Something even the system couldn’t understand....

After knowing that, Rhys simply abandoned the plan to go on the mission with her.

So what if he missed that single mission? It was not like there were no other missions anymore.

Why risk himself by throwing his life into the unknown?

But he was still extremely curious about the true identity of that girl. Since the system did not know it, he decided he had to make it ask its mother.

"System, don’t tell me you skipped a training session or something," Rhys snorted as he strolled up the mountain path towards his horse stall.

[It’s not that...]

"Then maybe your mother hasn’t taught you everything yet," Rhys continued.

[That’s... that’s impossible.]

"If so, then why can’t you understand that girl?" Rhys questioned, crossing his arms as he walked.

[I...] The system became thoroughly confused.

"So... why don’t you just go ask your sugar mommy?"

The system went completely silent for a few moments while Rhys patiently waited on the quiet trail. He didn’t have to wait very long before a shift occurred in his consciousness.

’Child, don’t bully my poor child anymore.’ The ethereal voice of the Celestial Origin sounded completely defeated.

Rhys’s expression instantly turned self-righteous. "I am merely giving it a helpful suggestion, just in case you missed teaching it about this specific thing."

’Sigh. I cannot disclose what she is simply because doing so will trigger chain reactions that you might never like. But, I can give you some hints... with her lies something or someone you will desperately need in the future.’

The massive presence of the Celestial Origin disappeared just as quickly as it came, leaving Rhys standing completely alone on the mountain trails.

"Someone I will desperately need in the future?" Rhys muttered to himself, scratching his chin. "...A waifu?"

[Is that seriously the first thought that occurred to you, host?]

"Haha... I am just joking..." Rhys laughed it off.

But just like that, his previous decision to abandon the caravan mission completely disappeared.

If the highest entity of the Systemverse told him that Yuki held such a key role in his future, he would be a fool to walk away.

He reached the outer courtyard stalls just as the sun began to dip below the horizon.

The heavy smell of straw and manure filled the air. Rhys found Old Chen sitting on a wooden stool near the entrance, smoking a long pipe and watching the horses feed.

"Back from the city so early?" Old Chen asked, puffing out a cloud of gray smoke. "You seem to be visiting the city regularly lately. What, did you find a pimp, young man?"

Rhys instantly recalled the stunning appearance of Yuki.

[Ahem...]

’Yo... it’s not what you think it is...’

[I didn’t think anything, host.]

"Hrm," Rhys cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment. "I have something to do tomorrow. So I need to arrange my daily shift so the gardens don’t get neglected while I’m away."

Old Chen looked at him with a slight look of surprise, lowering his pipe. "What a surprise! I was actually waiting to forcefully suspend you for a few days anyway. Boy, life is too precious to waste only working..."

The old man had absolutely no idea how Rhys’s lifespan grew with every single hour he worked.

"Thanks, Uncle Chen," Rhys smiled, not correcting him.

Once he reached his stall, Rhys sat down on his wooden cot and closed his eyes. It was time to prepare.

He needed to maximize his options tonight before facing whatever anomalous existence Yuki truly was.

He focused his mind, connecting with the hidden nodes of his slumbering spells.

In an instant, the mental commands were sent out across the entire territory.

Deep within the vast orchards, the medicinal gardens, and the dense luxury farms of the Azure Lotus Sect, hundreds of invisible, tiny forms began to stir in the dark.

His Needle Beak Hummingbirds woke up.

For ordinary mages, once the mana of their summon dried out, the summon would disappear completely.

But for Rhys, his spell simply fell into a deep slumber when not in use. Once he injected them with a little bit of lifespan, they would come alive again instantly.

This time, the main reason for him summoning them wasn’t just to farm lifespan. Rather, it was to scout the Whispering Ravine he was going to tomorrow.

The three women didn’t consider Rhys as a fighting power at all, so they hadn’t explained much about the path they were taking, nor had they planned anything out with him.

Since that was the case, Rhys decided to learn the geography himself, as it would help him greatly in the future if things went south.

While doing that, his birds could still farm lifespan from the wild insects outside the border.

Though some of his summons might get destroyed by the stronger monsters lurking outside, the returns would be high enough for him to easily swallow the small loss.

And like that, Rhys spent the entire night quietly studying the dangerous geography of the Whispering Ravine through the eyes of his birds.

*

* *

Rhys slowly opened his eyes.

[Current Lifespan: 8 Years | 16,074,544,684 Days (~44,039,848 Years and 164 Days)]

He had gained more lifespan in just twelve hours outside than what he usually earned inside the city during a whole day. That was even with half of his hummingbirds focusing entirely on mapping out the geography of the ravine.

Even though he lost nearly all of his summons to the wild monsters out there, it was completely worth the massive returns.

Right now, Rhys possessed enough lifespan to comfortably cast a single Archmage spell.

With the rough layout he had gained of the Whispering Ravine and the staggering amount of lifespan he currently held, he felt more than ready to face the mission ahead. He walked over to the small mirror on the wall to check himself.

"System, why do I feel like I became a bit taller?"

Before, Rhys was exactly five feet eight inches tall. Now, it seemed he had increased an inch in height, reaching five feet nine.

His general appearance had changed a bit as well. His messy dark hair had become remarkably shiny, while his light brown eyes seemed to shift into a subtle shade of light green. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

His jawline looked much more defined than before, and his light brown skin had cleared up completely.

[It would be a surprise if you changed nothing, host. Your current lifespan is at an unimaginable level for any ordinary human. If you were to fully take on your Celestial form, who in the entire Systemverse could possibly match your appearance? Well, except for mother, of course.]

"True," Rhys muttered, admiring his reflection.

The change in his appearance was not incredibly noticeable to strangers right away. Even if some of his close acquaintances noticed a difference, they would probably just consider it as him hitting a late puberty growth spurt.

In terms of flashy looks, the current Rhys was still nowhere near the level of those pampered sect disciples.

But then again, who did not like it if they became a bit taller and more handsome?

He walked over to feed Diamantakos.

After giving her some food and promising to take her out for a proper ride in the near future, he finally left the stable and climbed down the mountain trails to meet up with the three women.