Honorary Elder (Part 1)

"You, you, you!" Darkya was fuming, her face flushed with anger. She had just made an ambiguous statement in front of so many people, and the gazes around her had shifted awkwardly. Darkya was about to draw her weapon and challenge Ryan to a duel, but unfortunately, she had no weapon on hand. If you excluded her nails and teeth, Ryan was now a great hero of Mu'an City, so Darkya had to swallow her anger.

Ryan was feeling quite smug, though he didn't show it, instead feigning confusion as he circled around Darkya, sizing her up and clicking his tongue. He then dejectedly said to Darkya, "You can go now."

Everyone stopped in their tracks, and Darkya blinked in confusion, asking, "You're letting me go? Why?" Darkya felt a bit suspicious. Human greed and lust were infamous, and she wondered if Ryan had some hidden agenda. Having witnessed Ryan's method of dealing with the kobolds, she felt a bit uneasy. As the saying goes, "You fear thieves not when they steal, but when they covet." So Darkya decided to get to the bottom of it.

"Forget it, I won't say anything," Ryan said, feigning reluctance, then shook his head.

The more Ryan acted this way, the more uneasy Darkya felt, so she pressed, "Why not? Is there something you're hiding?" Her curiosity was piqued—after all, curiosity could kill a cat.

"Do you really want me to say it?" Ryan asked, looking at Darkya, who nodded firmly.

"Yes, you have to say it!"

Ryan sighed in apparent unwillingness, "It's not that. You wear a mask all the time, so there must be some kind of defect. Maybe you're so ugly you'll scare people to death. If you become my maid and I die from the shock at night, that would be a disaster. I still want to live a long life."

Darkya froze for a moment, then yanked off her mask, pointing to her flawless face and shouting, "Ugly? Is this ugly? Let me tell you, Darkya is extremely beautiful! This mask is a mid-tier alchemical work, not to hide my ugliness!" Elves were known for their love of beauty, and Darkya, as a strong elf, would not tolerate any insults to her appearance.

"Well, it's not bad, you still have some charm. Alright then, you can go," Ryan said, glancing at Darkya's alluring face. Though she had lived underground for a long time, her pale complexion did not detract from her beauty. Her sharp features, slightly sickly pallor, dark, deep eyes, double eyelids, delicate red lips, and long lashes earned her a score of 90 in Ryan's mind. Though her temper was a bit fiery, her beauty was undeniable. Still, he noted, her ears were a little big and pointed, but that was typical for elves.

Realizing what had just happened, Darkya covered her face and burst into tears, leaving Ryan feeling embarrassed. The onlookers exchanged strange looks, most of them with envious gazes directed at Ryan. At this moment, Kobe stepped forward and whispered to Ryan, "Darkya swore an oath that anyone who can make her take off her mask would be the one she marries. If I had known, I would have used this trick too." Kobe's envious tone made Ryan uncomfortable.

"You? That girl would beat you senseless," Ryan retorted, though deep down, a part of him felt some stirrings of desire.

"Hmph! Don't get ahead of yourself. Dark elves only marry other dark elves. There's never been intermarriage," Kobe warned with a sneer.

Ryan rolled his eyes and asked, "Has there never been a case of intermarriage with a dark elf?"

"There has been, but only once. To marry a dark elf, one must be an Honorary Elder of the Elf clan, someone who has made great contributions to the dark elves, someone who could save their race. In the history of the Dark Region, the only one who ever married a dark elf was an 8th-level human space mage. He was the guardian of the entrance to the Dark Region, but unfortunately, he died a few years after marrying the dark elf," Kobe explained.

Hearing this, Ryan sighed, "I was just joking. With the elf race's thousand-year lifespans, I may not even become a legendary mage in my lifetime. I don't want my wife to end up a widow." In truth, Ryan was just a bit reluctant, like a person on the street admiring a beautiful woman—they know it's only fleeting. Ryan, having lived two lives, knew which thoughts were worth entertaining and which were not.

Kobe scoffed inwardly. "Humans are so hypocritical," he thought.

The next period of time passed quietly, with no monsters appearing. Meanwhile, Ryan continued experimenting with the kobold mages, which intrigued him. The kobolds were capable of casting instant magic, and the variety was astounding—acid, wind blades, earth spikes, and poison smoke, creating a veritable magic mishmash. What Ryan was most curious about was how the kobold mages managed to cast magic so quickly. He discovered that they drew strange patterns on their bodies using the blood of fire-type beasts, along with insects, plants, and minerals that Ryan didn't recognize. When the pattern was successfully drawn with needles, the kobold could unleash fire magic.

Just as Ryan was deep in his research, someone outside the lab called for him. Ryan, frustrated, sighed. His experiment was at a critical moment.

"Ryan, someone from the Elven Capital is here. They seem to want to discuss something with you," Kobe said, his expression a bit strange, as though something unbelievable had happened.