Surviving The Fourth Calamity
Chapter 438 - 237: Life in the World, the Wheel of Fortune Turns

Chapter 438: Chapter 237: Life in the World, the Wheel of Fortune Turns

Hill remembered that once he saw his daughter leave without looking back, his Ancestral Bear ancestor took off without hesitation a few days later.

The Earth Bear was not a species known for its innate subtlety; to be this alert must have required countless lessons learned the hard way.

Hill sighed: "Maybe an Earth Bear had suffered a loss.

It’s good to keep a bit of reservation toward everyone. Not all humans are bad, but trusting only a tenth of the people you meet can still lead to disaster.

From now on, only use my alchemy products and never randomly use anything else.

Some people’s items, even if they haven’t been used for tracking yet, definitely could be.

Maybe it’s just for precaution, but the benefits that an Earth Bear can bring are enough for some weak-willed people to abandon their morals and future.

Even if bad reputation spreads, Earth Bears don’t fall within the scope of many people’s righteous indignation.

And if there’s a fortune that ensures their future, reputation becomes less significant."

Aurelio nodded, then sat back down and ate a few more of his favorite foods before licking his paws to finish.

He stood up and said to Hill: "I’ll return as soon as possible. If a year later, you haven’t heard a call, I’ll come back to find you. You won’t be leaving here for a while, right?"

"No." Hill replied straightforwardly, "There’s no way the dwarves will fail so quickly. I’m waiting to see their outcome."

Aurelio smiled slightly: "If the dwarves are wiped out, we will celebrate! Next time, I already know the fastest route here; it will only take a few months, don’t worry!"

Hill glanced at the bear who took years to find this place, pondering how long he must have spent eating fish in the sea.

"I will keep tidying up here to set up a small camp. When you arrive, come straight here! As soon as you get here, I’ll know." Hill thought it over and decided that he couldn’t let Aurelio wander around looking for him.

Although there were no relic fragments, his presence still made them usable. A magic array was too easy for Hill.

Creating a camp that only an Earth Bear could enter wasn’t difficult!

He just needed to go back to the Magic Tower to get some crystal stones.

Aurelio was excited, happy to have a place where he could sleep and wait.

He didn’t really like searching for people; even with his sharp bear nose, he still preferred smelling food.

With their next meeting already arranged, Aurelio once again bid farewell to Hill, leaping swiftly across the river and crashing into the rocks on the opposite bank.

Hill watched him leave and blinked. When he leaped toward the earth, did he also give people the impression of smashing into a mountain to end his life?

The earth and rocks didn’t separate but instead assimilated into them.

It seemed rather interesting.

Hill looked up, watching the golden and purple crystals reflected in his eyes, gritting his teeth.

Hill had never been one to extract wealth from every opportunity, but this time, he had to mine these crystals completely.

Without the World Tree Fragment, the earthly energy in these crystals would eventually dissipate. It was better for Hill to excavate them all and make some hard-earned money.

Hill smiled wryly, remembering how he used to happily watch William mine, never imagining the tables would turn, and it would be his turn.

While Hill was diligently mining, he didn’t notice the bear head briefly appearing on the cliff behind him.

Aurelio had intended to return and remind Hill not to mention their matters to any humans.

Instead, he saw the supposedly wealthy Hill lying on the cave’s roof mining.

He quietly retreated, turning to leave.

Even if it was revealed, it wouldn’t matter. Many knew where the Earth Bears were at the World’s End!

Besides, their clan leader was the most cunning among Earth Bears, and his descendants wouldn’t be that foolish.

Aurelio felt a bit sad; he thought Hill was truly that wealthy!

It seemed that the crystals and supplies he gave were essentially all Hill had.

How valuable could those crystals be? Watching the thin and small Hill working so hard to mine them himself was disheartening!

Aurelio sighed, running with effort: Earth Bears might lack crystals, but other materials and treasures were plentiful. The only issue was finding a market to sell them, as they didn’t want to deal with other races.

He needed to hurry back and bring more things for Hill next time.

Wasn’t Hill an Alchemist Master? With materials, he could definitely make money!

They couldn’t let a bear cub sacrifice so much for the clan, to the point of being unable to afford food!

Hill diligently mined; this couldn’t be done with spells.

Even dangling upside down, using puppets wasn’t an option.

Besides, except for his Legendary Puppet and the cooking puppet, he had already given the others to Aurelio.

Hill would only send his alchemy products to the Earth Bear side.

This had nothing to do with trust.

