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Chapter 61: You Did Great Today
For a while after that, the riverbank echoed with the clinking sounds of metal striking against hard shells.
The two of them worked with clear division of labor.
Lance was responsible for prying open the back shells with brute force and sawing off the crab claws—only he had the strength for such physically demanding tasks.
Meanwhile, Cecilia endured the fishy stench as she searched through the viscous cavities for those yellow stones.
Lance’s movements were swift. The skinning knife in his hand seemed almost alive, each cut precisely finding the weakest connecting points of the crab shell.
In contrast, Cecilia beside him appeared somewhat absent-minded.
She mechanically rinsed a freshly dug-out yellow stone in the river water before placing it into her storage pouch.
But her mind was still replaying the battle from earlier. The more she recalled it, the more she felt that her senior was incredible.
“Senior…”
After hesitating for a long time, the girl finally couldn’t hold back and spoke.Her voice was soft, carrying a hint of confusion.
“When those twenty-something Stone-Shell River Crabs charged at us just now, it looked so terrifying… why weren’t you afraid at all?”
Thinking back to that massive claw capable of crushing rocks, the moment it smashed down against the shield with a howling force—
Cecilia subconsciously imagined herself in that position.
If it had been her standing there, that single blow would have likely shattered her bones, or even killed her on the spot.
She thought perhaps her senior had some special trick for overcoming fear.
“I was afraid, of course.”
Lance answered almost instantly, without even pausing his work.
“I was scared to death.”
“Eh?”
Cecilia froze, her eyes filled with astonishment.
According to the teachings of her family elders, the strong should never admit fear.
Wasn’t fear a sign of weakness? Wasn’t it something to be cast aside?
So why did her senior admit it so directly?
Just as her mind was short-circuiting, Lance pried open another shell.
“It’s precisely because I was afraid of being ripped open by those claws that I took the time before the fight to carefully observe the width of that rock crevice.”
“I had to make sure the angle was narrow enough—so narrow that only two monsters could attack me at the same time.”
Lance tapped his temple with a gloved finger.
“And it’s also because I fear death that I never dare to underestimate any monster. Even the lowest Slime or Goblin—I treat every battle with the seriousness of a lion hunting a rabbit.”
“Fear isn’t something to be ashamed of.”
“On the contrary, it keeps you clear-headed. It makes you think one more step ahead before you swing your sword.”
In her senior’s view, fear wasn’t weakness?
It was even a driving force for survival?
For a brief moment—
Cecilia suddenly felt as though her soul resonated faintly with the man before her.
That connection was fleeting, like a thin thread that lightly touched before snapping.
She felt like she understood something… yet not quite.
What Cecilia didn’t know was that the souls of Elves were pure and clear, but lacking in turbulence. Thus, when their Flowering Period arrived, they developed a desire for self-completion.
The more disciplined and noble an Elf was, the more they would be drawn to drastically different souls—this was also why Syl had been worried about the Blond Brat.
By the time Cecilia finally gathered all fifteen task tokens, six pairs of processed crab claws had already been piled at Lance’s feet.
“That’s about enough.”
Lance stood up, shaking his slightly sore wrists.
“The last task is right under our feet.”
“Streamglow Stones are a special type of associated mineral. These Stone-Shell River Crabs like to lie on them under the sun, absorbing trace elements to reinforce their shells.”
He rummaged through the rocks along the riverbank for a moment before quickly picking up a white stone with faint mica-like patterns on its surface.
“When ground into powder, this makes an excellent catalyst for crafting illumination-type magical tools.”
With a physical reference in hand, Cecilia quickly grasped how to identify them.
The two bent over and continued working on the dimming riverbank for a while longer.
By the time the clouds at the horizon were dyed in brilliant gold and crimson, all three commissions were finally completed.
It was time to head back.
Using the rope he had brought, Lance skillfully stacked three massive petrified crab shells together and firmly tied them onto his back.
From a distance, he looked like he was carrying a giant turtle shell.
After securing his own load, he turned to look at Cecilia.
“Turn around.”
Cecilia obediently turned her back.
Lance picked up two slightly smaller shells and threaded rope through the holes along their edges.
He first tied one to the back of her backpack, then hung the other in front of her chest.
As the knots tightened, the originally slender half-elf girl instantly looked bulkier.
With one shell pressed against her chest and another on her back, she looked exactly like a freshly hatched little turtle.
Though the appearance was comical, it freed up her hands as much as possible and ensured her balance while walking.
Lance took two steps back and, under the glow of the setting sun, carefully looked at the girl before him.
Where was the refined appearance she had when she first arrived?
Her gray-brown coarse cloak was now covered in stains, with several tears from branches when she had hidden in the bushes.
Her once clean gloves had long turned dark gray, smeared with crab fluids and mud.
Her leather boots were in an even worse state, coated in a layer of dried, cracked mud.
For convenience while working, she had taken off her hood, revealing her slightly messy silver hair.
The girl was lowering her head, clumsily and forcefully tying the rope at her waist, trying to secure the heavy crab shell on her chest.
At some point, several streaks of black dirt had gotten smeared across her face—likely from wiping sweat without removing her gloves—making her look like a little kitten that had crawled out of a chimney.
There was a kind of innocent clumsiness about her that was both amusing and endearing.
As Lance watched, a gentle smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of his lips.
He lightly shook his head, silently reflecting.
In the end, he had still judged others through tinted lenses.
Today, his mindset had changed several times.
From initial rejection and disdain, to realizing his own mistake, to now looking at her with newfound respect.
It proved that one should never underestimate anyone’s determination.
The seemingly fragile girl before him had adapted to the environment even better than he had back then.
“Cecilia.”
Lance suddenly spoke.
The girl lifted her head in confusion, her dirty little face full of puzzlement.
“You did great today!”
Lance spoke sincerely, raising his right hand and giving her a big thumbs-up.
Hearing the praise, Cecilia’s eyes instantly curved into crescents, revealing a bright, heartfelt smile.
But soon, her gaze fell on Lance’s strange hand gesture.
It was a clenched fist with only the thumb extended upward.
“Senior, this gesture… does it have some special meaning?”
She hadn’t seen this before?
Lance froze for a moment, then quickly realized it was likely a cultural difference between their worlds.
He smiled and explained, waving his thumb slightly under the sunset.
“In my hometown, if you think someone did very well—something amazing—you can make this gesture to them.”
“It represents the highest praise and recognition.”
“I see!”
Cecilia suddenly understood.
She looked at Lance’s raised thumb, her eyes sparkling.
Then, imitating him, she stretched out her dirty hand and forcefully raised her own thumb straight toward him.
Her voice was clear and pleasant, echoing across the empty riverbank.
“Then Senior, you did great today too!”
“Super great!”
The evening breeze swept across the riverbank, tousling the girl’s silver-white hair. A few stray strands playfully brushed across her mud-stained yet smiling face.
At that moment—
The golden-red sunset seemed to cast a soft, warm frame over this gentle scene.