chapter 30

There were two men who arrived at Mulan’s entrance, gasping for breath. Their names happened to be Four Fires and Six Fires, who had just been severely beaten.

“Pant. Brother, we finally arrived at the village.”

“Damn, that old man… pant, pant.”

They kept gasping as they recalled the moment they had been chased by the white bulldog. A chill went down their spines as they thought about it again.

“That crazy old man unleashed the dog? Pant.”

“Brother, he is a real madman. Pant.”

All the equipment they had been wearing was taken but their potions were always in their inventory. Thus, they were able to escape and regain their health. They fortunately survived but that wasn’t the problem. The monsters in the forest chased after them and threw weapons to hunt them. Since they were close to death, they were forced to run without looking back. That’s how they arrived at Mulan.

“I’m glad I didn’t die as a murderer, Brother.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

If they had died in the ‘murderer’ state, they would’ve lost their level as well as everything they stole, including their equipment. Rather, they were fortunate that they had only lost their equipment. The two people gradually entered the village.

[The Wings of False Image have been used. Your name and information are obscured.]

“Oh my, what are those people?”

“Look at those perverts.”

“There are crazy guys. Let’s take a quick photo.”

They entered the downtown area and the users started to scream. The NPCs were no exception.

“Mother! Look at that person!”

“Oh my! You’ll lose your eyes if you look at that.”

“Mother, those people are weird!”

“There are such perverts in the world!”

“Mother!”

“Mother!”

All the mothers in Mulan covered their children’s eyes.

“Groan.”

“Let’s go. Big Brother should be at that bar.”

“Yes. Go quickly.”

Four Fires bit his lips and vowed, ‘That damn old man. Was his name Jackson? I will surely pay him back. Definitely…!’

* * *

Around this time, I was waiting for Drain. Once I collected all the Gnoll Fur Leather, I sent a whisper to Drain. Then he said he would come here at his own risk to receive it. I said it was dangerous but he didn’t listen. He only said that he would be fine. I had to wait for him to come.

“Mister Choi!”

He really came here…

“How did you come here? How did you deal with the monsters?”

He showed me a big spool of thread in a proud manner. I wondered what it was but he explained straight away, “This is a designer’s weapon. It can quickly tie monsters together for a short time and make them helpless.”

He seemed to want to show off as he tested the skill on the gnoll standing in the distance.

“Capture Knot!”

The thread quickly extended and tied the gnoll’s limbs together tightly. It seemed that it couldn’t escape unless someone let it go. Hoh, there were skills like this.

“Designers are a class based on thread arts and needle arts.”

“It’s a great skill.”

“Oh, thank you. By the way, the gnoll fur?”

“Here it is.”

“Oh my got! It is perfect. Then I’m going now. I’ll send you a whisper once I’m done. I wish you luck, Mister Choi.”

Thus, Drain left straight away. There seemed to be no regret as he didn’t look back. I could feel his burning enthusiasm from his back.

“He is a really great guy.”

“Kwal!”

“Do you think so as well?”

I couldn’t help laughing as I saw ‘Cer’ barking like it was answering me. I stroked its head with my hand and Cer turned over affectionately. I smiled and scratched its belly while checking the quest window at the same time.

[Sheila and Aiolia]

[Difficulty: D+

Sheila, the daughter of Mulan’s village chief Chen, was said to be eaten by the gnolls when she went to pick the Aiolia flower. Chen needs Aiolia flowers to lay on her grave on Sheila’s death anniversary. On the way to the north hills, kill the gnolls to get revenge and bring back the Aiolia.

-Quest Completion Conditions: Wind Flower Aiolia 0/10, Gnoll’s Claws 0/50.]

“Should I go further north to the Windy Hill?”

I started moving again. Time passed. It wasn’t long before I could see the Windy Hill. The plains were so wide they seemed endless.

A bright green hill. A dimly visible house with a red roof. The blowing wind. All the white flowers filling the surroundings made the scene even fresher. I looked at them for a long time and was speechless by the majestic nature. I didn’t know why but I was filled with a lot of emotions.

“Kuk.”

What was so hard? Unknown emotions swirled and my eyes reddened. I wasn’t a wishy-washy person. I just seemed to be crying more as I got older. I was crying at nothing and couldn’t help laughing.

“I’ll take a small walk.”

My idea of gathering the Aiolia was put aside for the moment. I walked through the lush white flower garden and arrived at a steep hill. There were many people going up in pairs. Now that I was here, I should go to the end.

I could see many users there. There were people talking. People who came from all over the world. Lovers were often seen. However, no matter how much I looked around, I didn’t see a peer. My surroundings were full of young people and they didn’t talk to me. The passing people in their 40s stared at me with curious eyes. Was I that handsome…?

“Hum! These young kids have eyes for people!”

I reached the summit and could see why people climbed up to here.

“Ah…” A cry of admiration unknowingly flowed out. Suddenly, the place was completely dyed in a red glow.

