Sarre approached Jonn with her blood-soaked sword, still on horseback. She used an old cloth to clean her weapon, while ignoring the villagers trying to control the four enemy horses.
“Why were they after Sayer?” she asked quietly to the village leader. Everyone had heard when Jack had demanded Sayer, having spoken such a name with a hatred that was hard to ignore.
But even though several people in the village had heard Sayer’s name, they hadn’t heard Jonn and Jack’s entire conversation.
“Sayer got involved with the young lady of that group. Probably the daughter of someone important, I suppose,” Jonn said as he cleaned his spear, letting Ice help the village men deal with the enemy group’s animals. “She died accidentally, but they blame him for it.”
“You already seemed to know that, Elder,” she said as she took her eyes off her sword and looked at Jonn carefully. “Do you want to keep it a secret?
“For now, yes. Sayer told me earlier. That’s why I dealt with this group without considering surrender."
“I’ll keep quiet, but others will ask questions,” she said, acknowledging the complexity of the situation.
Jonn nodded, agreeing, “That’s true. In any case, they would have eventually targeted the Eternal Village after Sayer, no matter what.”
Sarre was already aware of the village’s greenhouse and its significance. She understood Jonn’s perspective. “We must act swiftly against any approaching threats.”
“That’s the issue,” Jonn replied. “Jack’s backers will take time to notice this group’s demise. But eventually, more will come seeking answers.”
“And this happening just as we face problems to the west,” Sarre sighed, glancing in the direction of the ominous footprints that had recently appeared near them.
“Difficult times indeed. We must adapt.” Jonn dismounted his horse, planning to return to the village.
Jonn massaged the large brown horse’s neck as it nuzzled him, seeking something Sarre couldn’t discern. The horse rested its head on Jonn’s chest, prompting a laugh from him.
“Return to your area and watch over the newcomers,” Jonn commanded, gesturing toward the animals now corralled by the village guards.
With a whinny and what seemed like a smile, the horse galloped off to where villagers were guiding the four new animals.
Our horse population is booming. These four bring us to 12, second only to our chicken flock. Unlike hens, though, horses don’t produce daily resources.
Still, they’ll form a solid cavalry. We now have enough for the village guard, hunters, and future trade expeditions.
Jonn enjoyed the addition of animals to his village. With each new animal, his [Magic Farm] mission gained another point to fulfill, which would return attribute points to him once he turned these animals into beasts.
The animals in the village could also eventually die. Thus, the increase in food consumption that new animals brought didn’t worry Jonn so much.
“Elder, we now have some new items for the village,” said Asher as he approached Jonn. “We have another carriage, some items for temporary camps, 3 golds, 3 swords, 4 spears, 7 daggers...” The man mentioned everything the guards had collected and gathered to take to the village warehouse.
With today’s fresh addition, the Eternal Village had reached its fourth carriage.
“Let’s send this carriage to Urian,” Jonn said to the group gathering around him after they collected the spoils of battle. “I want him to turn it into a wagon. As for the weapons, we’ll save them for sale. They don’t seem to be of good quality. Otherwise, you can rest after disposing of the six enemy bodies.”
The men around Jonn and Sarre looked around, seeing the bodies that had easily fallen to them tonight.
Tonight’s witnesses had questions for Jonn about how their leader had knocked Jack off his horse. Some had seen a giant, semi-transparent hand strike the enemy leader and throw him to the ground, disarming him and leaving him defenseless. But unlike the question about Sayer, none of them asked about it, not even Sarre.
“Keep today’s events to yourselves,” Jonn instructed them. “We shouldn’t stoke fear among the villagers by recounting the battle.”
After his words, Jonn walked over to where Jack’s body lay as he turned his back on his guards. He saw Arnald staring at Jack’s body. This guy was full of emotions in his heart now.
“Village Elder…” Arnald began, hesitating after the earlier mention of Sayer’s name.
“Don’t fret about Sayer,” Jonn reassured him. “Your people remain valued members of our community. Continue your diligent work; the village depends on your efforts.” With that, Jonn turned and headed back to the walled section of the village.
As he walked home through the chilly night, Jonn smiled. He felt as if he’d shed an invisible burden, a pressure lifting from his shoulders.
Jonn’s mind swirled with conflicting emotions as he trudged home. The cool night air nipped at his skin, a stark contrast to the warmth of the battle’s aftermath still lingering in his veins.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
Why do I feel this way? He mused, his brow furrowing. The village’s situation has only grown more precarious.
He pondered to himself, not quite understanding this new feeling in his heart.
Could this be because I finally unleashed my {Spell} on a real opponent, rather than sparring with shadows?
Jonn had never considered himself a war-monger, yet he couldn’t deny the rush that combat had brought. Perhaps, he reasoned, this was some hidden requirement of the {Spell}, a necessary step in its evolution. After all, the chaos and unpredictability of true battle were impossible to replicate in training.
Regardless of the source of this post-battle euphoria, Jonn found himself at his doorstep. Inside, he scrubbed away the day’s grime, the water sluicing off his body, carrying with it the last visible traces of the conflict. As he collapsed onto his bed, sleep claimed him swiftly, wrapping him in a cocoon of deep, restorative slumber.
The following morning, Jonn’s eyes snapped open with the first rays of dawn. He felt more invigorated than he had in months, every cell in his body humming with renewed energy. The memory of yesterday’s fight had settled into a satisfying warmth in his chest.
Fighting had made him feel good in a way that was hard to describe.
