Return of the Legendary Runesmith-Chapter 516 - 515- I can help

Adrian was not prepared for the heat.

He had only recently learned about Iris’s situation and how bad it had become. And with the exhibition followed by his meeting with the Emperor, he hadn’t had the time to prepare anything for himself.

As such, he was now sweating buckets.

"I said this would be difficult," Iris said with a grin as they moved through the barren lands, heading in a direction where the heat would only continue to rise.

Adrian took a deep breath and gestured for Iris to pause.

As she did, Adrian closed his eyes and chanted a spell.

Instantly, two spell circles began to rotate around the duo.

"Hmm-ah!" Iris was startled as a sudden frosty wind rushed through her.

Her whole body shivered at the sensation, every hair standing on end as she felt the sharp drop in temperature around her.

Iris glanced at Adrian and asked, "How come you’re already so good at independent magic?"

Adrian shrugged. "The situation forced me to learn it. And being the genius I am, it didn’t take long."

Iris chuckled at that, knowing he was just trying to lighten the mood.

The temperature had dropped enough that they no longer had to gasp for breath with every step.

Adrian, especially, seemed quite relieved after chanting the spell.

Sustaining it usually cost a significant amount of mana, but with his seemingly endless output, Adrian knew he could manage it without overexerting himself.

As they walked, Iris asked him, "So how are things with Raven and Annabelle?"

Adrian hummed before replying, "Quite good, actually. While Annabelle still seems to be on bickering terms with Raven, I think they mutually respect each other."

Iris faintly smiled and said, "While I know Raven is quite mature, I don’t remember much about Annabelle."

Adrian smiled as well. "She’s a sweet child. Passionate, true to her feelings, and hot-headed."

"Her messages do make her sound quite fiery," Iris joked. "I remember her quarreling with Valor over having more mentions."

Adrian hummed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Iris chuckled. "In the early days, when you had just joined the server, Valor mentioned you in chat more than Annabelle did. She got insecure, thinking you’d only notice his messages when you checked the server chat."

Adrian chuckled as well at how so like her it was.

Then Adrian asked, "You never met Avirin, did you?"

Iris shook her head. "I wanted to, but back then I didn’t feel the need to invite him over. And even if I had, I knew he would have rejected it, considering his personality."

Adrian winced at those words.

From what he had heard from Annabelle and later Querella, Avirin was quite the moody and unfriendly type of man, someone who would skip even an event organized to celebrate his own day.

He was quite antisocial and sharp-tongued as well.

Iris then added, "Our relationship was always quite professional... but I remember once, I begged him to come to my world." Her voice grew a little solemn.

Adrian fell silent and continued to look at her.

Iris looked ahead, her gaze unfocused. "I remember an ancient creature awakening back then after the war, under the united command of the Acolytes."

"Things were going out of control. That’s why I begged for his help. Not just once, but for three long days."

Adrian’s chest grew heavy as he anticipated how the story would end.

And Iris’s next words confirmed what he feared. "But he didn’t even bother to hear about the situation. He said he was settled with Querella now and wouldn’t jump worlds anymore."

Adrian’s expression hardened. He knew that once Avirin had gotten together with Querella, he had more or less retired from his duties. Still, was he truly so heartless as to ignore someone in need?

"I... am sorry to hear that, Iris."

The redhead’s smile returned as she turned to look at him. "And that’s what makes you different from him."

With a fond smile, she added, "Not only did you respond to my situation even though I never directly asked you for help," she paused before continuing, "...you even came to this world after postponing everything else. And I am truly grateful for that, Adrian."

The rest of the journey passed peacefully. They chatted about casual, unimportant things. From their conversation, Adrian understood that Iris was not holding any grudge against Avirin.

She simply had no fond memories of the man, which was understandable given his personality and the way he brushed off those who genuinely cared for him, even going as far as to abandon Annabelle.

Adrian had grown accustomed to people showing him the harsher truths of his past self.

Not long after, the spell began to tremble, alerting Adrian that they were close to the cause. There were no houses, no cattle, and no people anywhere in the vicinity.

That much was understandable, given that the temperature had risen so high that the sand beneath his feet had begun to resemble glass.

Adrian knew that dispelling the spell now would harm him severely. Instead, he reinforced it with stronger intent and asked, "What was the distance from where you attacked that plant last time?"

The red-haired woman did not think for long. "We were about five kilometers away from it. And that was one of the best unified attacks we’ve launched to this day."

Adrian hummed in understanding before directing his gaze toward the epicenter of this altered state of the planet, the very cause of humanity’s possible extinction. He could not see it, but he could feel it, a massive concentration of mana in the distance, so overwhelming that its mere presence felt stronger than that of the fallen god.

Still, he knew that from this far away, no attack, no artifact, no armament would make any difference.

He had to get closer to the plant if he wanted to change anything.

They remained standing there for quite some time, long enough for Iris to grow concerned. She feared Adrian might be straining himself by sustaining the spell that kept their surroundings cool, but the focus in his eyes stopped her from speaking. She knew he was thinking, and so she did not disturb him.

After nearly five minutes, Adrian finally spoke. "I believe there might be a way."

Iris’s eyes widened slightly. "Are you sure?" The brief pause that followed betrayed how unbelievable those words sounded to her.

Adrian turned to look at her and said calmly,

"This will take time, and I know you don’t have much of it. That’s why I’m going to use Time Chamber to create something that might help."