Walking along the Tops and heading towards the Roots, we could hear the many vendors around calling out to the crowds for customers, selling all sorts of items: hand-crafted trinkets, material fabrics, bizarre garments, ornate weapons, and even more items I couldn’t distinguish.

“Come all, come all!” A merchant vendor announced, “I have furs and materials from the bountiful mountains of Beldra, books and scrolls from the renowned libraries of Leon, weapons and armour from the master smiths of Norik, accessories and garments from the artistic culture of Sya, and much much more!”

“No, over here!” A rival merchant vendor shouted over, “My items are truly unlike anything else you’ll find in the city of Ven’Thyl!”

Another merchant across from them yelled out, “Newly obtained goods hand-crafted just for this year’s festival!” claiming “No others like these will ever be seen ever again!”

While yet another merchant nearby loudly voiced, “I implore you, my fellow elven people! Do not accept trade from greedy merchants selling foreign kingdom goods like those! Instead, come and trade with altruistic merchants like myself, selling only goods and items obtained by your fellow people, and keeping the coin in good elven hands!”

Shurtyrr on my left chuckled, “Hah, there’s no such thing as an altruistic merchant—just another greedy merchant pandering to the loyalists.”

“Even so, there sure does appear to be more foreign goods being sold within the Kingdom in recent years.” Aelthar observed, walking to my right, “Must be a sign of the Kingdoms' growing peaceful relations.”

“Who cares where the items comes from, as long as it’s well-crafted and authentic!” Amariina excitedly expressed from behind me, eagerly examining the different vendors we passed, with Shurtyrr and Aelthar noticeably doing the same.

“Uh, should we stop and go look at some vendors?” I asked them, “I can tell you guys really want to.”

“See Verana, I told you Eyes would want to check out some vendors first! So can we please break tradition and wander about first?” Amariina pleaded in an innocent voice.

“No we may not, as he is simply being kind and considerate to all of your way too obvious and eager gazes.” Verana reasoned, leading the way in front. “Besides, is it not already enough for us to be preparing earlier than previous years? I mean the merchants have not even finished setting up all their stands yet, so surely you three will have plenty of time to shop afterwards, yes?”

“What about first come, first serve, Verana?” Aelthar argued, “We rarely find ourselves first, you know?”

“Not to mention all the exclusive items we might miss out on because of that fact!” Shurtyrr chimed in.

Verana sighed and spoke to them with a stern voice, “I already gave my answer, so do not make me repeat myself, you three.” The others huffed and pouted in petty frustration, while Verana turned back and apologized to me, “I am sorry, Eyes. Please ignore and excuse their spoiled, and childish behaviours.”

“No worries, but it seems like you’re used to this, Verana.” I noted.

“Indeed I am, as they get like this every year during the festival, and sometimes you must put your foot down before they get too riled up.” Verana gave the others a sharp look, causing them to grumble and settle down. “But this is partly my fault, for I spoiled Aelthar and Shurtyrr all too much while they were children, and did nothing to stop them from recklessly influencing Amariina in her youth.”

“Oh? Then what about Odelia, was she like this too?” I inquired curiously.

“No, Odelia was raised right by her Master Illiveyl before joining our House, so she has never been all that consumed by desires of materialistic things—as you might have notice from the lack of stuff in her room.” Verana then mentioned, “Although like her Master, she does have quite the obsession for all things related to archery—as you might have also noticed from all the bows and arrows she has crafted or collected for herself.”

“I guess like Master, like student.” Knowing Odelia and I aren’t that different either.

Riding a crowded elevator down to Soil, I could see the entire area was already fully decorated in beautiful glowing lights, and with fresh-flower vines hanging over every street and across every building. Countless merchant vendors were spread throughout, selling even more assortments of different goods, with the streets themselves heavily packed and condensed with lively roaming people.

Following Verana off the elevator, we headed towards the left side of the crater, and I said “Hey, you guys still haven’t told me where we’re going yet, you know?”

“Oh, apologies, Eyes. It is no where special, simply the home of my old friend Bhin.” Verana informed me.

“Bhin?” I repeated, “Who’s that?” not recognizing the name.

“He is no one, just an eccentric old geezer who creates the best tattoos in the entire city for festivals like these.” Verana explained.

“That’s a lie.” Amariina whispered behind me, “No one Verana calls a friend is ever just a nobody.”

“If he’s not a nobody, then who is he?” I whispered back.

“A pain in the ass guard who used to try to arrest me whenever he saw me back in the day.” Shurtyrr answered spitefully.

“Ignore Shur.” Aelthar interjected, relaying “Old Bhin is my senior, a former Guard Captain, and the man who inspired me to obtain the Class: Unconquerable Shield Guardian Master.”

“A Guard Captain who inspired Aelthar?” Looking over Aelthar’s massive muscular physique, “He must be really strong if someone like Aelthar was inspired by him!”

We continued along the left side of the crater a little while longer, until we finally reached an old quaint house set atop the crater’s edge overlooking the Roots below. Verana approached the house first, loudly knocking on the door and shouting in elvish, “Bhin, you old fool! Are you still alive! You do know it’s the Five Heroes Festival today, right?”