“Wow!”

“Pretty!”

“Beautiful!”

Yes, it was beautiful. If Heaven existed, it was probably a place like this. All humans in this world seemed to shine in the glow of the sunset. I wasn’t dead. It was a struggle to stay alive. Maybe our lives needed this type of struggle.

“Look over there! It is Windia!”

Windia? I looked at where the young people were pointing to and the vast landscape of Windia was revealed as the clouds receded. In the distance, huge windmills could be seen spinning and there were quaint villages around the windmills. In some ways, it seemed twice as large as Mulan. I was thrilled the moment I saw it. A warm thrill rose from the tip of my toes. Yes, this thrill… huh?

“Cer.”

“Kwal!”

“Why are you peeing on my pants?”

“Kwal!”

* * *

The sun went down. Darkness was approaching. I was located in the middle of the hill as I headed down. Meanwhile, I was facing a message.

[A dog’s urine is covering your pants. It will smell if you don’t wash it off within 24 hours.]

Shit. Smelly guy. This message appeared every five minutes and was bothering me. How long had it been since I escaped from the smelly goblin armor? I couldn’t help frowning at the sour scent. For a moment, I remembered Drain who I just saw. Groan. Had he made the clothes yet?

This was when Cer started running.

“That guy?”

I followed Cer with a baffled expression. I thought it would stop by this point but it kept running. Left, right. Another left, left. It was like a familiar path. It kept running. A short time later, Cer stopped at a brick house with a red roof.

“This place…?”

It was a place I had seen from below. Smoke billowed from the chimney of the sturdy brick house. Cer started to bark at the house. “Kwal! Kwal kwal!”

“Elizabeth?”

It was a fairly old lady who opened the door the moment she heard Cer’s high barking. Ker wagged her tail as she ran forward.

“Kwal!”

“Ohh! Elizabeth!”

They ran toward each other like lovers meeting after a long time. It was like the cowherd and weaver meeting on the bridge made of magpies. My heart was full at the sight. I smiled as I watched them. Yes, this was her house. By the way, Elizabeth… it was a name that didn’t really match. In any case, live well. Cer… no, Elizabeth. It had been fun for a while.

I turned quietly and tried to get out of the way. However, the old lady stopped me. “Are you the one who brought Elizabeth here?”

…Shit, the touching atmosphere was broken. Rather than answering, I gave a small nod as a positive reply. In fact, my nose was itchy. If I spoke then tears would probably pour out.

“I’m really grateful. Would you like to come in for some refreshments?”

I shook my head, telling her that I didn’t do this in hopes of a reward. However, she dragged me inside because she wanted to repay my kindness. Eventually, I was sipping refreshments and drinks in her house.

“I don’t know if it suits your taste buds.”

“It’s delicious.”

“I’m glad.”

How did things turn out like this? She sat on a rocking chair and kept knitting. She spoke while knitting, “Oh, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Flora.”

“I’m Jackson.”

“I see. By the way… have we met somewhere before?”

Asking a stranger if they had met before…

I was stunned that an NPC was using this method on me. Cough. However, I wasn’t ready for that… really. Still, I couldn’t say I disliked it…

“I’m sorry. I just think there is too much of a resemblance to someone I know.”

“Kuk! It’s fine.”

Flora glanced at Elizabeth, sleeping next to her chair, and smiled as she kept knitting. “Jackson, what do you do? It must’ve been pretty hard to reach here.”

“I’m a chef.”

Flora was stunned for a moment. She stopped knitting as she asked me, “A chef… is it?”

“That’s right.”

Suddenly, my spine felt cold and I was uneasy. Her shaky eyes seemed to prove it. She soon shook her head to shake off her thoughts. “I’m sorry. I was reminded of the old days for a while.”

I wanted to ask what was going on but the atmosphere was bad. Eventually, I chose to close my mouth. Then there was another moment. “In fact, Jackson looks a lot like someone I know. He was also a chef.”

I nodded to show I understood. Suddenly, Prometheus showed signs of anomalies.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ feels something familiar from her.]

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is closing his eyes and peering at the future for a moment.]

This guy, why…?

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ has wide eyes.]

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ insists that you should hear the story about the chef!]

Then he made a ridiculous demand. Nevertheless, I was curious. This guy’s words tended to be right so I couldn’t skip past it easily. I decided to raise my courage. “Excuse me.”

“…?”

“Do you mind telling me that chef’s story?”

Flora looked at me blankly for a moment and was silent. Her eyes trembled but she soon regained her composure. Flora started knitting again. As expected, it was a refusal. It was troublesome. I clicked my tongue and wanted to swear at Prometheus.

At this moment, Flora opened her mouth, “I’ll tell you.”

“…!”

“He was a very famous chef. Maybe the most famous chef in Arc Land.”

“The most famous chef…?”

Flora stopped knitting. “His name was Alexus.”

…What?

“The ruler of Atlan, the first unified empire, and the man who drove my lover to death.”