Teleporting to Margrave, the young Necromancer first saw the Priest Matvey tending to his pyre.
From the looks of it, someone would be warmed up soon.
'Yeah... too early to deal with that crazy bastard. Let's visit Zalan first.'
Judging by the time, it should be around 8 AM, and the guards were changing shifts. The few people in the outpost also went about their business, making it seem more crowded than it actually was.
Zalan Coste was sitting in the same spot on the grass where he left him yesterday, but it looked like it was in front of his house.
[You've returned, Wanderer. Any news of my mother?](Zalan Coste)
"Mhm. You look less paler than yesterday."
[Thankfully, Aunty Vineska came by and brought me a Life Potion last night. I will recover fully in a couple of days. What about Light's Watch?](Zalan Coste)
Taking out the three journals, Michael handed them to the young man.
"I found these journals."
[Journals?](Zalan Coste)
"Mhm. They belong to an Archivist of Knight Penitents. I found words of your mother being one of the recruits in them."
The young man paused at the revelation and wore a bitter look on his face.
[I see. So, my mother was a Knight Penitent. *Sigh* Would she have made the same choice if she saw what the world had become?](Zalan Coste)
"You should read them. But my answer... I think so. I think she would have made the same choice."
[...Thank you for bringing these to me. I'll read through them.](Zalan Coste)
[ Quest complete - Legacies of Light's Watch
Reward 1: 1,500 gold coins
Reward 2: 8,870 experience points
Reward 3: Salvage Cache. ]
The strange thing was that the cache, or rather, the black pouch, fell from the inventory into his hands and then onto the ground as he was caught off guard.
Realizing his inventory was full, Michael waved goodbye to the kid and walked towards Margrave's Blacksmith.
He forgot to take care of the items yesterday, so they must be taken care of now!
"Good morning, sir!"
[Virsek. What can I do for you?](Virsek)
"Michael. I want to sell you some items and get salvaged materials in return. Would that be okay?"
[It's your loss, but sure. What do you have?](Virsek)
Michael paid little attention to the man as Zivek explained the situation to him. Still, it was better than selling the items for gold coins, as buying those same materials with gold coins... it's too expensive!
He opened the newly gained cache with some items out of the way to see what it would give. The result was 3 Veiled Crystals and a Rare scythe, which he also salvaged.
[So, it all comes down to 31 Iron Chunks, 10 Silver Ores, 22 Rawhides, 6 Superior Leather, and 23 Veiled Crystal. What do you say?](Virsek)
"Sounds good to me!"
[This brat... Let me get you the materials.](Virsek)
The man brought him a cache that held all those items. Upon opening it, everything fell into his inventory.
"Thank you for the help, sir Virsek."
[Mhm. Come back if you need work.](Virsek)
Waving goodbye to the 'tsundere' Blacksmith, Michael took stock of his Material Inventory.
-14 Blightshade
-12 Lifesbane
-51 Gallowvine
-52 Biteberry
-18 Reddamine
-11 Howler Moss
-19 Grave Dust
-38 Demon Hearts
-6 Angelbreath
-49 Veiled Crystals
246 Iron Chunks
92 Rawhide
51 Silver Ores
19 Superior Leather
1 Crude Skull
1 Crude Amethyst
1 Crude Ruby
43 Ruby Fragments
60 Emerald Fragments
39 Diamond Fragments
46 Saphire Fragments
43 Topaz Fragments
77 Amethyst Fragments
71 Skull Fragments
'Overall, it's starting to shape up nicely. But it looks like I'll need more of the higher-end materials, like silver and superior leather. I'll ask Zivek when I return to Kyovashad, where I can get more without buying them. After all, I must save up to meet my small goal!'
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Unfortunately, one can't avoid the unavoidable and can only postpone it at best. With a deep breath, he met up with Priest Matvey, hoping the conversation would end fast.
He wanted nothing to do with this crazy bastard after hearing the stories from Raskya and Helen. This psychopath suggested they should burn people when he was in Kyovashad as well...
