Perhaps it was because the Gray Mists would not invade the underground world even without the barrier’s protection.
The underground folks did not have an intuitive feeling of “we were being protected by two deitydesses” even though their birth, the development of the underground world, and many underlying technologies in the underground world were blessings from the two deitydesses.
Instead, the underground folks would see it as “a matter of the ancestors”. After all, hundreds of years had passed.
That was far too distant.
The underground world had no national traditions. Many underground dwellers did not even know how the federation was built or when they started living underground. Worse still, many people were illiterate, and the educated rate was relatively poor. This country had the lowest literacy rate among all other countries.
After all, the Mysterious Lady and the Silent Lady were upright deities who were not very keen on education. Many of their priests were mystics or elitists.
As for the deities in comparison, Silver Sire knew that it was necessary to improve the quality of the general public to promote trade and increase consumption power. As the Deity of Tradition, Old Grandmother taught her descendants to read books and learn life skills. Then, there was the Elegant Elder, the Deity of Art. Although his people were biased toward continuing the legacy of artisans or folk artists, they were generally educated.
There wasn’t much to comment on the Papal Kingdom. Although the seven upright deities were cooperative and had a good relationship, the priests under them were not like this. Each church had racked its brains to compete for new blood and resources, conducting various plans, events, and festivals. The benefit of providing free education has been given since hundreds of years ago.
However, the underground world was different.
The underground world had a group of outstanding “Wise”, and the people at the bottom lived quite happily. Coupled with the possibility of becoming a “Digger” and getting rich overnight, very few people had the patience to study. Anyone who could become the Wise was a powerhouse with both will and talent.
In this environment, ordinary people did not even know their country’s history.
There was no “standard examination” designated. The citizens had sufficient resources, no pressure in life, and even a life-gambling shortcut to becoming a big shot was available. This led to the lack of desire and motivation for ordinary people to learn.
In hundreds of years, nine generations had passed.
This was enough to have short-lived mortals forget the past kindness.
The underground folks no longer recognized the status of the priest as being higher than the regular citizens. Funds were no longer provided for the church construction, and the believers of the Mysterious Lady could no longer directly become a Wise. These were the new rules that just appeared in the last decade.
Of course, since it saved urban expenses and led to the reduction of tax rates, the public generally supported this.
Ordinary people did not know what the Gray Mists were, what harm they had, and what their ancestors owed to the two deitydesses. Their perception of nightmares was “not to be involved”. They did not understand the transcended world at all. The priests of the two deitydesses were unlike the Silver Sire priests who “served with a smile”. Instead, they monopolized the federation’s education, publicity, and financial resources.
The people’s understanding of the church was “dispensable”.
If the nightmares couldn’t be purified, they would move.
However, they could feel the benefits of tax cuts directly.
Those in power want to gather power, and ordinary people want to pay fewer taxes. So everyone had what they wanted.
As a result, the priests of the two deitydesses were driven out of the underground world instead.
However, these two deitydesses were kind, or they simply did not care. Their presence was not prominent in the territory, and they wouldn’t punish the folks for betraying them. This was also one of the reasons why the underground folks dared to do so.
If their deities were the grumpy Father Flint, Red Knight, Motherly Moth, or Cup-holding Lady with an unpredictable personality, they would naturally not dare to do this.
As a direct consequence of not having churches, there would be no authorities of any kind other than Digger and the Wise. Coupled with the abundant resources in the underground world and the above-ground world did not bother to invade them, these folks could live comfortably.
However, no one would be willing to sacrifice their lives to purify the nightmare for them.
Even if someone purified the nightmare, they only did so to improve their strength. To make the nightmare last longer, the person who had cleansed the nightmare would not leak the “strategy”. Instead, the nightmare was preserved as a resource, or they would deplete it in one go.
In a sense, the underground people are like the players’ economics.
Hearing what Nieusel said, Lin Yiyi immediately had this thought.
“So, can I ask a question?” Since the conversation had reached this point, Nieusel did not hide anything anymore.
He asked curiously, “How many times have you died in Sporeggar Mill? Can you tell me?”
“There are about 70 deaths in total.” Lin Yiyi thought for a moment and replied, “My younger brother has died more than 30 times.”
Hearing Lin Yiyi’s words, Nieusel was stunned.
His hand that raised the teacup stopped. Then, he looked at Lin Yiyi steadfastly as if he had been petrified.
Nieusel seemed to hear something unbelievable, “Is he your younger brother?”
“Ya, blood-related brother.” Lin Yiyi replied positively, “My brother is two years younger than me.”
“So, has he died at Sporeggar Mill over 30 times?” Nieusel seemingly only knew how to repeat Lin Yiyi’s words.
Lin Yiyi nodded.
“Right about 30 times only.” She smiled and said naturally, “Our plan is not to leave until we resolve the nightmare.”
Nieusel opened his mouth but closed it again.
For a moment, he did not know what to say.
She saw with her own eyes that her own brother had one-third of his soul eroded by the nightmare. Furthermore, the nightmare was not even in their own country or the city where they lived.
He expanded his soul as a painful price for a group of strangers who had never met and would never see each other again.
Even so, he still did not give up.
Even a social butterfly like Nieusel was speechless for a while. He did not know whether he should comfort Miss Yiyi or praise her brother as a warrior. He felt he did not seem to have the position to say such a thing.
The original joyful mood gradually calmed down because of this shame and embarrassment.
The big boy was silent for a while, then stood up.
He bowed deeply to Lin Yiyi.
“Thank you very much.” Nieusel looked down at Lin Yiyi, who was in a daze, and said seriously, “I would like to thank you for the people of this city.
“I know my gratitude is nothing, and I can’t help you. It’s hypocritical to say my thanks. But please take it as a personal tribute. It’s not emotional blackmail, and I don’t expect you to purify this nightmare. If you want to leave, I will never stop you.
“And you will always be my friends.”
“You’re blowing it out of proportion.” Lin Yiyi did not react in time. She smiled a little embarrassedly, “It’s just to purify the nightmare. This is our task and our mission.”
She was referring to establishing a teleportation waypoint.
“Our other colleagues will come here later. After all, there are many nightmares in the underground world.”
What she meant was to grind [1] the dungeon instance.
“…What.” Then, Nieusel remembered.
Nefertari said they were members of the Sun Church and followers of light.
Are they trying to bring light to the lightless underworld?
Or is it to illuminate the darkness deep in our hearts and let us understand how humble we are?
That’s deeply respectable.
He shook his head, sat down again, and said in a deep voice, “I understand.
“But I don’t quite understand why your mission is to help us purify our nightmares. I mean, why Sporeggar Mill?”
“I don’t know that either.” Lin Yiyi said frankly, “This is about our leader. You can understand it this way. Our leader determines the location.
“He should be here soon. If you want to know, I’ll ask the leader if he can chat with you alone.”
I don’t think there is anything wrong with saying this.
Not to mention that the underground folks might have already guessed Annan’s identity. Even if Annan’s identity can’t be revealed, the name “Ghirlandaio” can be made public.
In fact, Annan is supposed to come down after a stroll. It should be fine if he arrives in a different batch than the three other players. I just don’t know if Annan is occupied by something else…
“Your leader?” Nieusel murmured.
Is the leader of the ancient mysterious organization coming to Sporeggar Mill?
As an Overseer, Nieusel immediately felt the pressure.
Although it might seem a little naive or they might be bluffed, Nieusel, at this instance—at least before communicating with Nefertari, would stubbornly believe that the members of this organization were kind.
He was so stubborn, a man as simple as a golden retriever.