Vol. 2 - Chapter 21 - The Whisper
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Finishing the Mana Devourer, his Stamina reached the lowest point, making him unable to do anything but remain grounded, being required to wait for that vital resource to recover. Barely able to move, he got to a safer spot at a snail pace, vigilant about his surroundings, until he relaxed as he watched the sky.
“Soon, I will be home, just a bit more Fayrene. Jeanne.” uttered Mathias while the sky along with the mountain was a sight to behold, that would be marked in his memory.
Sighing after a while, entering a state of mind where he had to be patient and not rush himself, in case he was risking being spotted by one of the end bosses of this zone.
Not having much to do, but wait for his stamina to recover a bit more, only after he recovered 45 stamina did he step out from his hideout, feeling as if his wait was enough.
“This much would suffice to keep on going until I would log out.” remarked Mathias, looking around the mountain range, with the wind blowing his long hair.
Walking away from his hideout, the journey continued on good terms, without him encountering monsters or bosses, but it all started to change when he started descending, slowly and later on quickly encountering monsters that aggressively defended their territory like watchdogs, even though Mathias’s intent was to quickly get the heck out from the Gravelmark Heights.
He understood that he was still too weak level-wise to fight those monsters and he could only run from them as if it was the plague.
Nevertheless, it was hard to achieve such a balance with the monsters constantly pestering him and sometimes even being as close to encircling him, he lashed out, not being given a choice he started fighting off the attackers, from level 35 to level 40 that he barely evaded with his life intact.
The Mountain Goats were sticking so close to him, trying to kill him, that it made Mathias remark in his mind.
‘To heck with you devilish goats. Has Evander reincarnated already inside of you that you want me dead? Give me a break.’
‘[Raven’s Movement]’
Thanks to his movement speed skill, he could safely evade the monsters who dwarfed him level-wise, but when he thought he lost their track and they chased from following him, one bigger menace arrived, called Owlbear which made it look as if they were the common monsters of this region, but all were Elites.
Barely able to keep up fighting against the Owlbear, right in the fight from the commotion they were doing, a large bird appeared over the sky which made both Mathias and the Owlbear stop their fight.
*SCREECH*
“Huh? What now, another damned monster got to my tail? This mountain is too high of a leveling ground for me. What’s that new monster, a Roc?” asked Mathias, gazing at the Owlbear who, even though was covered in wounds that oozed blood, started retreating, which made Mathias raise his head to the sky and gaze at the large bird monster.
This monster had a close resemblance with a chicken, but it was a hideous hybrid with the wings of a bat and a lizard-like tail. Its tail had yellow-green scales, with bat wings of a grey shade, while its feet and beak were yellow, combined with feathers of golden-brown hue.
[Cockatrice - Lv. 135]
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Once he got to see the monster level, his expression shifted, reacting instantly.
“I need to get away immediately or I will be dead meat.” said Mathias to himself, before using his remaining energy to dash toward a hiding place, where not even the Owlbear bothered to continue their fight, choosing life like himself.
When this monster that was giving off chicken cries started descending to get him, he dodged by jumping inside a mountainous crevice, but he was slower than before and it gave the impression he was almost done for, but luckily he landed just fine in the crevice, hiding while the flustered monster could only screech angrily.
Those screeches started getting into his head as if the chicken he killed back in Arundell estate reincarnated inside this Cockatrice to haunt him down.
“I’ll turn vegetarian, just leave me alone,” whispered Mathias, from where he was, gazing at the monster from some openings.
Yet, it took a while for the monstrous bird to fly off, and leave him alone, but it also gave Mathias the opportunity to calm himself down and recover his stamina.
So, as time passed and things calmed down, with a fresher turnover, Mathias had an look out for his surroundings before exiting his hiding spot, and quickly passing the territory of the Cockatrice, dashing off and even ignoring some of the lower level monster such as the Owlbear, Mountain Lions, Wolfs, and other predators of the region.
Once he started climbing down some steep rocks, and touching the ground of a new zone belonging to Gravelmark, he could see the familiar landscape and zones in the distance point where he went on his back and raised his hands to celebrate his success of getting to the region he was familiar, that being the salt lake and the mountain range the Gravelmark Kobolds were located.
Checking on his time, he chose to put a stop to his journey at this point, setting the new respawn location, in case something dangerous appeared from nowhere and his reaction would lag behind and get caught.
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When the new day came for him, even the day at work felt like flying too fast. Missing out on the gym, to be as efficient with his time as possible, immediately after he returned home, and completed his menial activities, he jumped back inside Satisfy, like a crackhead.
After finishing the rest of the procedures he couldn’t contain his excitement. Waking himself in a morning day where birds chirped around and the overall atmosphere was pleasing to the ear, compared to his hellish experiences of running from giant monsters that could kill him just from releasing their cries.
Hiking around this zone going forward, he didn’t spot any monster that would wish to eliminate him or any signs of player activity.