'He must be a damned pyromaniac! I need to keep my distance from Margrave from now on...'
"Good morning, Priest Matvey. I've lit the old brazier yesterday."
[Ah, so you have! I can smell it from here. I wish I could have seen the flame dance...](Matvey)
'Yup! 100% pyromaniac! Please don't give another Quest, please don't give another Quest!'
[The guards felt the difference last night as well. From now on, our sleep will be deeper and safer! The Light shines through you, Wanderer!](Matvey)
[ Quest complete - The Cleansing Flame
Reward 1: 1,500 gold coins
Reward 2: 8,870 experience points
Reward 3: Murmuring Cache. ]
Instantly opening the cache, he gained 50 Murmuring Obols and a Rare Chest Armor. Seeing his total number of Obols reaching 470, he remembered Helen telling him to save as much as possible and only use them after reaching Level 50 or higher.
However, he was planning to decrease the number closer to 400. After all, if he gained another 50 Murmuring Obols now, he would be at full capacity and have 5, which he couldn't keep in his Inventory.
'515 is the max, huh? Well, fortunately, I have a reason to ditch Matvey!'
"Sorry, Priest Matvey, but I must revisit the Blacksmith."
[Go, child. Keep the Light in your heart at all times.](Priest Matvey)
'Or you'll burn me at the pyre, right? Fucking hell. You turned into the boogeyman parents used to scare their kids...'
Indeed, upon going to the Blacksmith, the man rolled his eyes and sent him away.
Scratching his head, he kept it in the inventory and would decide what to do with it later.
Creeped out by the Priest, Michael wanted to get out but was torn between completing the last Quest, which required him to reconquer a Stronghold, or heading for Yelesna.
'Ugh... I should do as Helen said. There's no reason to risk my life when I'm halfway through Level 29. Let's see if I can kill some wild monsters on my way there. Maybe... I can even get a Quest or two there.'
With the decision made, Michael walked out of Margrave without looking back. Using the marker function of the MAP, the road suggested he should take to Yelesna was indeed through the tunnels he was in yesterday.
"East, huh? Let's hope there aren't many vengeful bandits in the tunnels... Actually, never mind! Let's hope there are plenty of them. I need to level up!"
On his way to the tunnels, he passed by the Dungeon discovered yesterday but decided to avoid it. He had no information about it, as he completely forgot to ask either Helen or get the list Bronson told him about.
There was a strong possibility of this Dungeon being on that list, so he didn't want to risk facing a ridiculous number of beasts attacking him as soon as he entered.
Checking his level details, his experience was at 58,771/110,880 already, meaning he should definitely get Level 30 today. After that was reached, the Golem would join all future fights.
"Hmm... I haven't decided what I should name my Golem, though... That's important... for sure... mhm..."
Michael advanced toward the Western Tunnels, fighting hard with himself to remove stupid names such as Bob or Jake from the list.
Getting rid of more Worgen and bandits on the way, he also encountered a new type of foe.
[ Frostwing (Minion) - Level 34 ]
It was a bird monster, looking like a vulture with a ridiculous wingspan of probably four meters or more. With it being a Minion, though, it died pretty quickly, thanks to the stacked Corpse Explosion.
Things got stranger as he walked through the tunnels, which, surprisingly enough, brimmed with activity.
When he reached the ladder he used yesterday to explore the Flooded Mine Cellar, an ambush took place. More than twenty Slicers, Arsonists, Brigands, and other types of bandits attacked him out of nowhere.
Fortunately for him, his minions took the frontlines, and he could deal with the group from afar. It was probably the first time he managed to bind together over 15 monsters at the same time.
Following a ridiculous amount of Corpse Explosion, the ambush was cleared.
'It's weird, though... there's way too much activity after I literally massacred everything I could find in these tunnels yesterday. That includes Skeletons, which I have yet to see today. Bats and bandits though... too many...'
