The Shadowed Lady Appears

"How long does this ceremony last?" – Darius Noctis asked his fellow guest.

"Usually until dawn. You're in luck, arriving just in time for this. You might even meet the envoy of the Goddess of Magic."

Hearing that, Darius Noctis sighed. Damn it, now I understand why this mission is ranked purple.

"Annoying As Shit, get your ass out here, I have a question."

[Ding!]

[Due to being in a special environment, all electronic devices are experiencing signal interference. AI Annoying As Shit is unable to respond. The device is currently in Offline mode. Detecting certain anomalies in this world, the system is automatically upgrading before losing full connectivity. Annoying As Shit is also undergoing an upgrade.]

[Estimated upgrade time: 12 hours. Annoying As Shit will return with a new version once the server connection is restored.]

[This is an automated response. Not an AI.]

[Beep beep…]

"What the..."

Darius Noctis was so frustrated he wanted to curse. What the hell did they mean by "special signal interference"?

What he didn't realize was that the energy radiating from the magic crystals around him was precisely the cause of the system's disconnection. That was why Annoying As Shit had gone offline.

"So, how the hell am I supposed to complete this mission now?"

As much as he wanted to curse that annoying AI, all Darius Noctis could do was sigh in frustration. He opened his mission details—there was no specified deadline. He could wait until tomorrow to sell them back, but then what, dump his entire pot of hu tieu?

Might as well sell as much as I can. Whatever's left, I'll store in the fridge. Meow and Woof would eat anything he gave them, and Fat Luu had a decent appetite too. It'd be fine—just a little financial setback.

In all his years as a vendor, Darius Noctis had never thought he'd see the day where he couldn't sell out a pot of noodles. It reminded him of when he first took over his parents' food cart. Even with a base of loyal customers, he had struggled in the first few months because his cooking wasn't as good as his father's.

Pulling himself together, Darius Noctis swallowed his disappointment and looked at the few customers still eating. Meanwhile, more and more people were placing magic crystals onto circular diagrams around the bonfire. A few villagers had merely come to observe the ritual but were drawn to his stall by the aroma of hu tieu.

By opening, Darius Noctis managed to sell nearly twenty bowls—still a long way from his target of a hundred. What surprised him was that the villagers here only ordered once and never asked for seconds.

Maybe I arrived too late, and most people had already eaten.

"Haizzz…"

Darius Noctis let out a long sigh. There wasn't much else to do except pull up a chair, smoke a cigarette, and watch this so-called summoning ritual for the Goddess's envoy. What would this envoy even look like? Could it really be summoned just like that? This was starting to feel like a pet-summoning mechanic in a video game.

"Shopkeeper, shopkeeper! Give me a dry noodle bowl. This dish sounds interesting—how is it eaten?"

A few more customers arrived with their families. They were here just to watch the spectacle, not participate in the ceremony. But their numbers were few.

From a distance, Darius Noctis spotted the tall, thin man—the one who had sold him the magic crystals earlier—leading his two sons to the ceremony. As they passed, he told his children to wave at Darius Noctis.

"If my son is prioritized for an early awakening, I'll bring my whole family over to eat."

Behind him were four or five more people—old and young—including a woman around his age. Most likely a full family, gathered for the ceremony.

Darius Noctis chuckled and waved back. "Alright, hurry up and come back soon. I'm worried about selling out—haha!"

"Got it, got it! If I finish early, I'll be there right away. If not, remember to plant the flowers for me tomorrow!" the man shouted back. He didn't specify where, and before Darius Noctis could ask, he had already turned away.

More customers trickled in, keeping Darius Noctis busy again. This village had a population of nearly three thousand, but he only needed a hundred customers to meet his quota.

Fat Luu dragged his hefty body around, cleaning tables. Today, he felt strangely exhausted. His whole body was sluggish, and he just wanted to sleep. Around 9 PM, he groaned:

"Brother, I swear I'm not being lazy, but I feel so drained. My arms and legs are weak..."

As soon as he finished speaking, his face turned pale. Darius Noctis didn't think Fat Luu was slacking—normally, the guy was full of energy. Maybe it was just the exhaustion of traveling.

