While moving away from the father and son, a man in mid forties rushed toward Acma and grabbed Acma’s right hand with both of his hands.
“Thank you, thank you very much, young man. Thank you for saving us”, said the man. He kept thanking Acma while tears running down his eyes and he even bowed several times.
“It’s nothing, uncle. I’m just helping”, Acma hastily replied. He flustered and at lost. He raised his head and noticed more and more survivors closing in and thanked him.
A while after, he was surrounded.
“Thank you, kid”
“How do you tame that gigantic snake and where did it go?”
“Where do you come from?”
That was just a few from many questions he received. Before Acma could answer a question, he already received another. It made him wondered, how the celebrities or politicians confront a situation like this. He answered several questions as briefly as he could.
“Do you know what is happening to us?” asked the man who was grabbing his hand earlier.
Acma looked at him and thinking the best answer he could give.
“Do you remember, four days ago in the morning, a blue panel appeared in your sight”, asked Acma.
“Yes, yes, I remember”, the man nodded. The others too.
“It mentioned about world merging. So, our world have merged with the world we’re currently now. That’s why we met those elves and beastmen”, Acma explained.
Everyone in the surrounding nodded their head slowly. They already knew something was wrong. After all, they went through the nightmares for a few days already Zombies, walking skeletons and today they even met elves and beastmen. All of them were just an imagination creature previously, but now they’ve became a reality.
But they still asked Acma, just to comfort themselves.
“What do we do n...”, before he could finish, a shout was heard from the entrance of the temple.
“Fellow survivors”
A few young monks wearing a clean saffron robe walked out from the entrance, accompanied by several apprentice knight youths. Then they separated into several groups and walked toward the survivors.
“We would like to invite everyone to enter the temple compound. I’m glad to inform you that there is a barrier surrounding the temple and no one can go through without the permission from the abbot. So, it’s safer inside”, said young monk.
“Although the enemies have retreated just now, they might come back later. That’s why we have to hurry before they return”, he continued.
Acma looked at the group who just came out of the temple. He felt relief because they’ve shifted the attention of the survivors from him.
“We should go. I think they are right about the enemies”, he said to the man in front of him.
“Do you think so? Hmmm... okay. By the way, I am Shu Long. You can call me Uncle Shu”
“Nice to meet you, Uncle Shu. I am Acma”, replied Acma with a smile.
They walked toward the temple with the others. The survivors have gathered in front of the temple’s entrance and crowding the young monk who gave the announcement.
“Young monk, is what you said true? Will those monsters return?” a survivor asked the young monk who spoke earlier.
“Kid, do you have any food? We haven’t eat yet since the zombies outbreak”, another survivor spoke with a pleading eyes.
“Are we truly safe inside the temple?”
Shelter, food, drink and safety. These were what the survivors desperately needed at this time. The young monk answered all the questions patiently and reassured the survivors.
A few moments later, the survivors began to entered the temple compound. However, several cluster of survivors moved toward different directions. This action startled the young monk as he immediately moved to intercepted them. They conversed a little but the young monk failed to make them reconsidered their decision.
Acma shook his head a little. He heard their reason that they wanted to return to inspect their home while the others wanted to take their belongings at their previous shelter. Acma thought that their action was a mistake since the enemies were still close. But it was their choice.
He moved his sight toward the temple’s entrance only to see Tan Meng running toward him while waving his hand. His father was standing not far from the entrance, waiting for his son.
“Big brother, are you coming with us?” asked Tan Meng.
Acma smiled faintly and waved back. He felt warm in his heart.
“Of course. Let’s go”, Acma replied.
Tan Meng tugged Acma’s right hand and pulled him toward the temple. Acma let himself dragged by the kid and felt amused. They reached Tan Meng’s father and then entered the temple compound.
The front yard was almost filled with people. From the entrance, Acma could see a few monks wearing a saffron robe directing the crowd. They said the meals were being prepared at the backyard so the survivors were advised to go there. Acma followed the crowd with Tan Meng and his father.
“Big brother, do you know what we eat?” asked Tan Meng. He look eager to reach the backyard.
Acma smiled hearing the question.
“I don’t know, but I think it will enough to fill our stomach”, he answered.
“Owh, okay”
However, a middle age monk suddenly approach them.
“Excuse me, young man. Are you the one with a huge snake who confronted the enemies before?”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Yes, I am”, answered Acma briefly with a smile.
“Our abbot wants to meet you. Could you please come with me?” asked the man politely.
“Sure, no problem”, he answered.
Acma patted Tan Meng’s head and asked him to go first and promised that he will join them later. Then Acma followed the monk to the main hall.
A short while after, they arrived at the main hall. Acma tossed a coin into the offering box out of respect before entering the hall. He took off his shoes and then proceed into the hall. It was a simple hall without many decorations except a big, golden sitting Buddha statue at the end of the hall. Acma could see several middle aged men sitting in front of the statue and discussing.
“Welcome, my friend. Please take a sit”, a man at the center of the group said when Acma was close enough.
Warrior Monk Shi Ming LVL 59
“A warrior monk? Awesome”, thought Acma as soon as he saw the class on the man’s nameplate. He assumed that the warrior monk was the abbot since he sat at the center.
After bowing a little, Acma sat crossed leg with hands on his knees. Acma was calm. Although this is the first time he entered this temple and he didn’t know the reason behind the request of meeting by the abbot, most probably they only want to discuss about the recent change to the world.
The warrior monk was smiling brightly as Acma took a sit.
“Welcome, my name is Shi Ming and I’m the abbot of this temple. I believe your name is Acma, right? I heard it when you said in front of those elves before. May I know where are you coming from”, said Shi Ming with a friendly tone.
“I came from Orca Village”, Acma answered short.
