Chapter 1248: Face to Face with the Adventurer
Gawain walked down a long corridor. On one side, wide windows stretched along the wall, their glass replaced by a shimmering magical barrier that allowed those in the hallway to see clearly into the room beyond. He and Amber stopped by the window and peered inside.
In the brightly lit reception room, they saw the Duchess Victoria dressed in a pristine white gown, seated opposite an elderly man clad in a black robe and soft black hat.
Though their voices were inaudible from the corridor, it was clear the old man was a bit nervous. He kept asking Victoria questions, while the Duchess patiently answered. The usually stoic ruler of the North even seemed to be smiling faintly.
Amber was visibly surprised and whispered excitedly, “Hey, look! The ice queen’s poker face is finally melting!”
Gawain glanced at the so-called “Shame of the Alliance” and said dryly, “Do you dare say that to her face?”
Amber immediately put her hands on her hips, looking self-righteous. “Of course not, I’m not stupid.”
“He looks better than I expected,” Gawain said, ignoring Amber’s chatter. He turned to Heragor beside him. “Does he know I’m coming to see him today?”
“He does, which is why he’s a bit nervous,” Heragor replied with a smile. “This adventurer usually has the best attitude of anyone I know. You know, he actually idolizes you—even now, despite his memory loss.”
“I know,” Gawain chuckled with a hint of nostalgia. “He went out to sea searching for the ‘secret route’ just to follow in my footsteps. That voyage is what led him astray into the Arctic waters, where Melita found him and brought him to the Reverse Tide Tower… Everything in this world is connected by cause and effect.”
“Cause and effect… A wise man from a long-lost civilization once said something similar. It’s fascinating and worth pondering,” Heragor said, nodding toward the room. “Ready? Go meet the adventurer who’s worshipped you for centuries—he’s been looking forward to this for a long time.”
“Honestly, I’m starting to get a little nervous myself,” Gawain admitted with a smile, then stepped toward the door. Amber and Heragor followed.
At the door, Gawain paused to compose himself, smoothing his expression and gathering his thoughts. He took a deep breath. His nervousness was genuine—this was the first time in his life he’d met a fan in person, especially one who had idolized him for six centuries, even risking his life to find the secret route he once charted.
He felt a bit like a celebrity meeting a devoted fan for the first time.
But the adventurer inside was surely even more nervous. Gawain quickly steadied himself, relaxed his face, and pushed open the sturdy wooden door.
The creak of the hinges caught the attention of Victoria and Modir, who both turned toward the entrance.
Victoria was the first to rise, bowing politely to Gawain before whispering to the elder, “Your Majesty has arrived.”
Modir was slower to react, but upon hearing Victoria’s words, he suddenly sprang up as if he’d sat on hot coals. A smile lit his face, but he quickly became awkward, taking a few hesitant steps toward Gawain. He seemed about to reach out his hand, then abruptly pulled it back as if shocked, rubbing his hands on his clothes while muttering, “Ah, wait, Your Majesty, I just finished talking with Victoria and haven’t washed my hands yet…”
Gawain was about to step forward and shake his hand but was thrown off by the old man’s flustered, erratic behavior. He stood awkwardly, half amused, half exasperated, before finally saying, “No need to be so nervous, Mr. Modir—I came specifically to see you.”
“Oh, that just makes me even more nervous!” Modir said, finally finishing wiping his hands. Then he summoned a water elemental into his palm and began scrubbing vigorously as he approached Gawain, mumbling, “I never dreamed I’d get to see you in person! You’re the greatest pioneer and adventurer in my heart! When I heard you were coming myself, I couldn’t believe it—by the Goddess of Magic, I thought I’d fallen into another one of those ‘strange dreams’…”
Gawain’s expression twisted into a wry smile. He thought to himself that the Goddess of Magic probably couldn’t vouch for that anymore—she was currently being chased through the neural network by Naratil’s cyber guards or playing cards and chess with two retired deities. The last time she testified to anything was confirming that Amon really didn’t have a pair of kings and two bombs in his hand…
After a bit more fussing, the adventurer finally relaxed. Modir dismissed the water elemental, then looked Gawain over carefully, as if confirming that this “Emperor” before him was truly the legendary pioneer from history. At last, he extended his hand and shook his idol’s.
A moment later, Victoria reminded Modir to release his grip. He sat down in a low chair by the table, beaming with happiness. Gawain took the seat opposite him, still with droplets of water on his hands.
Amber stood behind Gawain, Victoria behind Modir, and Heragor, seeing the atmosphere had settled, smiled and stepped back. “I’ll leave you to it. I have many matters to attend to. If you need anything, just call Coretta—she’s waiting in the corridor.”
Gawain nodded with a smile. Victoria spoke up, “Thank you for your hard work, Lord Heragor.”
With the dragon leader gone, only Gawain and the others remained in the room. Before starting the conversation, Gawain gestured to Amber behind him and introduced her to the old man. “This is Amber, my intelligence advisor and an expert on the Shadow Realm. We suspect what’s happening to you is connected to the ‘Authority’ of the Shadow Realm, so I brought her along.”
“Oh, yes, understood,” Modir nodded repeatedly, clearly not too concerned about who Amber was. Then he pointed to Victoria behind him. “You know her, right? She…”
“Of course, I know her,” Gawain smiled. “She’s an outstanding official of the Empire.”
