RoleplayNovel Chapter 36 The Beggar's Request
Chapter 36 The Beggar's Request
It took Benjamin a full two minutes to stop laughing.
He stood up, holding onto the edge of the table. The wrinkles on his face had deepened from his earlier laughter, and his eyes were still red.
He took a few deep breaths, trying to look serious, but his lips kept twitching.
"Okay—okay," Benjamin said, his voice still trembling.
"Fire elemental—well—fire elemental does—it does sometimes appear in different forms. This—this is normal. Very normal."
"Can you please stop talking?"
"I didn't say anything."
Benjamin raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his face.
Chen Mo took a deep breath and decided to ignore him.
He turned to the fire elemental and extended his right hand.
The fire elemental glanced at him, floated forward a step, and extended her hand made of flames, gently touching his palm.
The touch was warm.
Like a fireplace in winter, like a beach in summer.
A faint force emanated from her fingertips, climbing upwards along the lines of her palm, through her wrist and forearm, finally stopping at her heart.
A connection.
An invisible, yet undeniably present thread connects him to this being summoned from annihilation.
"Give her a name," Benjamin's voice came from behind, this time without a laugh.
Chen Mo was stunned for a moment.
"name?"
"The deeper the connection between what you summon and yourself, the stronger its power."
Benjamin's tone returned to that of an old professor, serious and earnest, but the corners of his mouth were still slightly crooked.
"Give her a name, summon her more often, and she will become stronger. This is the basic principle of summoning—the bond between you and her is the source of her power."
Chen Mo looked at the person formed from flames.
She was looking at him too, her two eyes, like points of light, quietly gazing at him.
He was silent for a long time.
"Amber," he said.
The fire elemental tilted its head, and the flames on its body flickered—as if it had heard something, or as if it was confirming something.
Then she let out an even louder crackling sound, and the golden-red flames suddenly shone brightly for a moment, illuminating the surroundings.
The light fell on Chen Mo's face, making him feel warm and comfortable.
He suddenly felt that perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing that the MOD had traveled through time.
Benjamin stopped laughing.
He stared at the faint golden-red light between Chen Mo and the fire element, something flickering in his gray-blue eyes.
He looked at the young man, who seemed to be becoming the kind of person he described in his book.
"Alright," Benjamin dusted off his robe, bent down to pick up the spellbook that had fallen to the ground, "Take her out to practice. Not in the academy, the headmaster will go crazy if he sees her."
Chen Mo nodded and turned to walk out.
Amber floated behind him like a lantern tethered by a string. As he reached the door, Benjamin's voice came from behind: "Kid."
"Um?"
"Practice hard"
Chen Mo paused for a moment. He didn't turn around. "Understood."
He said.
Then he pushed open the door and went out.
Behind him, Benjamin stood in the empty room, looking at the closed door, and slowly smiled.
……
By evening, when the giant rat emerged, it was already completely dark.
The streets of Dugu City were much quieter in the night, with only the faint sounds of sailors' chatter coming from the direction of the distant port.
The sea breeze blew in from the harbor, carrying the salty smell and the coolness of an early autumn night, making Chen Mo's cloak flutter.
He walked on the stone path, his pace slower than usual.
—After practicing all afternoon, my lower back is a little sore and my shoulders are a bit stiff.
He was still holding half a loaf of bread in his hand.
The bread was indeed delicious, with a crispy crust and a soft interior, topped with a thin layer of honey that made it sweet.
He took a bite, chewed, and walked on the deserted stone path. His shadow was stretched long by the moonlight, like a lonely ghost slowly walking away.
Then he heard that voice.
"Would you be willing to help me, kind and respectful person?"
The voice came from the shadows by the roadside, hoarse and aged, with a deliberate humility and ingratiation.
Chen Mo paused for a moment.
He turned his head and saw the person.
A beggar leaned against the shadow of a stone wall by the roadside, wearing a tattered hat with the brim drooping down, obscuring most of his face.
His clothes were a brown vest, faded from washing, with frayed threads on the cuffs, and two buttons missing from the collar, revealing a dirty, wrinkled shirt underneath.
He was holding a wooden stick in his hand, one end of which was worn smooth, as if it had been used for many years.
Chen Mo looked at him.
The moonlight fell on the beggar, casting his shadow on the stone wall behind him. The shadow was thin and long, like a reed bent by the wind.
He stood on the edge of the shadows, half his face illuminated by the moonlight, the other half hidden in the shadow of his hat brim.
Chen Mo reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold coin.
The gold coin spun between his fingers, gleaming golden in the moonlight.
He squatted down and placed the gold coins on the stone slab next to the beggar.
The beggar glanced down at the gold coin. He didn't pick it up.
He looked up at Chen Mo, whose eyes, hidden in the shadow of his hat brim, did not look like those of a beggar.
"Oh, I don't need money." The beggar's voice changed, becoming more natural and relaxed.
He smiled, a faint curve forming at the corners of his lips in the moonlight. "Yes, I know my current appearance has misled you. But this is just my master's wicked humor; it's not how I'm actually."
Chen Mo frowned slightly.
He looked at the beggar, at the tattered hat on his head, at the faded brown vest he wore, and at the smooth wooden stick he was leaning on.
His memories surged, and a sense of familiarity welled up in his heart.
"Your master?" Chen Mo asked.
He didn't stand up; he remained squatting in front of the beggar, looking directly into those deep brown eyes.
The beggar's eyes lit up. The light surged from the depths of his pupils, illuminating his entire face for a moment.
An expression appeared on his face, a pure excitement.
"My master, he is a great man." His voice rose.
"But he is not understood by the world!" His fingers tightened on the wooden stick, his knuckles turning white.
"He simultaneously ruled two empires, their territories and histories exceeding the limits of human imagination! Everyone knows of his existence, but almost no one can recall his name!"
The beggar's tone was full of reverence, a reverence that was not feigned but emanated from his very bones, like a believer talking about his God, like a son talking about his Heavenly Father.
The moment Chen Mo heard these words, his mind cleared up.
It's like someone pouring a bucket of ice water over your head in winter, starting from your scalp and working its way down, soaking you completely inside and out.
The moment the beggar uttered the words "two empires" and "beyond the limits of human imagination," all the alcohol seemed to evaporate from his bloodstream as if by some unseen force.