Following his guy, he climbed the ladder and was surprised to see a massive colony of bats that descended upon him like a cloud. In their wake, shouts belonging to bandits could be heard.
'Interesting. Are they using bats as signals or something? However, are they stupid? I can kill these bats easily, and each one of them generates a Corpse...'
Following another massacre, Michael stepped over the Corpses on the ground and searched for the Cellar. The Flooded Mine was still there but was empty as soon as he descended into it.
"Hmm... Was I Wrong?"
Questioning his gut feeling, Michael turned his head the other way to the location where he found Lilith's Altar. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing around except for a chest he hadn't seen yesterday and a makeshift camp.
It no doubt belonged to the bandits.
"But more importantly, what's that statue!? I'm pretty sure it was there today, but there was no creepy fog around it. Not was the strange magic symbol on the ground in front of it..."
Finding one too many 'coincidences,' he decided to explore it fully. If he missed something, who knew what could happen?
The statue had wings and was hooded. It was strange, though, as it looked nothing close to Inarius. Its face was clouded by this strange cloud of orange gas, making the Necromancer unable to see what was behind it.
The magic circle in front of it was purplish, looking like a strange spiral. If not for the glittery and out-of-place feeling it was giving off, he would've likely ignored it.
"Another faded plaque, huh? 'Greet... Death... open arms...' I can't make out the rest of it. Still... greet death with open arms? Or something like that? No... 'Death' is capitalized, meaning it might be a title. Maybe the Angel of Death since it's a statue of an angel? *Sigh* Things look troublesome all of a sudden. At least I found a chest. Hopefully, these stupid bandits stored some goodies in it."
But to his surprise, there was only a faded painting inside it.
"Well, what do you know!? Who says bandits don't know how to appreciate art? Eh?"
[ Quest Issued - Better Days
Objective: Show The Faded Old Painting to Zalan Coste. ]
"Huh!? That kid in Margrave? Why? Hmm... does it have something to do with his mother? Then what's the connection with the bandits?"
Super confused, Michael looked at the object-turned-Quest Item and didn't know what to do. Margrave was pretty close, and he just talked with the kid not even an hour ago.
Looking at the MAP, there were two routes he could take to Yelesna. One was through Pauper's Descent, closer to his current location, while the second was through the route he took yesterday to reach the temporary Dungeon through Surgat's Passage.
"Let's just get out of here and get to civilization. This place is creeping me out."
The space before Yelesna, but out of these Western Tunnels, was called the Vale of Fools. As for the reason behind the name, he had no idea.
He reached Pauper's Descent pretty quickly and only had to deal with a handful of bandits and a couple of Worgen. But, as soon as he was prepared to take his first step into the Vale of Fools, a strange feeling churned his stomach.
"Fuck me sideways... That's creepy! What's this feeling!?"
It couldn't be put into words, but he was sure that something was calling him back. He knew that if he ignored it, something terrible would happen.
[Turn around.](?)
The voice was bland and robotic, but it didn't fail to make his blood freeze in his veins. It took all the possible self-control he had not to scream and run like a child.
One look around. Then two. Then three... there was nobody nearby.
"Fuck me, man! Why can't I have one normal day!? *Sigh* Fine, fine! I'll turn the fuck around!"
With his minions taking point, he returned the way he came back. Nothing new was on the way... until he reached the Flooded Mine again.
"Bandits!? And so many? What the..."
A cacophony of shouts followed as the group attacked him, only to be quickly disposed of by a frowning Necromancer.
"What the hell is going on here? They are not humans, that's for sure. They don't leave their bodies behind, so they're similar to Dungeon monsters... Did a Dungeon overflow or something? Why are there so many of them? Their numbers are higher even compared to yesterday..."
Seeing the ladder, he sighed again and descended. As soon as he summoned his minions again since they were apparently unable to use the ladder or jump from a height of five meters, a familiar scene occurred.
"Ambush!? Again!? In the same spot!?"