“Owh, I know that village, village of hunters. Are the village all right?”
“The village is alright although we got attacked by a centaurs and werewolves on the first and second day, but we manage to repel them without any casualties”
“Centaurs and werewolves? So we’re not the only one... Looks like the Orca’s hunter are better that what people said about them. I wish I could meet them someday. Unfortunately, their location is too far away from here. My friend, are you here on the order of the village’s chief?”
“No, I’m not. Yesterday, when I was attacking the werewolves’ den nearby, I found a trace of the survivors from this town. So I came here”.
“What do you mean by trace? Are those people okay?” someone asked.
“They were killed by the werewolves when I found them. No one survived”, Acma paused a little then continued, “Actually, the location of this town had shifted a lot. Previously the distance to Orca Village is about 200 kilometres, but now it’s less than 100”.
The news shocked everyone in the hall because of huge difference of the distance.
“How’s that happened”, a murmur was heard.
“Because of world merge I think. But I never thought the change would be this much” Shi Ming said.
“It seem the world has change. Those elves also look like they never expect we are here too. I wonder how much difference our world have become”, a middle age man at the right side said, shaking his head.
“Could you tell us more about your experiences? We were trapped these days, so we don’t know much about this new world. Since you came from the outside of the town, surely you know much more than us”, a man next to Shi Ming asked.
“Okay, I’ll tell you what I know”, replied Acma. He took a deep breath before continued.
“Firstly, the location of this town and also Orca Village are within the territory of Isebial Kingdom, which is an elven kingdom. The army we met this morning were called the Knight of Forest, which belong to the kingdom. Secondly, human are their enemy because there was a war between human and non human 20 years ago that forced the non human running for their lives. I believe their hatred toward human is really deep because the Orca Village got attacked as soon as it was discovered by the centaurs. No negotiation at all”.
“...”
Everyone in were silent. They never expected there was a bitter news than being attacked by the undeads. Been located within the enemy territory made their safety hanging in balance. Furthermore, those enemies had a deep hatred toward human.
“Are you close with any of the village’s elder?” asked Shi Ming.
“Yes, I am. Close enough to call them uncle”, replied Acma with a smile.
“May I know what’s their opinion about this matter? What’s their decision?”
“As far as I know, they were considering the option to relocate the village, but it depends on the reaction of the natives either they attack again or not”
“They want to relocate? But to where and how?”
“About that, I’m afraid you have to speak with Chief Pai himself”, Acma said.
After a little consideration, Acma rose to his feet and took out a communication sphere before gave it to Shi Ming.
“This is a communication sphere. Press this button and say the name of the person you want to contact, either Chief Pai or myself. It will connect immediately. For now, this is the fastest way to communicate with each other. The battery will hold for several months with a careful usage”, explained Acma while showing the abbot how to use the sphere. Then he return to his seat.
The abbot was surprised but he took a good look at the sphere in his hand.
“This is not ordinary communication device. Just who are you?”
“Nobody important, but I’m sure it will be a great help”
“...”
The abbot didn’t say anything and kept the sphere into his inventory. Since Acma refused to say anything, he won’t inquire further.
“Sir, may I asked? I wonder how this temple have a barrier while the other part of the town have not”, Acma asked.
“I’m afraid we can not disclose about that to you yet. But please don’t misunderstand me, I mean, less people know, it is better for our safety”, the middle aged man on the right side hurriedly answered.
“I understand. I’m just curious. That’s all”, said Acma.
“The answer must be related to the abbot. He might be a lord like me since the structure of the barrier is similar to the barrier at my villa”, thought Acma.
Acma were observing the reaction of the abbot but the man was brooding over something while rubbing his chin lightly. A short while after he spoke.
“Actually, it’s not a big secret. I’m not sure myself but maybe Lord Buddha is helping us to survive. The barrier was here since that morning four days ago and I was given the right to control it. I can accept anyone to go through it or prevent them. I can even expel anyone from within the barrier to the outside. Unfortunately, the barrier only covered this temple, not the whole town”
“I see”, said Acma while nodding lightly.
Young friend, I have a lot more to ask, but I’m afraid that have to wait. Thank you for the information. I have to discuss about what you told us just now with the leaders here, so let’s meet again later”, said Shi Ming.
“Then I’ll excuse myself. I’ll be at the backyard if you need anything”, replied Acma. he stood up and walked toward the hall entrance.
After Acma leave the hall,
“This boy is interesting. He introduced himself as Lord of Heavenly Villa, right? Who knows, maybe he is a lord like me. Hmmm... Everyone, what do you think about the him?” asked Shi Ming.
“Everything about him was suspicious. His calmness when facing the enemies, his equipment, his strength, that huge snake. I think he is just as dangerous as those elves and beastmen. I can’t see his level or his job, so he might be a spy, sent by those elves”, the middle age man on the right side gave his opinion, frowning.
“I agree with Mr. Shen that the boy is suspicious and dangerous, but most likely he’s not a spy. He’s from Orca Village. We can verify his background with Chief Pai later and he even gave us the communication sphere. About him being a lord, I doubt that because maybe he just playing along with those elves”.
Shi Ming nodded a little.
“I will contact Mr Pai to confirm his background later. But right now, we need his strength if those elves come back. Him being here can be a blessing and a curse at the same time. However, I believe he wasn’t lying about the other thing and we need to let everyone in the town know”, he said.
“But Mr Shi, if he was right about the hatred, why those elves and beastmen only captured the residents and not killing them?”
“Probably because they were an army. Unless they were ordered to, they won’t act no matter how much they hate us”, replied Shi Ming. “Let’s talk about what are we going to do with those survivors. Also, we need to plan for our future if what the boy said was true”
“Okay”, the others concurred.