Chapter 2: The Intangible Cage

Lindsey was taken aback.

He had seen many beautiful girls, and even more in the game.

But when such a stunning beauty looked at him with a gaze that seemed to pierce his soul in reality, Lindsey couldn't help but be moved.

"I, yes, this is your dinner."

"Tomorrow is the [Harvest Day], and tonight is the eve of celebration. The village has prepared food for you as well."

Lindsey was genuinely shocked, but his mindset, shaped by a lifetime of experience, allowed him to recover quickly.

He immediately regained his composure:

"And, hello."

Lindsey walked into the mill and handed the food to the girl.

At the same time, he was observing the girl with the astonishing beauty.

She was sitting on a sack of grain, wearing a suit of bright silver armor, but without the usual sword. When Lindsey entered, she was propping her face with one hand, smiling as she watched his movements.

Something felt off, somehow.

"Thank you."

Before Lindsey could think it through, the girl thanked him but didn't stand up from the ground.

She took the food with a quick motion and started eating while still sitting on the sack.

The law knight who came to the village today…

The guest of the village…

Lindsey connected these two pieces of information, and a bold idea came to mind.

"Are you… the law knight?"

"…"

"Ha—"

The air in the mill was silent for a second, then broken by the girl's laughter.

"Ha ha ha!"

Lindsey's question seemed to have hit a nerve.

The blonde girl laughed heartily, and the violent movement made her choke on the food she had just eaten.

"Cough! Cough cough cough!"

Seeing this, Lindsey knew he had made a mistake.

He hurriedly went to help the girl, patting her back, but the sound of his hand hitting the metal armor was crisp and clear.

"I just guessed wrong about your identity. Is that question really so funny?"

"No, I'm sorry." The blonde girl stood up from the ground, shaking her head and smiling at Lindsey. "It's just that the term 'law knight' seems a bit sudden when applied to me."

Lindsey continued, unwilling to give up:

"If you're not the law knight, you must have come with him, right?"

This time, the girl didn't contradict him but confirmed Lindsey's guess:

"Yes, you're not wrong about that."

"But, child, you must have a reason for asking this, not just out of curiosity about my identity, right?"

The girl's question went straight to the heart of the matter.

And when she asked the follow-up question, her eyes became intensely probing.

Lindsey wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the curiosity and investigative desire in her eyes seemed to fill the space of the mill with a tangible presence.

Lindsey thought carefully and decided not to lie, answering honestly:

"I want to know how to become an Awakened."

"…"

"Baggett wouldn't let an Awakened with no self-defense ability near me. So, you must be an Awakened who awakened on your own."

Trouble!

Just one answer, and Lindsey felt a sense of crisis.

But as he was thinking about how to get out of this situation,

"Relax, I have no ill intentions toward you."

The blonde girl didn't try to control or threaten Lindsey.

Instead, she sat down on the ground, even patting the ground to invite Lindsey to sit with her.

Then, she explained frankly:

"To put it simply, I am the prisoner of the law knight you mentioned. I am currently being secretly transported and restrained here."

Lindsey scanned the mill.

It was empty, and the girl showed no signs of being bound by chains or any other restraints. What kind of prisoner was this?

"Restraint? Prisoner?"

The blonde girl saw Lindsey's confusion and decided to demonstrate. She reached out to touch the wall.

Crack!

Instantly, golden light burst from the mill's walls, and her fingers were repelled by the light.

Lindsey was amazed by this magical scene:

"What… is this?"

The girl explained without hesitation:

"The law of the law knight, which is the restraint on me."

Lindsey couldn't help but ask:

"Is there no other way for you to escape?"

"There is." The girl glanced at Lindsey, her eyes playful. "If I pinned you down, an Awakened like you, and drained the essence from your body, I could escape without any problem."

Lindsey remembered their earlier conversation.

He suddenly realized:

"Wait, you said I'm an Awakened. What do you mean by that?"

The blonde girl replied:

"Exactly what it means. You have already awakened."

"Ha?!" Lindsey couldn't accept this. "What kind of joke is this? I'm an Awakened? How is that possible?"

