Along with the sound of a heavy and dull hammering, Theodore gave a sudden jerk.
The goat milk she had been slowly sipping was instantly gulped down in a single breath.
After looking at the cup in her hand with a lingering sense of longing and a hint of regret, she quickly freed one hand and took out a Crimson Stone from the small cloth bag at her waist.
That hammering sound had been emitted from this very stone.
“Theodore, where are you?”
The moment Theodore pulled it out, a powerful voice immediately emerged from the stone.
The voice was extremely deep and majestic, carrying a trace of unquestionable authority.
“Grand… Grand Master Artisan, I’m at the Church…”
Theodore sounded like a child who had done something wrong, her voice tinged with cowardice.
“Hmm? Which Church?”
The powerful voice seemed to have guessed something, but he asked anyway.
“Ah…”
Theodore immediately opened her mouth to answer, but the words got stuck in her throat.
She then looked toward Sage Luther as if pleading for help.
“The Light Church,” Sage Luther’s voice drifted out slowly, sounding somewhat grave.
The Grand Master Artisan… he had to be treated with caution.
Every existence capable of becoming a Grand Master Artisan basically possessed the strength of the Moho Layer.
“Hmm, the Light Church… Sage Luther.”
After Luther’s voice rang out, the Grand Master Artisan’s voice also sank, sounding extremely gloomy.
He did not speak for a long time.
“Oh? Does the Grand Master Artisan actually recognize this old man?”
With Luther’s confirmation, the Grand Master Artisan fell into silence.
Caught in the middle, Theodore looked back and forth between Sage Luther and the stone in her hand, looking as if she were about to cry.
She wanted to say something, but she felt that anything she said would be wrong.
She didn’t know whether to speak or stay silent.
Theodore silently withdrew her hand a bit, but suddenly realizing the stone was still in her grasp, she felt like crying even more.
Finally, after a long silence, the Grand Master Artisan was the first to speak.
“Sage Luther, you should understand that the Light Church is not something you can forge.”
Clearly, the Grand Master Artisan did not believe that any place where Sage Luther was present could be the Light Church.
Moreover, the Light Church was already on the brink of extinction.
“Heh, whether this old man has forged it or not, you can come and check for yourself.”
Faced with such a provocative tone from the Grand Master Artisan, Sage Luther naturally wouldn’t give him any face.
“There is no need for that. You Sages of the Mage Tower, the way you treat the Church…”
Regarding the Grand Master Artisan’s tone of utter disbelief, Sage Luther simply rolled his eyes and scoffed, “Believe it or not. If you don’t, then forget it.”
“So, is Theodore in your hands?”
The Grand Master Artisan’s voice was heavy, his tone carrying the weight of a warning.
Theodore wanted to say something, but Sage Luther didn’t give her the chance to butt in.
He met the Grand Master Artisan head-on, saying, “Yes, Theodore is in my hands. Put away that arrogant look of yours, or else — “
Before he could finish his sentence, two cracks suddenly appeared on the stone, and a massive surge of power radiated from within.
*Crack—*
The faint sound of something shattering could be heard.
Sage Luther’s words had successfully annoyed the Grand Master Artisan.
Seeing this, Theodore couldn’t help but shrink her head.
She looked at Sage Luther with fear, and then at the cracked stone in her hand.
Every time she used the stone to contact the Grand Master Artisan, as long as he was made angry, what awaited her back home was a scolding.
‘He didn’t… just make the Grand Master Artisan angry again, did he?’
That surge of power lasted for a while before slowly dissipating.
The Grand Master Artisan’s voice, now sounding like a deflated balloon, drifted out again.
Seeing the Grand Master Artisan back down, Sage Luther finally broke into a smile.
He had no intention of doing anything to Theodore; he simply wanted to irritate the Grand Master Artisan.
Judging by the other party’s tone, he was likely from the same era as himself.
If he hadn’t guessed wrong, he had been tricked by this Grand Master Artisan several times in the past.
He still remembered those things.
For revenge, ten years was not too late!
“This old man doesn’t plan on doing anything to her. Set your mind at ease; I’ll let her head back later.”
“Forget it, I’ll let her tell you herself. I still have things to do, so I won’t be accompanying you any longer.”
After Sage Luther finished speaking, he said no more.
He stood up and walked toward the large door not far away.
He still had to carefully arrange the matters regarding the Mage Tower’s recruitment of magic apprentices.
After Sage Luther left, the Grand Master Artisan’s voice regained its majesty.
“Theodore, speak. What is the situation?”
Hearing the Grand Master Artisan call her name, Theodore immediately shivered and said fearfully, “It was my own idea to follow them here…”
“Theodore!”
As soon as she finished speaking, the Grand Master Artisan’s angry voice erupted.
He really hadn’t expected that despite being scolded and lectured, Theodore would still be so disobedient.
However, Theodore suddenly burst into tears.
“I really wanted to see a place covered in light! I don’t want to stay underground and in the Black Mist anymore!”
“You tell me every time how beautiful the original world was, but you never let me go see it! I really… *sob sob sob*…”
Theodore’s actual age was not very high; among human girls, she would only be about thirteen or fourteen years old.
She was at an age of peak energy and full of curiosity about everything.
This was not just an outburst about living in the dark and oppressive underground for so many years, but also a deep yearning for the world of light.
Hearing Theodore’s crying and her aggrieved words, the Grand Master Artisan fell into silence for a moment.
A long while later, after Theodore’s crying had subsided slightly, the Grand Master Artisan’s voice came drifting over slowly.
“So… did you see the light?”
“I did! It’s big and bright here, and so many people live here. There are flowers, grass, and little spiders I’ve never seen before.”
“Grandpa Luther even gave me a cup of goat milk to drink! It’s really nice here… it’s warm, just like that feeling I had when I was little…”
Theodore’s words once again plunged the Grand Master Artisan into silence.
He knew very well that the place Theodore was in could not possibly be the Light Church.
The Light Church… perhaps it still existed, but it certainly was not where she was now.
Sighing deeply, the Grand Master Artisan’s voice softened considerably.
“Alright, come back, Theodore…”
He understood what Theodore was thinking.
They told her those stories only because they didn’t want the Dwarf Tribe to forget the world as it was before the calamity of The Strange arrived.
But the fantasies accumulated since childhood would eventually explode.
He understood Theodore’s thoughts, but that was no reason for such recklessness.
Humans were not like the Dwarf Tribe, and Sage Luther was an existence standing at the pinnacle of humanity.
It was impossible for him to be truly friendly to the Dwarf Tribe.
“But I want to stay here…”
Theodore hesitated for a moment but still voiced the thought in her heart.
“Come back!”
This time, the Grand Master Artisan’s voice became stern once more.
That unquestionable tone left Theodore stunned, her eyes filled with grievance and unease.
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