Chapter 2325: Cat and the Sun

Chapter 2325: Chapter 2325: Cat and the Sun

Throwing that golden toy box, Shard was quite curious about how Miss Gawder’s family managed to acquire this set of armor. Just from the appearance of its outer packaging, it was clear that this thing was no ordinary item.

"Mia, it’s time to set off."

He beckoned to the cat, turned it into a toy, and put it into the pocket of his shirt.

Learning from the last time, Shard chose not to wear a coat this time but instead carried the clothes filled with toys. He turned and waved to the slightly worried Luviya, Lecia, and Miss Galina, held the key with a cracked surface, and aimed it at the door of the study:

"May the World Tree, bless me in the stream of time."

With a click sound, the keyhole turned, and behind the opened door lay endless white fog. Shard waved again to those behind him, ready to face the scorching sun, and then stepped into the Mist Gate.

"Oh!"

Stepping out of the fog, the blazing sunlight made Shard squint his eyes despite being prepared. Coming from the dry and cool home into this oven-like place, the harshness of the environment was even more pronounced.

The wind carried heat, golden sand grains slowly rolled along the desert surface in the wind. Under the blazing sun, dunes stretched endlessly, even the distant landscape of dunes was distorted by the heat in the air:

"Although Old Lady Sianod and the others said that the probability of nightfall here is extremely low, why can’t I encounter it?"

In just a few seconds, the sweat on his back soaked his clothes, and the sweat on his forehead trickled down his cheeks. Shard patted his chest, confirming the cat toy was still there, before quickly running in the direction he faced.

Because it was so hot, he didn’t realize the cat toy in his chest was also heating up. But it didn’t matter, as he himself was heating up too.

The feeling of dry mouth and thirst arose faster than imagined, without the blessing from the Sun Altar, even Shard couldn’t stay under this sun for long. Luckily, this time, he was mentally prepared and felt the journey wasn’t too far. With head dizzy from the heat, Shard soon saw the familiar half-collapsed temple ahead.

And it was Lady Knight Miss Nate, obviously waiting at the door, who first spotted him.

She turned around and shouted something that Shard couldn’t hear to the people behind her, so Old Lady Sianod, Mermaid Girl Miss Sander, and finally the tallest of them all, the desert "dancer" Miss Mister with a mysterious smile, appeared at the doorway.

Everyone seemed very happy, Miss Sander waved to Shard, and Old Lady Sianod even dared to step out into the sunlight, pulling the dizzy Shard into the temple.

Having entered the shade, Shard didn’t even greet them, just immediately sat on a bench, took out a water bottle, and splashed it on his face, taking a while to recover.

"Are you okay?"

The blue-haired girl blew three pearl-like bubbles towards Shard, which burst over his head, bringing a refreshing coolness.

"I’m alright now. You’re amazing for being able to hold out here for so long."

It’s unclear how much time has passed since Shard last left, but it seems they haven’t changed much.

The few boxes Shard brought last time were still piled by the wall inside the temple, looking much more worn. The temple was still the same, with the windows and doors long gone, only leaving frames. The stone seats extending from the temple entrance inward faced the end, and sunlight streaming in through ceiling cracks illuminated half of the ancient altar and the entire wall.

"The Dragon Feast Cult can draw such strong power from that Ancient God’s Ritual Site. If only I could bring this place to the Sixth Era... wait, I don’t have that nameless Firstborn of the Supreme Sunbinder with me."

He shook his head vigorously, and Old Lady Sianod handed Shard a bottle of green Magic Potion. Shard sniffed it, then drank it in one gulp without asking what it was.

A faint minty flavor brought a refreshing sensation from the inside out. Shard sat up straight, looking in amazement at the bottle in his hand, while the old elf said with a smile:

"After you left, there was another nightfall here. Miss Mister and I took advantage of dusk and darkness to explore a smaller ruin nearby and returned here before dawn.

We brought out some knowledge from that small village ruin, including the formula for this Magic Potion. The ingredients are simple, a remedy for desert dwellers to prevent heatstroke."

"This Magic Potion is very useful, and it tastes good too."

Revitalized, Shard stood up:

"Long time no see, Old Lady Sianod, Miss Mister, Miss Sander, Miss Nate."

The old elf nodded with a smile, the lady with light brown skin maintained her smile, the blue-haired mermaid girl responded excitedly, and the gray-white haired lady knight saluted Shard with a knight’s greeting, just like last time.

