Federal Calendar 7708, November 5th, noon.

Loren flew out of the Interstellar Hunter Association’s castle, holding Ayla Morningstar in his arms.

The two of them gently landed outside the castle’s main gate.

At the same time, the hundred-meter-tall War Treant also slowly bent its waist and placed its rough, hard giant hand on the ground.

From the rough, wooden giant hand, four figures wearing grayish-green robes descended.

A strong figure walked at the very front; the wide, grayish-green robe couldn’t conceal the muscular lines of his body.

His face was covered in an exaggerated white beard. He wore a grayish-green robe, an animal fur scarf around his neck, and a wreath headpiece woven from flowers on his head.

In his right hand, he held a staff sprouting tender buds.

Solon Linton, followed by his three female disciples, slowly walked up to Loren.

“Hello, young man walking the Path of Nature,” Solon Linton greeted with a smile, raising his hand in a friendly manner.

“Good day, Grand Druid Solon Linton,” Loren replied, slightly bowing and crossing his hands in a junior’s salute from the Nature Sect.

Seeing Loren’s greeting, Solon Linton’s eyes lit up, and his expression became even more benevolent.

He had thought that Loren, who didn’t practice Druidism as a secondary path, wouldn’t know the sect’s greeting etiquette, which was why he had chosen a normal greeting between people after landing.

But he hadn’t expected this young man to understand the true essence of nature so deeply…

“Good day, young man. I have come at the request of your mentor,” Solon Linton said, also slightly bowing and crossing one hand in the Nature Sect’s senior-to-junior return salute.

Seeing the other’s return salute, a bright, warm smile appeared on Loren’s face.

“My mentor has already informed me.”

After saying this, Loren released the hand of the little one beside him, who had been secretly sizing up Solon Linton. Gently stroking the little one’s head, he introduced,

“Her name is Ayla Morningstar.”

Solon Linton, who had noticed the little one long ago, gently half-squatted down upon hearing Loren’s introduction. He gave the little one an extremely benevolent smile, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes almost piling together.

“Hello, little girl Ayla. My name is Solon Linton. If you don’t mind, you can call me Grandpa Linton.”

The little one curiously examined the strong old man before her, hesitantly turning to look at Loren beside her.

Loren gave a slight nod.

The little one mustered her courage and tentatively called out, “Grandpa… Linton…”

The expression on Solon Linton’s face became even more kindly.

“Don’t let my appearance fool you, I’m actually over 300 years old…” he said softly, trying to ease the little one’s nervousness.

“Grandpa Linton, are all of you this strong? Will I become like this too when I grow up?”

The little one asked the question she was most concerned about with a troubled expression. She always felt a girl becoming like this would look rather unattractive…

Solon Linton kindly shook his head and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, little Ayla. You can become any form you like. Nature is diverse and colorful.”

“I promise you, little Ayla, when you grow up, you will become more beautiful than a butterfly.”

In fact, those favored by the two goddesses were never ugly…

“Actually, as long as I don’t turn into a muscle monster, it’s fine…” Ayla Morningstar muttered quietly.

Solon Linton heard the little one’s muttering. He shook his head with a chuckle and gently extended his large hand, placing it in front of the little one.

“Little Ayla, would you be willing to call me Mentor?” His face still wore that benevolent smile.

Ayla Morningstar looked up at Loren beside her, a slight unease in her eyes.

Loren withdrew his hand from the top of the little one’s head, slightly bent down, took her small hand, and solemnly placed it in Solon Linton’s large hand.

“Little one, in the Nature Sect, a mentor is like family,” Loren said softly.

Hearing Loren’s words, the unease in Ayla Morningstar’s heart lessened somewhat.

“Family?”

The little one recalled her unreliable father and the mother she had never seen, decisively shaking her head with distaste.

“Uh…” Loren also realized he had made an inappropriate analogy.

At that moment, Solon Linton’s kind voice sounded again:

“Little Ayla, if we compare you to a small sapling that has just broken through the ground, then a mentor means being the umbrella that shelters you from wind and rain until you grow into a tall, lush tree…”

“I would be delighted to see the day you grow into a towering tree…”

“By then, you too can become a mentor to others…”

“This is the inheritance of our nature…”

After hearing Solon Linton’s explanation, Ayla Morningstar seemed thoughtful.

“Can I trust you, Grandpa Linton?”

Solon Linton gave a slight nod, speaking with great solemnity:

“Nature will bear witness for us. I will shelter you from wind and rain until you no longer need me, little Ayla.”

Hearing Solon Linton’s assurance, a shy smile appeared on Ayla Morningstar’s little face. She called out softly:

“Mentor.”

Upon hearing Ayla Morningstar’s soft call, Solon Linton revealed a reassuring smile.

“Little Ayla, you will be my final disciple.”

As Solon Linton’s words fell, the spiritual energy and power within Loren’s body quietly began to circulate on their own, and his first ability also started to activate autonomously.

A massive amount of “Fortune” quietly attached itself to Loren.

[The vague vision foreseen by the Ninth Ability has now paid its cost.]

This time, the cost paid by “Guidance of Fate” was quite high, consuming four-fifths of Loren’s total energy.

Loren silently sensed the depletion within his body. Having a basic understanding of his Ninth Ability by now, he felt somewhat puzzled.

“Last time it was high because of that special stone slab, so this time, what is the reason?” Loren quietly buried this question in his heart.

After organizing his thoughts, Loren gazed at the benevolent-faced Solon Linton before him. His heart stirred, and he spoke up initiatively:

“Grand Druid Solon, regarding the little one’s situation, I need to explain it to you in detail.”

“Please speak, young man. That is precisely why I have come,” Solon Linton said with a smile.

Then, he waved over his three gentle-natured female disciples and asked them to take Ayla Morningstar to play for a while.

After Ayla Morningstar’s figure had moved away from the area, Solon Linton walked to Loren’s side and asked in a low voice:

“Has the Morningstar Family already come looking?”

Loren’s expression froze for a moment. Glancing at the other’s expression, it seemed the little one’s mother’s family was quite famous…

“They arrived this morning,” Loren nodded.

Hearing Loren’s answer, a dangerous smile appeared on the face of this strong yet benevolent old man.

“My adorable disciple must not be targeted by these people…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep