AN UNEXPECTED VISIT FROM THE GREENIES

I am quite surprised to see Blue and the other greeny people.

“Don’t tell me you finished all the food I gave you,” I say with a sigh.

“W- what? Do I look like a glutton to you?” exclaims Blue.

Blue’s father smacks him on the head. At least he knows how to discipline him.

“Well, I can’t tell much since you are the size of my palm. So, what do you want?”

An old geezer greeny suddenly appears and looks interestedly at me. “Are you Allen, young man?”

“And who are you?” I look at him with a merciless stare.

I need to show them - to show especially him - that if they have come for some sort of charity just because I gave Blue some food, then they are sadly mistaken. After all, in this world nothing is for free.

I look at him. He seems calm. I guess that’s one of the perks of being old.

“You don’t need to be alarmed, young man. I mean you no harm or charity.”

This old geezer seems to be knowledgeable at reading people.

“My name is Black but my people just call me Great Elder. I’ve heard of you from the young lad, Blue. You’ve managed to subdue the Spirit King of Nature, our mother.”

“So, have you come here to ask me to release her?” I ask, still maintaining the fixed glare.

“Hehe, no young man. I’ve come... no, we’ve come to offer our fidelity to you.”

“What!” both I and the other greenies are shocked.

I don’t know why he suddenly offers his fidelity to me. I mean, I’m no king or of royal blood. The other greenies seem to be trying to convince the great elder not to do this. Blue is shocked too but after a while he calms down, as if he understands why the great elder did this.

“Why would you offer you and your clansmen’s loyalty to me? It can’t be because I have Gaia under me so, why?”

“I and my people have lived in this forest for hundreds of years. Times have changed and if we aren’t careful, we might end up extinct. I’m afraid to say this but we do not possess the strength to protect ourselves. That’s why we need your protection.”

“I understand but why should I provide protection for you? Can you even be of use to me?”

I know I sound harsh right now but nothing is for free in this world. Even if I help them, they might depend on me too much, which is something I don’t want. So if he doesn’t give me a satisfactory answer, I’ll turn them down.

“Have you ever heard of the ‘Phantom Thief’?”

“Phantom Thief. Yeah, I’ve heard the stories.”

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The Phantom Thief was infamous throughout the continent fifty years ago. It is said that there was nothing he couldn’t steal. He stole various things from gold to priceless artifacts and magical items. He stole even from the nobles and the royal family of the Esteria Kingdom. Posters of him were posted all over the continent which was strange considering the fact that he was active in the Esteria Kingdom.

After some time, he vanished from the world without a trace. I guess being the most wanted person in the continent could drive a person to hide. Now, this is where it gets interesting. It is said that he hid all the treasure he’d stolen over the years at a single location. All the riches he worked for or stole in this case. It is said that after his death was confirmed, every kingdom sent people all over the continent to look for his treasure. Mercenaries and adventurers were hired to find the treasure, mainly because amongst his plunder was a priceless object, The Draconic Book.

The Draconic Book was a piece of literature that the Esteria’s royal family spent centuries – neigh - a thousand of years, protecting. Now, the thing is that not only the Esteria Kingdom wants this book. The Great Empire, even the Elven Kingdom, want it. A book of the unknown, housing untold knowledge. I don’t really know why they are so worked up on a book that was written in an ancient language that nobody can read.

“So, what about him?”

“What if I were to offer you knowledge about the place where his treasure was hidden?”

I am shocked by what he says. The other greenies seem shocked too. I guess they didn’t know about it.

“Why should I trust you?”

“That’s because the lad hid his treasure here in this forest.”

What! To think it was here? I never believed that story. Well, I might not be the only one who didn’t believe in it.

People started saying that it was nothing but a myth.

“Okay, you have my attention.”

“The treasure is hidden here in the forest. But before I tell you where, I need your guarantee that you’ll be responsible for our protection. We will serve you as your loyal servants.” I stare at him for a moment, pensive, and sigh. “Fine.” “The treasure is hidden in the cave of the Demon Spider. Of course, whether you have the strength to actually defeat the Demon Spider and obtain it is up to your abilities.”

He’s probably saying this because he thinks that I cannot handle Cinnamon, but too bad for him. To think the treasure is hidden in Cinnamon’s cave of all places. Well, I guess it makes sense. Cinnamon is the strongest monster in this forest second only to the Silent Demon. But to think the Phantom Thief was so strong that he’d be able to subdue Cinnamon. Or did he? Maybe he possessed a technique that gave him the ability to bypass Cinnamon’s detection.

“I see. Then as per the agreement, you guys can stay here with me. I will protect you as my loyal servants.”

To think he would agree? Well, he did put emphasis on loyal so that means if we ever betray him, then he will show no mercy. But what concerns me is that he didn’t even seem shocked when I mentioned the Demon Spider. Is he that confident in his strength or is it that he is just a naïve child after all? Well, this kid is really hard to read. Of all my hundreds of years of life, I have never met someone who is as mysterious as him.

Even though I want to go check if the old man’s information is authentic, I still have a few things I have to do before that.

It has been a week since the agreement with the greenies and they seem to have settled well here. I’ve also managed to learn a few things about my weird golden energy. It seems after using it, my physical abilities increased and I also gained a form of instantaneous regeneration. I haven’t experimented much on this ability like chopping off my own limb, but I at least know that my wounds heal on their own. My mana core and magic core has also expanded and the rate at which I can absorb magical power and mana in the environment has increased.

My magic spells have also improved a lot but it seems though that this energy isn’t unlimited. In fact, it cannot be replenished like mana usually is. It’s like the energy itself is foreign to this world. I guess that means this isn’t a power I got from this world then. Anyways, since my magic has reached another level, I now have the capability to heal my gram’s illness.

Of course, I won’t for now. If I heal her now then she’ll probably try to stop me from challenging the Silent Demon which is something I can’t have her do. So, now what I’ll do is heal half of her injury and by using spirit energy, I will also be able to heal her deteriorating soul. With this, she should be fine for now. I hope you’ll understand, Gram.