The girl, however, was firm in her response:

"Think about it. Today is the day to feel the essence and awaken. You must have some special quality that you haven't noticed yet."

"I can't be wrong about this!"

Lindsey was about to argue but fell silent the next second.

Because today, he had awakened his memories from his previous life.

No matter how many wondrous experiences there are in the world, this was undoubtedly a miracle.

"See, you figured it out yourself."

Lindsey's silence made the girl very happy.

But she didn't mock his slowness. Instead, she continued to advise him:

"However, child, I must remind you. Self-awakening is a very precious talent, and you must make good use of it."

Lindsey noticed the key point in her words:

"Self-awakening?"

The girl explained without reservation:

"Every ten years, the essence in the world becomes active, and those with exceptional talent can awaken at this moment. Those with slightly less talent can still awaken with the help of a powerful person."

As she spoke, she pointed to herself:

"A long time ago, I was one of those with slightly less talent, who could only awaken with the help of others."

The girl had made her point clear, and Lindsey's question changed accordingly:

"Since I have already awakened, why do I have no special abilities? Both Master Bai Lin and the village chief can do many wondrous things."

Lindsey's question made the girl laugh again.

She playfully hit the mill's weathered walls, but was immediately stopped by the golden light.

"Tsk!"

The girl glared fiercely at the golden lines on the wall.

Then she turned back to explain:

"Communicating with the essence only means you have the energy to perform techniques."

"Those wondrous abilities of various schools require each person to train and cultivate their skills to manifest their true effects."

Like having magic or energy points but not knowing any spells.

Lindsey immediately understood his current situation from a gamer's perspective.

A new question followed:

"Where should I go to learn these skills?"

The girl gave a reassuring answer:

"Once you become an Awakened, you have a lifetime to explore your own skills. Or you can join a school based on your self-awakening talent. Believe me, this is very popular. In short, this is not a problem…"

As she spoke, the girl suddenly raised her eyebrows.

She looked toward the center of the village, and her conversation changed:

"Child, you should go back now."

"The law that restrains me has been triggered several times. Baggett will definitely come to check. His mind, twisted by the law, is almost inhuman. If he sees you, you'll be in big trouble."

The law knight is not someone to be trifled with.

Lindsey knew he should leave.

But before saying goodbye to the girl prisoner, he had two more questions:

"Didn't you say you could control me and extract my essence? Why didn't you do that?"

The girl answered with a straightforward tone:

"If I forcibly took your essence and escaped, the law knight would consider this as aiding a fugitive. He would then label this village as a rebel camp and start a purge of the rebels."

"I wouldn't escape at the cost of others' safety!"

Lindsey asked his second question:

"What crime did you commit?"

Facing a child, the prisoner did not lie or deceive, and even offered friendly advice.

From the entire conversation, Lindsey didn't think she was a vicious criminal.

"You're asking what crime I committed?"

Since they met, the girl scratched her cheek in confusion for the first time, then propped her head with her right arm:

"Um… attempting to overthrow the dynasty?"

"But to be honest, I don't really think it's a crime."

At this moment, the girl propped her cheek with one hand and pulled the food tray to her with the other, picking up a piece of bread and putting it in her mouth.

It was because of this action with both arms open that Lindsey saw the emblem on the girl's chest armor—a pattern of a sword, thorns, and a book intertwined.

—Thorned Sword of Justice.

The emblem of the ruler of the City of Law, the Just King, from "The Young King's Righteous Journey."

The emblem of the world's ruler on a prisoner's armor?

And the person responsible for transporting her was none other than the law knight who should be serving this emblem!

Lindsey didn't want to dwell on this obviously dangerous question.

Saying goodbye to the girl in the mill, he immediately walked back to the village, his mind in turmoil.

"Awakened, law knight, rebellion…"

As Lindsey muttered these words and returned to the center of the village,

He saw the giant deer made of straw, a symbol of the harvest, lying on the ground.

A knight was standing on the deer's head, his demeanor imposing and authoritative!

(End of Chapter)