No sooner had he spoken than Victoria’s voice echoed in his mind: He still doesn’t know my full name, and for obvious reasons, I can’t reveal my true identity to him…
“I know,” Gawain thought back, nodding slightly. Then he looked up at the adventurer. “Mr. Modir, you understand why I came to see you personally, don’t you?”
“Well… they said it’s because you’re very concerned about the ‘anomalies’ happening to me,” Modir hesitated before speaking. “They said my condition involves the gods and possibly ancient secrets that could shake the Empire’s highest circles. Honestly, I still can’t believe it. This is Talrond, separated from Loren by a vast ocean, and yet you came all this way yourself…”
“Mr. Modir, you may not fully realize how special you are,” Gawain interrupted gently. “The anomalies you’re experiencing are enough to make any leader of the Alliance’s member states take personal action. But even without that, you alone are worth my visit.”
“Me?” Modir looked bewildered, pointing at himself. “I’m just an ordinary old man. I have some magical ability, but nothing else. My mind’s often foggy…”
“You are a great adventurer,” Gawain said solemnly. “You may have forgotten some things, but your contributions to the human world are no less than many of the pioneers from my era. If Charles himself were here, I’m sure he’d personally award you honors and raise a toast.”
Modir clearly hadn’t expected such high praise from Gawain. Ordinary compliments he could brush off as politeness, but when Gawain invoked the founding monarch of Ansu, the adventurer was deeply moved. He stared wide-eyed, unsure how to respond, then finally stammered, “You… you really mean that? I actually did something that important?”
Gawain’s expression grew serious. He looked the old man in the eye and nodded solemnly. “Absolutely.”
He knew these words would be hard to believe for an adventurer who’d forgotten his own past, but he also knew he wasn’t exaggerating.
Modir Wilde—though seen by nobles as a hopeless madman and a rebel against tradition—was, from the perspective of pioneers and adventurers, a figure worthy of an entire chapter in history books.
His countless exploits were recorded in The Travels of Modir, and the passage that left the deepest impression on Gawain was not about thrilling exotic adventures or encounters with strange creatures and ancient legends. It was a simple sentence that deserved to be etched in history:
“Discovered a tuber plant on the northern edge of the Gray Mountains’ swamps. Leaves are gray-green, cold-resistant, and hardy. I believe it can be widely cultivated in cold regions. I’ve tasted it myself—it’s filling and non-toxic.”
Modir’s heyday came a century after Ansu’s founding, when the entire empire was still a wild, untamed land. The population was sparse, and the new magical system was still in its infancy. Even after a hundred years, many regions remained unknown, and many plants and animals were unfamiliar and dangerous to humans.
It was pioneers like Modir who measured the land with their own feet, turning every inch of wilderness into a place where future generations could live in peace. Without a doubt, he was one of the greatest among them.
Centuries have passed, and the once wild lands are now dotted with smoke from countless hearths. The gray-leafed tuber Modir recorded now provides a quarter of the food supply for the entire Cecil Empire.
The Journal of Modir is filled with countless thrilling and spine-chilling tales, mesmerizing adventures that captivate the imagination. Yet, nestled between those dazzling chapters that would catch the eye of playwrights and bards alike, there are far more passages of a different sort—dry, matter-of-fact records: where to find food, where to gather herbs, the locations of mines, which monsters can be handled by ordinary troops and which require special tactics, the layout of forests, the courses of rivers… Modir may not have set out on his first journey with any grand purpose in mind, but that never stopped his lifetime of adventures from becoming a magnificent legacy.
And yet, this great adventurer had forgotten it all.
He couldn’t even recall discovering anything truly worth remembering. He only knew he was an adventurer, and driven by that feeling, he kept moving from one distant place to another, then forgetting each adventure as he embarked on the next…
Modir chuckled softly. He still didn’t understand what earth-shattering deeds he had accomplished back then to earn such an incredible reputation. But since Gawain Cecil himself had said it, Modir chose to believe it was true.
He had received the recognition of the greatest pioneer and adventurer in the world.
“You are the greatest adventurer,” the white-haired old man said happily, as if stating an undeniable truth to Gawain. “Maybe I did achieve something in my day, but I set out in a time of peace built by pioneers before me. You, however, have blazed a trail through the wastelands left by the magical storms…”
That was Gawain Cecil’s achievement.
Gawain felt a twinge of awkwardness and shook his head. “That was a long time ago.”
“You are still forging new paths,” Modir said solemnly. “The Commonwealth Alliance, the transcontinental trade routes, the era of exchange and commerce, the schools, factories, and government offices… all of this is because of you. Your pioneering and adventuring continue, but I… I know I have been standing still.”
“No one truly stands still. We all just take a pause somewhere along life’s journey—some longer, some shorter.”
“You’re right. A true adventurer can’t be too pessimistic,” Modir blinked, then looked down at himself. “But what has happened to me? This ‘pause’ of mine has lasted far too long…”
Gawain didn’t answer directly. Instead, he turned to Amber, who stood just behind him. “Have you noticed anything?”
Amber’s gaze fixed on Modir, her expression unusually serious. After a moment, she stepped forward slightly. “I do sense a very, very faint connection to ‘that place,’ but I can’t be certain yet. I need to run a test, sir. Please cooperate.”
As she spoke, she raised her hand and gently rubbed her fingertips together.
Grayish-white sand appeared out of thin air, flowing down like water.
(End of chapter)