There was no answer, but floorboards within began to creak as someone inside approached the other side of the door. “V-Verana?! What in the Goddesses' names are you doing here?” A muffled voice exclaimed, seeing his green eye looking through the peephole of the door.

“To get our festival tattoos of course, why else would we be visiting you, you old kook! Now open the door!” Verana demanded, knocking on the door again.

“No!" He adamantly refused, anxiously questioning "Where’s that judgmental little brat, Odelia? And who’s the mysterious stranger hiding beneath a cloak?”

“Calm down, Bhin.” Verana spoke calmly, “Odelia’s celebrating the festival with her husband in the Human Kingdom this year, and the stranger is simply a new member of House Ven’Thyl. Now will you please open the door already?”

“Fine! But if the new guy touches any of my stuff, I’m gonna kill him!” The man stated, hearing him beginning to unlock several locks on the door.

“Uhh… He’s joking right?” I asked the others.

“Sadly, no.” Amariina answered bluntly, “But worry not, we would never let anything happen to you, Eyes.”

“At worst my body will be your shield.” Aelthar said, confidently pumping out his chest.

“Hah, well you better be on your toes, Ael.” Shurtyrr scoffed, “The old geezer seems even more senile than years previous, so who knows when he will go crazy and—” The door suddenly opened, and with incredible speed, the blur of a person came rushing past everyone.

Too fast for me to even react, I was left helpless to watch as a scarred man lunged to attack—wielding a strange glowing sword—aiming directly for my heart. However at the very last moment, Aelthar grappled the man from behind and completely restrained him, as Amariina reactively conjured a shield barrier in front of me to block the blade, and while Shurtyrr jumped over head and perfectly cut the sword’s blade into three pieces with daggers concealed on his waist.

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“Holy shit, that was a close one!” I thought to myself, feeling relieved for being saved.

Taking a moment to collect myself, I was shocked to see the threatening man that was about to kill me, was nothing more than an frighteningly feeble and tanned old man. He wore only ripped and dirtied clothes, exposing the numerous scars all over his worn out and tattooed body. Although the most notable thing about him was his entirely missing right arm, as well as the pegleg on his left leg, and the points of his ears which have been clearly savagely cut long ago.

“Unhand me, you little rascal!” The old man struggled to break free, but Aelthar strongly held onto him. “And how dare you use so much strength to retrain your senior, Aelthar!”

“Senior citizen is more like it.” Shurtyrr remarked, concealing his daggers again.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t let you go until I know you’re in your right mind and won’t attack again.” Aelthar explained, firmly holding on.

“Right mind? I’m always in my right mind!” In one smooth motion, the old man simultaneously elbowed Aelthar in the ribs and headbutted him with the back of his head; he then used his legs to kick off Aelthar’s torso, and broke away from the grapple by propelling himself forward. “You still have a bad habit of letting your guard down, I see!”

“Something I picked up from you, didn’t I?” Aelthar replied; and without noticing, the old man landed directly on top of a magic trap Amariina set up, instantly causing it to activate and completely entangling him in magical vines rapidly growing up from the ground.

The old man grumbled in frustration, but before he could attempt to break out from the new restraints, Verana asked him “Are you finished with your unruly and traitorous behaviour, Bhin, or shall I personally come and handle you myself?” The old man was clearly taken back Verana’s surprisingly serious demeanour, and could only answer her with a simple docile nod. “Good. Then I shall sincerely hope you never attempt to hurt, or threaten his life ever again.” She then gestured for Amariina to release her magic, and went inside the house ahead of us.

The others gave me a reassuring smile, and as they safely escorted me towards the house, I looked back to see the old man utterly confused by Verana’s words. “For someone as strong as that to submit, just how strong is Verana?” I wondered, momentarily using my Eyes Of A Seer on the old man, and seeing an Npc’s Menu for the first time.

Npc Info

Name: Bhin Maerneplith

Species: Elventhyl (Wood Elf)

Age: 499

Gender: Male

Class: Runic Shield Knight

Title: Elven Giant

Level: 90

Vitality: 972 Magic: 2,932

Strength: 935 Agility: 998

Intelligence: 2,784 Endurance: 861

Sense: 2,010

Innate Skills: Lv.Max Elven Physiology, Lv.Max Genius Artistic Talent, Lv.Max Keen-Sighted, Lv.Max Rune Enchanted Body, Lv.Max Undying Will

Acquired Skills: Lv.Max Battle Aura, Lv.Max Giant’s Mighty Stature, Lv.Max Master Rune Carver, Lv.Max Painter, Lv.Max Runic Awakening, Lv.Max Shieldquake, Lv.Max Shield Juggernaut, Lv.Max Unbreakable, [More]

Status: Anxious and Confused

Weakness: Ultrasonic Waves

“What a strange Menu…” I thought to myself, walking inside the house, “I don’t exactly know what to make of it ‘cause I can’t interact with someone else’s Menu, but I do know one thing’s for sure… This old man is not ordinary!”