Once he told the Earth Bear that only his items would be sent over, he wouldn’t include anything else.

Hill buried himself in the cave, mining for days.

Luckily, he was strong and had enough stamina.

He didn’t feel lonely either; Agleya talked to Hill daily, and Lily of the Valley would sing and accompany him!

When tired of mining, Hill organized the island, trying to establish a small underground ecosystem near the luminous moss above.

Although he had given most of the soil from his own valley to Aurelio’s cedar tree, Hill still found some to cultivate branches of Lily of the Valley and Windmill Jasmine.

Though not suitable for trees, some small shrubs accustomed to growing under large trees could survive well.

They were used to the lack of daylight and could thrive with just a bit of light.

Hill planted seeds of sweet-bearing shrubs, hoping that by the time Aurelio returned in a year, he could eat them directly.

Given the damp and dark underground, Hill crafted small houses from sea shells to use as storage.

These houses weren’t big enough to take to the Earth Bear side, but they were useful for storing things here.

Hill waited for a few more days before List finally informed him that he could return to the valley.

While Lily of the Valley couldn’t be used for direct conversation, they could hear each other, serving as a unique communication device.

So, despite being away from the valley for a long time, Hill was well-informed about its affairs.

Although each communication consumed Lily of the Valley’s magic power, it didn’t last long but was enough for Hill.

Hill pondered, believing that flying the cloud ship back to the valley wouldn’t keep him hidden for long, and flying himself was out of the question.

He couldn’t resort to mass killing just because someone blocked his way.

The troublesome aspect of a kind alignment was that anyone dared to secretly take a shot, knowing they wouldn’t die.

However, if momentary challenges could shake his alignment, Hill wouldn’t have persisted for so long.

Hill sighed, deciding to travel directly underground to the teleportation array outside Central City.

Then, using a disguise, he would rush straight into the teleportation array.

Hill donned a mage robe bought from the Undead Tribe and placed a scroll of Fire Element Legendary Spell with strong fluctuations in his pocket.

Sure enough, there were people watching outside the teleportation array.

After all, Hill was arguably the master of teleportation; if he wanted to return to the valley, teleporting was the most likely option.

Hill walked with the reckless steps of the undead, following a group into the teleportation array.

The undead clearly knew what those people outside were up to and ridiculed them: "Look at those fools, wearing undead robes, looking so ugly!"

"That’s just a reflection of their inner selves. Sneaky and never up to any good."

"Hill should’ve been back a long time ago, right?"

"No one saw him return to the valley, but even if he did, he wouldn’t leave the Magic Tower!"

"Are they really going to achieve anything? They wouldn’t recognize Hill even if he used the teleportation array."

"So, why send such obvious no-gooders to monitor?"

"They probably found people sensitive to natural auras to watch, but such people rarely deal with outsiders."

"Does this mean they’re likely all half-elves?"

"Who knows? Anyway, they’re not good people, so ignore them!"

"We’re headed to Hill Valley! Ignore this trash!"

Hill quietly followed the group of undead heading to his territory, finally arriving at the small town. He slipped into a corner and sank underground, finally home!

He re-entered through the Earth Elemental’s domain beneath the Magic Tower.

List was already waiting there: "Sir, welcome home."

"You’ve had it rough these past days," Hill said with a smile, "Those guys must have been annoying."

"Sorcerer Tower people came a few times." List smiled, "I simply told them that our master’s greatest feature is never meddling in others’ business.

The Half-Elf Kingdom sent gifts once, which I accepted, but also conveyed that our master had no intention of reminiscing with their queen.

Another party realized our master had no plans to meddle and went back to the Forest of the Elves. Having done what they were asked to offend you, they still hadn’t received their promised reward from the Moon Elves.

Now, they’re waiting for the Divine King’s will.

The competition for the Lord of the Moon Elves position is said to be fierce.

Mr. Adrian overheard from those half-elves that the contenders are mostly female Moon Elves, as it’s the most direct path to becoming God Queen of Elves.

If the Divine King wishes to connect more deeply with this world before the awakening of the Goddess of the Earth, he needs an heir with a Moon Elven bloodline."

Although List had mentioned these matters to Hill before, he reiterated them thoroughly to avoid any omissions.

They silently walked to the floating staircase, returning to Hill’s study: "How many crystals do I still have?"

List calculated: "You only took half from the tower this time. It has already replenished one-tenth."

"Sell as many crystals as possible!" Hill waved his hand, "Take out the reserved items I’ve set aside and sell them too!"