"Probably just a cold. Go rest in the truck. I'll sleep in the driver's seat tonight." Darius Noctis patted his shoulder, sending him off to bed.

He was used to doing everything alone. Whether Fat Luu was there or not didn't make much difference.

Watching Fat Luu retreat, Darius Noctis sighed bitterly. By now, customers had dwindled, and no new ones had arrived. He had sold a total of fifty-two bowls—only halfway to his target.

Never in his life had he sold this poorly. He had always been confident in his cooking skills, yet today, he had been dealt a humbling blow.

A few people had complimented his food, but most ate in silence, leaving no feedback.

Suddenly, a chill ran down Darius Noctis's spine.

The lanterns around the village flickered out.

Even the central bonfire was extinguished.

The only remaining light was the dim white glow from his hu tieu cart.

"The Envoy Has Appeared, The Envoy Has Appeared!"

At that moment, an excited chorus erupted from the villagers. Immediately after, all the lanterns suddenly reignited.

The eerie spectacle sent a chill down Darius Noctis's spine. He then noticed the villagers murmuring incantations in unison, their chanting growing faster and faster. He couldn't make out the words, but the escalating sound filled him with unease.

"They're not summoning some kind of demon, are they?" Darius Noctis thought fearfully.

Ever since stepping into this village, something had felt off. He had tried to convince himself otherwise, but now, he was genuinely scared.

"Whoosh~~!!!"

"Thud… Thud…"

The bonfire at the center of the square suddenly ignited, sending Darius Noctis's heart pounding. The circles drawn earlier on the ground began to rise, glowing with an ominous black hue. The strange dark light they emitted made it impossible for him to stay calm.

How the hell can black glow?

No… it wasn't emitting light—it was devouring it.

Among the ten types of magic crystals on the ground, Darius Noctis clearly saw that only the black crystal had floated into the air.

Alright, stay calm. This might be creepy as hell, but maybe it's just a normal ritual…

"The Envoy of Darkness… Why… why is it her?"

The officiant gasped in shock.

"Humans… Did you summon me?"

At that moment, dozens of black magic circles shot into the sky, dispersing into countless swirling shadows. Then, as the dark mist descended to the ground, a clear, elegant voice rang out—silencing the entire village.

"Huh?"

Darius Noctis let out a dumbfounded exclamation.

As the dark mist dissipated, he finally saw the face of the one who had spoken.

It was a familiar face—one that had startled him just moments ago.

He had thought it was some terrifying demon, but no…

This was his lucky charm—the girl who had eaten ten bowls of hu tieu for free and, thanks to her fortune, had helped him sell out his entire stock.

If he remembered correctly, her name was Shadowed Lady.

"Envoy… why have you come here?"

A villager knelt down and asked.

The woman glanced at the villager, then turned toward Darius Noctis with a hint of surprise.

"You sell hu tieu even to these people?"

"What? You're their envoy? Are you scamming people for money now? Don't pull any of that heaven-defying, immoral nonsense, alright? If you're going to make a living, do it honestly!"

At that moment, Darius Noctis completely forgot Zentharis Lam's warning and spoke his mind directly to the Shadowed Lady.

"You damn human, I'm not anyone's envoy! Hold on, let me deal with these people first, then I'll deal with you!"

Shadowed Lady let out a cold snort.

Her harsh words left the chanting villagers stunned. They had never seen their summoned envoy behave like this before.

But what shocked them even more was…

How did this hu tieu vendor know the Goddess's envoy?

"Do you people not realize your situation?"

The black-clad woman looked around at the villagers.

"Honored Envoy, we only performed this summoning to bestow awakening power upon our children. Why did the other envoys not appear…? You are an envoy of darkness… Could it be that one of the children possesses the power of darkness?"

The one speaking was the village elder, Elder Yen, who had been overseeing the ritual. Now that he had regained his composure, he finally spoke up.

"You foolish humans. I am not that woman's envoy. I came because I sensed your stubborn refusal to let go. Do you really not understand your own predicament?"

Shadowed Lady spoke with an icy tone.

"Y-You… Don't tell me… you are the Shadowed Lady?"

Elder Yen's voice trembled.