Standing over four meters tall, the Sacred Dear was proportioned similarly to an elk, large and powerful but also graceful and elegant. Its skin the color of earth, with bark, moss, grass and small sprouts seemingly growing out of it. A massive set of antler on its head spread to both sides like wings. The antler had a rough texture like tree bark, and its color ranged from light brown to orange.

The Deer took slow, regal steps toward the bowl-shaped stone near the lake. Climbing up the stone steps, it lowered its snout and drank from the stone. Afterward, it lifted his head and let out a soft, melancholic cry, and stomped its right front hoof down three times.

Manco felt the ground around him tremble slightly, and without warning, an invisible wave of energy exploded out from the Sacred Dear in all directions. Startled, he held up his hands, but the energy washed over him harmlessly and disappeared into the depths of the woods.

To his surprise, he felt alert and refreshed. Checking his status effects he found a new entry under the 'Buffs' tab:

『 Blessing of Growth 』 Duration: 47h59m

Effects:

- Apply Well-fed and Well-rested statuses

- Immune to all poisons, diseases and curses

- Xp increase + 100% (stack with other buffs)

- Skill increase rate + 100% (stack with other buffs)

"Damn! What a badass buff!" Manco exclaimed quietly. He wanted to immediately rush away to level up but stopped himself. The Sacred Deer might want to talk to him.

Its blessing given, the Deer stepped down from the bowl and approached him. Manco noticed that wherever the hooves touched the ground, the grass and moss would grow a little bit faster. As the creature got closer, Manco held his breath and stared at its majestic figure.

The tiny kodama jumped onto the Sacred Deer's massive antler. Two creatures, one gigantic, one tiny, stood motionless for a moment as they wordlessly conversed.

"I don't believe we have met, o' friend of the forest," after several minutes, a gentle voice filled his head as the Deer turned to look at him. Its brown eyes were surprisingly human-like, curious and intelligent.

"Uh… friend of the forest?" Manco repeated. Surely It must have noticed him massacring rabbits, squirrels wholesale since the morning, right?

"Ha ha…" the Deer laughed a soundless laugh "Don't worry about the squirrels. I'm not too fond of them either. They're always eating the seeds and digging up the sprouts. Makes it hard for new trees to grow."

"Oh!" he let out a relieved breath.

"So…" the Deer looked at the remains of the bolt shooter "… This is what happened to my children. And now they intend to use it on me." The voice remained gentle, but Manco could feel the fury emanating from It. No wonder why Rust's team high tailed it out of here so fast.

"Not that it would hurt me much but…" the giant Creature snorted, causing a strong gust of wind that threatened to topple the machine "… it would still be quite troublesome."

"Your children…?" Manco was under the impression that Rust's team only arrived in town two days ago. 'When did they have time to kill the Deer's children? And how did they do it?' he wondered.

"Yes… They bless the forest to help it grow and drive away the corruption. Same thing that I do," the Deer explained, Its voice sorrowful "A year ago there was ten of us. Now there's only me."

'Ah, so it's probably not Rust's group! They were talking about some one hiring them to assemble the machine, and it was not their usual job.'

"I can only do so much to hold back the corruption. Now I am slow and weak. I could only wait for my new children to grow up and take the place of the ones that were gone. It will be a few years. I hope the forest can hold on until then…" As the Deer said and looked up at the sky, Manco could see a single drop of tear falling from its eye. He felt a little bad for It. The little kodama on Its antler was lying down contentedly, taking a nap.

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"Uh… Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Oh?" the Deer turned to him, its brown eyes sizing him up, "There is indeed something you could do to slow down the corruption, but it is very dangerous."

'And rewarding, no doubt' Manco thought, his mind back on track: "If it's no trouble to you, please let me know more. I believe I can help."

"Very well," with a sigh, the Deer said: "There's a Corrupter running amok in this area. I can overpower it, but as you can see, I'm in no shape to chase it down. It can sense me and easily elude me. For the last few years, my children and I could only heal the damage it caused. Now that my children are gone, it appears this thing is winning this battle…"

"…As long as it remains in this forest, I can sense its presence. Right now it is in a cave, half a day's walk from here to the west. It rests during the day, and roams the forest during the night."