Shard knew what Miss Sander was excited about. Precious time wasn’t wasted on reminiscing; he began to retrieve the toys from the coat he held.

Miss Aphrola had just arrived in Moon Bay, and Shard hadn’t had the chance to inquire about topics like "modern mermaid recipes," but at least he remembered to bring plenty of seafood this time.

Moon Bay City never runs short of seafood.

Miss Sander was very happy to sort through these supplies with Miss Nate, while Miss Mister sat aside without lifting a hand to help. The old elf remained seated, explaining to Shard what happened here after he left.

Aside from another encounter with the darkness giving them some discoveries through exploration, the old elf had also reread the half stele fragment and the parchment information Shard and Miss Mister retrieved from the temple ruins last time.

Translating those early Fifth Era texts was not difficult for this elderly Old Elf, and she unexpectedly used ancient techniques to concoct a Reveal Potion, discovering the hidden content on the parchment:

"The third of the Compass Fragments you brought back actually has the ability to resonate with the locations of the other compass fragments."

The Old Elf held the piece of metal in her hand:

"But this resonance is limited by distance and can only indicate the general direction."

She recited the spell words described on the parchment quietly. Suddenly, two points of light appeared on the surface of the fragment, and no matter how Old Lady Sianod rotated the metal fragment, the points of light always pointed in the same direction.

"What are the directions for these two?"

Shard asked.

"One direction roughly corresponds to that tomb with the knight statue we mentioned last time, but this desert has strong spatial distortion abilities, and you must arrive to confirm;

The other direction is probably very far away. Look, the points of light are trembling. You should be able to accurately determine the direction once you bring back the second Compass Fragment."

She said, handing the fragment to Shard. Taking it along clearly would make finding the target more convenient.

"Alright, let’s set off as soon as possible, grandma."

While wanting to touch the Sun Shrine to receive a blessing and then head out to explore the ruins, the dazzling sunlight reminded Shard of another matter:

"Oh, I almost forgot it."

Shard took out Mia’s doll, covered it with clothing, and gently shook it. Subsequently, a fluffy cat head popped out from beneath the clothes.

"Meow~"

With big wide eyes, the cat looked around everything curiously and cautiously, and meowed gently towards Shard. It soon shook its tail, emerged from under the clothes itself, and excitedly surveyed its surroundings.

Shard’s previous worry seemed unwarranted, Mia had no difficulty adapting to the environment here at all.

The cat’s meow also attracted others’ attention, with Old Lady Sianod sitting beside Shard being the first to see:

"What a beautiful cat~"

She praised and even wanted to reach out to touch it, only to have Mia dodge away. Mia nimbly climbed up Shard’s arm to his shoulder, as if wanting a better view from a higher point.

Miss Mister also looked at the cat and smiled, praising it too, though she had no intention of reaching out to touch it:

"Such bright fur, truly beautiful."

Miss Sander and Miss Nate were organizing things by the wall, and the Mermaid Girl, who was eating dried fish with disregard for her image, turned her head upon hearing the cat meow, catching the eyes of Mia.

Shard didn’t know what mentality the cat had when it unexpectedly hissed a "meow~" at the blue-haired girl, scaring Miss Sander and nearly dropping the dried fish on the ground.

The fact that she was frightened by the cat indeed showed that this girl’s mental state was quite unstable.

As for Miss Nate, she didn’t show any special reaction. As long as it’s not a monster, an added cat here wouldn’t make her lose composure.

"What made you think of bringing the cat?"

Old Lady Sianod asked curiously, watching Mia gaze around from Shard’s shoulder.

"This cat has been identified as having a trace of [Son of the Sun] bloodline. I wanted to see if it would have any reaction to the sunlight here."

Shard said, standing up with the cat in his arms:

"I’m heading to the altar to receive the blessing. Old Lady Sianod, you all decide who’ll accompany me this time, I need a guide."

Then he walked towards the altar deep inside the temple. However, Shard didn’t immediately proceed to "Praise the Sun," but stopped at the edge of the indoor shadow and softly said:

"May the sun bless my home... Miss Gawder’s cat."

He then quickly stretched the cat toward the sunlight, only to swiftly pull it back into the shadow before Mia could react.

"Meow?"

The cat, feeling it was shaken vigorously, widened its beautiful amber eyes. The time was too short, and it seemed entirely unaffected.