‘Hmm, they should be stopped by that mutated bear from ascending the mountain? Or they are unable to defeat the rest of the monsters in the zone?’
Thought Mathias while hiking in the mountain path which was dense in trees, and after a while, the first sign of the salt made its presence felt, his sense of smell being the first to pick on it, like a dog, before his tongue started testing the salty taste coming from the lake.
Stopping in place and managing his excitement, he stared around himself in the forested area and he could only clench his fists and celebrate his success earlier.
“I am finally here. Ahh, it has been three days of adventuring around this mountain that I got closer to home.” rejoiced Mathias, at the first sign of the familiar salty lake, looking around himself and taking in the views of the mountains in the distance.
“This should be on the opposite side of the lake.” remarked Mathias as he saw the lake from the distance, getting closer to the shore until he stopped at the familiar sounds of certain birds.
*Quak* *Quak*
"That sound? What is this?"
With curiosity, he looked left and right for where those duck sounds came, and after he got to the shore he could see exactly the ducks from the Beta Phase living their life without a care.
Once he calmed himself from his shock, he began laughing out loud in a hearty way which attracted the attention of the ducks where some ducklings even moved interest in the new giant guest.
"Hahaha, I got so tense believing it might be some monster, but it was you little ones. Would you imagine myself getting so tense after all those days of encountering those nasty monsters?"
He watched the duckling get closer to him, and lowering to their level, he took some food from his inventory and began feeding them with a wide smile, almost unable to contain his happiness.
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At first, the ducklings got scared by Mathias' gesture, but the enticing lettuce leaves were too appetizing for the pure ducklings to pass, and so with one brave duckling who got to Mathias's palm, the rest followed suit.
"Easy, easy, there is plenty for everyone." said Mathias, feeding the ducklings with patience, before also taking a cup that he filled with fresh water.
The quaking coming from the ducks in the distance woke him from his moment of serenity and with a nod he tossed some vegetables in their direction, before returning his attention to the ducklings, playing a bit with them.
Afterward, he took his clothes, and made his way in the cold autumn water of the salty lake, getting himself used to the temperature and later jumping in the water, laughing around in a happy manner.
"I made it! Soon I will be home sweethearts. This time every single problem I left unturned in Titan will be solved. Corvus, you think I will not attack those gangs just because you wish for your balance? Maybe I will not do this immediately, but once I grow more in levels, I will see who this Clark is, and everyone else who wished to kill me after becoming Syndicate Nemesis."
Swimming around for a bit in the salty water, he noticed that some ducks followed him, as if asking for more food, something he did without batting an eye.
"Enjoy, little ones. I will not remain here for too long since winter will be bound to happen soon. Take care, and be aware of the monsters in the region."
Bidding his farewell with the ducks and ducklings, he started swimming toward the opposite side of the lake, which took him about 20 minutes, but the notifications which announced him about the benefits of the salty water came along, gaining after getting to the opposite shore, 6 STA stats, and 2 STR stats.
"Hah, such a great place. Even though the water temperature isn't what it used to be when I visited this place with Fayrene, the benefits are still there." mentioned Mathias while getting out from the lake and spitting some of the salt from his mouth.
What followed next for Mathias was walking toward the fresh water stream close by, in order to wash himself of the salt, and later on walking straight to the place he built his vacation cabin with Fayrene and the Kobold Vek.
"This was the place right? Indeed, just about close to the old tree. Such a place filled with memories."
Saying that, he walked slowly toward the old tree, where he searched for the marks he inscribed in the past together with Fayrene, but they were not to be found. Sighing and shaking his head, his fears of not finding Fayrene and Jeanne were amplifying, that he gripped his hand in a fist and pressed it on the tree.
“Even if they don’t remember me, I will still be there watching over them, and slowly win over their hearts as I did in the past.”
This rush of emotions was slowly calmed down, where he watched the place he inscribed his words on the tree, and the melancholy hit him, driving him to inscribe back the words of the past on this tree.
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Meanwhile, from inside the roots, a crimson ring started vibrating a bit and releasing a red light, but it was weak, and the voice of a person could be vaguely heard.
{That presence and spirit? Just like how I was when young. Could it be the rightful candidate I have been waiting for those hundreds of years, has appeared? Hah, how many years has it been since anyone has ever visited this old man?
My senses have gotten dull. Should I use all my power to try to communicate with this person? What if he isn’t the rightful candidate to pass my touch? What if he destroys the home I’ve shed my blood and tears to build? The one I sacrificed my love and desires to construct? The one where I took my tribe to the ascension of this realm, turning that small tribe into a respectful country and later into an Empire that commenced the veneration of most races of this world.}
The sound of inscription touched the one inside the ring, which made him ponder on his choices, weighing his choices if he should gamble or not in this new torch to push his wishes forward.
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Back to Mathias who was still working on the wood using Ragnius’s blade, almost done with his inscription, he began hearing something weird passing by his ears, as if they were some whispers from the wind in a female tonality.
{I am … here ….}