With this newfound vigor coursing through him, Jonn’s resolve solidified. Today, he would embark on his plan to investigate the mysterious footprints to the west of the village.
The next few days wouldn’t be as hectic or dangerous. With no special devices capable of telling the vital situation of ordinary people, there was no way for Yeoman Ferry’s group to understand the loss of the hunting team led by Jack, nor to know where they had fallen. As for whatever was happening to the west of the village, that wasn’t so simple. It would take Jonn a little longer to understand what it was all about.
----------------------------------------
Another month passed, and the biggest harvest in the village’s history was approaching.
One rooster and Roulf, the village bull, had finally ascended to beast status. This brought the count of beasts to five. Meanwhile, three more animals pulsed with newly formed mana cores, each day bringing them closer to that coveted level 1 of power.
Near Sarre and Arnald’s group houses, the rhythmic clang of hammers and saws filled the air as villagers worked tirelessly on a new defensive wall. The structure slowly rose from the earth, a promise of greater security in these uncertain times.
But while the village basked in its peaceful routine, Jonn and Sarre were far afield, their horses’ hooves kicking up dust as they scoured the western terrain. For weeks, they had been tracking mysterious quadruped sightings in this area, their investigation becoming more intriguing with each passing day.
Initially, they had feared enemies from Lost Treasures—the same group that had enslaved part of Sarre’s former village. But as they studied the intricate web of tracks crisscrossing the landscape, that theory unraveled. The footprints they found dwarfed those of horses, hinting at something far more formidable than a band of bandits.
Now, the duo stood atop a small hill. Jonn crouched, running his fingers along the strange markings, his brow furrowed in concentration. Sarre scanned the horizon, her hand shielding her eyes from the glare of the afternoon sun.
The surrounding air seemed to hum with an unspoken tension, as if the very land was trying to whisper its secrets.
Whatever had left these tracks was unlike anything they had encountered before.
This was a footprint so large that its area was big enough to fit Sarre in there!
“What do you think it is?” she asked as she watched Jonn observe the footprint through the lens of a small magnifying glass.
“Hard to say. It’s a big animal, like a hippo, or an elephant,” Jonn said with predictable strangeness. “I just don’t understand what an animal like that would do around here.”
“And it wasn’t just one.” She looked ahead and sighed, seeing several other marks left by the group that had passed by. “Sigh! Could they be Arcanis’ beasts? During my group’s stay in Lost Treasures, we heard rumors of hordes of beasts surrounding that region.”
“Let’s pray that’s not the case. A passage of beasts near the village would be catastrophic.”
As Jonn stood up with a pessimistic look on his face, Sarre reached for her weapon when she heard the sound of horse’s steps. But as she looked to the east, she saw her people’s archer approaching them, racing on one of the fastest horses from the village.
“Jonn, Sarre, Petyr is back. He struck a deal with a group of merchants!” said the boy with a bow and a set of arrows slung over his back.
Jonn and Sarre were pleased with the news. But as they prepared to leave and return to the village, they, along with their animals and Eliot, noticed something that diverted their attention from Petyr’s return.
The three looked up at the top of a small black hill and moved forward on their horses. Reaching the top, they spotted the vast territory to the west. In particular, they saw a group coming from the south, heading north, leaving behind a voluminous dust screen.
“Triceratops!” The three widened their eyes at the sight of over five creatures running a few kilometers away.
The Triceratops was an herbivorous dinosaur known for its impressive head with three horns: two long ones above the eyes and a smaller one above the nose. The back of its head was adorned with a large, bony shield. With a robust body, powerful legs, and a short tail, the Triceratops could reach up to 9 meters (29.5 ft) in length and weigh around 6 to 12 tons.
Visually, they were impressive!
From afar, they didn’t look so majestic, but they easily exceeded the size of the houses in the Eternal Village!
Shit! Why are these animals so close to the village?
Jonn tightened his grip on his horse’s reins. He couldn’t tell if they were beasts or regular animals from this distance. But even if they were just animals, it was still a troubling sign.
The distinction between beasts and animals was merely the ability to manipulate mana. But even without mana manipulation, a 6 to 12-ton creature could easily devastate the Eternal Village!
Although he was nearly in the middle of level 2, Jonn had no prospect of being able to withstand a fight against such a creature!
“A bloody dinosaur! How is that possible?” Even the usually simple Eliot couldn’t help but ask, his face already pale.
His arrows would be useless against a creature like that.
“What should we do?” Sarre looked at Jonn with the same concern as Eliot.
“We can only retreat. It would be good to know what they’re doing or where they’re going, but the risk of drawing them towards us is too great. Let’s go back to the village and avoid this area for the next few days.” Jonn controlled his horse as he turned around, fleeing back to the village, with his two companions following behind him.
“We’ll come back in a week. Hopefully, those animals will have moved away by then.”
{Ding!}
{New quest: [Exotic Animals]!}
[Exotic Animals]
[Description: You have just discovered a group of Triceratops led by a beast. Their purpose is uncertain, but their strength is not. Their influence can bring chaos or prosperity to those lucky or unlucky enough to encounter them. Work with your beasts to discover the destiny of this group!]
[Objective: Understand the Triceratops group and prevent the destruction of the Eternal Village.]
[Progress: 0/5]
[Rewards: 50 attribute points (10 drawable each time you progress); 1 new title (on completion of the quest).]
...
{Ding!}
{-3 progress points in the quest [Save the Eternal Village]!}
...
[Save the Eternal Village]
[Progress: 3/20]
Eh?!