The inside of the house itself was quite spacious, contrary to its quaint appearance from the outside, though the problem was it was entirely filled with a baffling amount of stuff. Be it the mounds of old random armour and weapons haphazardly stacked on top of each, or any of the other miscellaneous junk scattered all around the single room space, I instantly knew what type of person Bhin was, for this most certainly was the home of a classic stereotypical hoarder.

Verana waited for us in a cleared out space in the centre, sitting on a pristine couch she appeared to have cleaned, so we joined her there. Bhin then walked inside, closing the door behind him, and locking the several locks along the side of the door. When he finished, he said to us “Alright, let’s get this over with. Who’s first? The grouchy crone I presume?”

Verana scoffed, “I’d watch your tone with me, Bhin, or a falling star might just happen to land directly on all of your precious junk!”

Bhin looked unnerved at the threat but tried to compose himself, saying “You really are in a foul mood today, so what is it? What’s got the legendary Star Caller so worked up about?” But Verana was reluctant to answer, knowing she needed my permission to tell him the truth, so she simply stayed silent as we watched him rummaging through all his junk for something.

Eventually finding what he was searching for, Bhin pulled out an old dusty box from a random pile of junk, and brought it over to us. Blowing the dust off, he opened it to show a few dozen colours of dull and dried out ink, but after he added a little bit of alcohol to the ink, he nodded to us he was ready to start. Accepting to go first, Verana stood perfectly still in the middle of the space, and Bhin right away began to precisely paint her bare body in colourful ink—strangely only using his fingers to do so, but I noticed an almost invisible amount of mana emitting from them.

Without hesitation and having a clear image in mind, Bhin swiftly created 55 unique and detailed stars along the various parts of Verana’s body, notably grouping some stars with others, and connecting each of them with intricate flowing lines accurately matching her veins. Though amazingly, in that entire time Bhin did not make a single mistake or slip-up, smoothly transitioning to refining the details of his work, and forcing me to be naturally entranced by his awe-inspiring and masterful skills. And in that exact moment, I suddenly realized I was in the presence of a true artistic master at work, fully immersed entirely in the pleasure of his art.

With not even a full 15 minutes passing, Bhin had already completed an incredible full-body tattoo on Verana; displaying that of magnificent constellations aligning her entire body, intricate astral veins running through her limbs and reaching up to her face, a detailed star-map between the sun and the moon on her back, and finally an out of place image of a limbless figure wrapped in chains on her chest. And although Bhin only used a minuscule amount of mana to apply the ink, Verana’s tattoos absolutely radiated a ridiculous amount of magic from them—even without using my Eye of a Cyclops to see magic clearly.

“Next.” Bhin said, not letting his intense focus go to waste—quickly eyeing Aelthar to come, and causing him to volunteer to go next.

Already having plenty of scars and tattoos all over his body, Aelthar didn’t have much free space to paint on, but that didn’t stop Bhin. Moving way faster than he did before, he precisely painted over and recreated Aelthar’s previous tattoos with his own hand, as well as made the scars appear as if they were fresh wounds, and then added an asymmetrical design that seamlessly weaved around all the tattoos and scars; finishing off with intimidating war paint on Aelthar’s forehead, chin, and eyes.

Shutyrr was immediately called next, but for some overwhelming reason all I could think about, while I stared at Bhin’s unique masterful skills, was how I could take advantage and use them for my own benefit; and of course one person instantly came to mind on who could utilize and match such unique skills. “Da Vinci…”

“Good...my dear Voa...” Annihilation ominously voiced in my head, “Be sure to make good use of every pawn you’ve gathered so far...”

“Pawn? These people aren’t pawns!” Objecting that thought. “And stop talking like that!”

“Sure they are—or at least they could be!” Annihilation expressed avidly. “Or perhaps you’d rather prefer to call them our subordinates, or maybe blind followers?”

“Well actually, these guys do seem like that sometimes, but—Wait, hold on a second. I just recognized that sensation from before. Were you just influencing my thoughts just now?” Figuring she must’ve done something to make me think that way.

“Maybe… Although it was only because you weren’t thinking of doing so.” She openly admitted.

I really had no response to her, for the ease of which she actively influenced me was slightly perturbing, though I decided to respond to her anyways, threatening “Unless you want me to actively affect you with my influence too, I suggest you don’t do that again.”

“Ohhh? I’d like to see you try.” Annihilation smuggled replied, calling me out on my bluff.

But right before I could make a snarky reply, Bhin suddenly called out to me, saying “Hey you, mysterious stranger beneath the cloak! You’re the last one, so hurry up and stand over here already!”

In only the brief exchange I had with Annihilation in my mind, Bhin somehow fully completed the full-body tattoos on both Shurtyrr, and Amariina. With Shurtyrr having very sharp, angular, and wicked patterns symmetrically arranged along his body; while Amariina had extremely elaborate and hypnotizing arcane mandalas meticulously designed on hers—with both of them now radiating the same immense magic Verana and Aelthar did.

“Huh, I guess it is my turn.” Standing up to go next.