The Deer closed its eyes, and an image popped into Manco's head. A cave with fragments of bone and skin outside. The scent of blood and death was oozing from it. No trees or shrub could grow near it. There was no doubt whatever lurking inside was evil and dangerous. He shuddered at the image.

"As I said, the Corrupter is extremely agile and dangerous," the Deer continued, opening Its eyes. "I won't hold it against you if you choose not to face it. If you manage to defeat it, however, I will be forever grateful."

"I'll definitely do my best!" Manco affirmed.

〔Quest received: "The Corrupter"〕 (Rare)

Looking back to the bolt shooter, the Deer said "You did me a favor. For that, I'd like to give you this."

Stepping closer, It gently touched Manco's forehead with Its snout.

〔 You've received Misty Woods Sacred Deer's gift. New spell added. 〕

〔 Spell: Mind Link 〕

His eyes widened, and he stammered "T… Thank you! This is an amazing gift!" Having experienced how useful Mind Link was, he could not believe the Sacred Deer just simply granted him that spell with no string attached.

"I believe you will use it well. I wish you a good day, human." Chucking, the magnificent creature turned away.

The Deer walked away with the kodama still lying on its antler and disappeared between the trees. Manco stood there in a daze, Its gentle voice still ringing in his head.

"YES!" He shouted and pumped his fist. He just gained an amazing skill, a rare quest, and a powerful buff that would last two whole days! Damn! He gotta fight as fast as possible and level up. Maybe he should scope out that Corrupter cave? If he could defeat it under the buff, his leveling speed would be well ahead of schedule!!

"What do I do? What do I do?" His mind spinning, he re-arranged his tasks. He needed to get back to town, train a new Crossbow technique, clear his inventory, buy some supplies…

It was now 11:00 am in the game. He was quite deep in Misty Woods. It would take half an hour to go back to town, which was a waste. The only other choice was…

His mind made up, he approached the bolt launcher and touched one of the boxes.

〔Looting Broken Bolt Launcher box #2〕

〔Items contained: 〕

▢ Armor-piercing bolts (196)

▢ Split-head bolts (187)

▢ Sickle head bolts (190)

〔►Pick up all 〕〔 Leave 〕

He selected "Pick up all" and did the same with the rest of the boxes, gaining roughly 2400 bolts of each type. He turned to the boiler and checked it. The only lootable thing was some scrap iron, which was cheap and too heavy, so he ignored it.

Looking around once again to make sure he did not miss anything, he ran into the lake and submerged himself under water.

Two uncomfortable minutes later, Manco the Face Wrecker died his first death.

〔 You have died. Cause of death: Drowning 〕

〔 Item durability decreased. Please avoid dying too often 〕

〔 No items dropped for characters below level 20 〕

〔 Time until respawn: 4m55s 〕

〔► To Menu 〕〔 Log out 〕

Mahn Li decisively selected "Log out."

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As sensation returned to his real body, Mahn Li rushed out of the bed. His legs gave out from under him and he faceplanted on the floor with a painful "splat!"

"Ow!" he mumbled, rubbing his chin.

Checking the time, he found that it was 8:45 a.m. Earlier, he had slept at 12 a.m and waken up at 4.30 a.m. After a quick snack, he had been playing for about 4 hours.

Mahn Li prepared a bowl of instant noodle with sausages and eggs. While it was cooking, he replaced his sweaty mattress cover, went to the bathroom and took care of business, took a quick shower and made a cup of instant coffee. He hastily ate and drank coffee, almost burning his tongue several times.

Upon finishing his meal, Mahn Li glanced at the clock. 8:55 a.m. He had finished everything in 10 minutes.

Checking his phone to make sure he did not miss anything important, he lied back on the bed and turned on the VR rig.

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〔--- NOTIFICATION ---〕

〔--- Welcome to the Epoch of Liberty ---〕

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