Upon returning to the elven habitat, John noticed that the vines covering the pce had receded.


    After a moment of hesitation, he decided to check on ria.


    He had witnessed her earlier torment and appreciated her resilience in enduring it.


    Entering the pce, John found ria back to her usualposed state.


    Yet, when she caught sight of John, a fleeting hint of joy shed in her eyes before quickly disappearing.


    "Where did you go just now?"


    "I went to prepare something. Your problem might be rted to whatever is sealed deep within thebyrinth. I''m working on a way to deal with it."


    Hearing this, ria felt a warmth in her heart.


    "Th-Thank you."


    "Thank me for what?"


    "You know why. There''s no need to ask. By the way, about what we discussed earlier, are you ready?"


    "You mean helping to reorganize the elves? I''ve been ready for that."


    "Actually, the problems the elves face are quite simple--no more than two points."


    Before ria could finish, John interrupted, "First, the habitat. Second,bat strength. Right?"


    ria was momentarily stunned, then nodded helplessly.


    "You''re right. The issues facing the elves have been umting for a long time."


    "In essence, it''s the same issue. The elves are too weak. In terms ofbat strength, you''re even inferior to goblins. At least they have the advantage of numbers. How many among the elves are as strong as you? The most pressing matter now is to quickly enhance thebat strength of the elves."


    Unlike yers, NPCs can''t continually level up by gaining experience points to boost theirbat abilities.


    Since their inherent capabilities arecking, the solution muste from external aids.


    "Take a look at this. It''s something I''ve developed that might be useful."


    With that, John produced a seemingly unremarkable piece of soft armor and presented it to ria.


    "How do you use this?"


    "It''s simple. No technical skill required. Just wear it and charge it with chant essence..."


    As John spoke, he demonstrated for ria.


    When the chant essence transformed into energy and infused the magic patterns on the soft armor, a bright shield instantly formed around it, providing considerable defense.


    "As long as there''s enough chant essence, this state can be maintained indefinitely. The defense it offers is sufficient for most monsters in thebyrinth. Besides this, I''ve also designed a weapon that requires chant essence to enhance its attack power.


    However, the materials needed for these items are quite rare.


    Mass production would be difficult.


    With the materials I currently have, I can make only about thirty of each. Unless we can obtain more materials."


    "Thirty pieces..."


    For the elf poption of over ten thousand, thirty pieces of armor and weapons were a mere drop in the ocean.


    But ria knew John had already done a lot. How could she be ungrateful?


    "What materials are needed? Maybe I can help."


    "That''s what I was hoping. I''ve prepared a list of materials. You''ll need to send people to collect or purchase them. I can cover the cost of buying the materials."


    As she took the list from John, ria bit her lip lightly, hesitating.


    "John... if that night you hadn''t identally entered the pce, and none of what followed had happened, would you still be willing to make so many sacrifices for me and for the elves?"


    "Most likely, yes."


    "Wh-Why?"


    "Because I kind of like you."


    "You! I knew it, nothing good everes out of your mouth!"


    ria''s cheeks flushed visibly, and she couldn''t bring herself to meet John''s gaze, afraid that another nce would make herpletely fall for him.


    "Alright, we don''t have time for this banter. Get those materials as soon as possible. That thing deep in thebyrinth might wake up soon. When it does, you''ll be affected and unable to fight. Your people need to learn to protect themselves."


    "Yes, I believe they can... they definitely can..."


    ...


    The next morning!


    John rubbed his sore shoulders and dragged his exhausted body out of the room.


    He hadn''t slept a wink all night, tirelessly crafting magical soft armor and weapons.


    The repetitive, mechanical work nearly drained his enthusiasm for alchemy, but it also boosted his Alchemist level, reaching 125.


    His speed and precision improved significantly, though he didn''t unlock more alchemy recipes.


    Not that he needed them. With all alchemy knowledge in his mind, as long as he had the materials, John could probably handcraft a transformer if needed!


    Seeing the bright sunshine outside, John exhaled deeply, nning to set aside his tasks and enjoy some sunlight.


    Just then, apletely unfamiliar face suddenly appeared before him.


    John didn''t recognize the face, but the annoying look in the eyes and the smug grin on the lips unmistakably identified the person as [Deception Apostle].


    But how did he appear here, and why did he switch to a different yer as a vessel?


    A flood of questions overwhelmed John''s mind, leaving him momentarily frozen, his brain struggling to process.


    Seeing the confusion in John''s eyes, [Deception Apostle] smirked and said, "As you can see, your safe house couldn''t contain me. I didn''t like the goblin vessel, so I just picked another one. No problem, right?"


    "What else have you done?"


    "What else could I do? Leaving without permission and switching vessels already pushed your limits. What more could I risk doing?


    Anyway, we''re still allies, right? Please give me a bit more trust, or I''ll feel quite hurt."


    "Allies? That word from your mouth is incredibly ironic."


    John sneered, his eyes filled with disdain. But at this point, what good would ming [Deception Apostle] do? It wouldn''t change the oue.


    "Enough talk. Let''s get to the point. How long until [Lust] awakens, and what about [Betrayal Apostle]''s whereabouts? Don''t tell me you found nothing while you were out wandering."


    "Of course not! Don''t underestimate me. Beforeing here, I visited the Abyss to check on my old buddy [Lust]. He''ll definitely awaken within three days at most. As for [Betrayal Apostle], unfortunately, I couldn''t locate him."


    The lies slipped effortlessly from [Deception Apostle]''s tongue, and John had no reason to doubt him, merely nodding slightly.


    "Three days... enough time for me to prepare."


    "John, what do you n to do when [Lust] awakens? Are you still not going to tell yourpanions the truth?"


    "It''s not the right time yet. This matter doesn''t concern you, so don''t worry about it. I''ll find a reason to keep them here. When the timees, only you and I will face [Lust]. Can you handle it?"


    "It might be tricky, but we will win."


    "Let''s hope so. Do you have any other business? If not, you can leave. A stranger suddenly appearing in the elven habitat might raise suspicions. How do you n to exin your presence?"


    "Don''t worry. No one will notice me except you, not even the elven queen. But you''re right, staying here is indeed boring. We''ll meet in thebyrinth in three days. In the meantime, I need to rx. It''s been a while since I''ve felt this free!"


    [Deception Apostle] turned, looking at the blue sky, a smile flickering in his eyes.


    "Being stuck in that dark, dreary world, I almost forgot the sky was blue and how warm the sunlight feels on your skin."


    "You care about things like that?"


    "Of course! Before bing an [Apostle], I was human too. Do you know what the greatest trait of humans is?"