circle Spells as soon as possible, which shouldn't take too long. But with my current spiritual power, I can only endure the strain of using a Fourth Circle Spell once a day, and I will train to increase that number as quickly as possible."

"Fantastic, another person getting stronger," sighed Bruto, rolling his eyes in the sofa, sounding a bit downcast, "We all adventure together, and I've killed no fewer Demons than you have, so why don't I feel any change?"

"Maybe it's because you improve a little bit every day, so you don't notice, but the accumulation is quite considerable," Lancelot comforted him with a smile, "Not to mention, your strength is definitely much greater now than when we first met. Don't believe me? Try helping your dad with the forge tomorrow, and you'll know."

"That makes sense; I'll give it a try tomorrow!" The Dwarf perked up again, "You originally planned to grill meat for your sweetheart, didn't I hear that right?"