13 Chapter 13 - To Save and Love
Everyone saw Lee walking out of the building. His face reflected immense guilt. Darwin wanted to console him, but didn't move. Freya's displeasure paled when he exited. She too felt immense regret in not stopping Fenfang when she lost her composure. Her face clouded with sadness.
Lee's acting was perfect. None could have thought that this was all his plan. Lee intended to go to some forest, amass some Essence and then return to the village after buying the Six-faced Blue Barnicle fruit from the Shop. He walked with a heavy foot and everyone who saw him felt a tinge of heaviness in their hearts. The village nearly fell into a silent mourning.
After a few seconds, Darwin came out looking for Lee. He saw Lee standing near the fountain, head low and staring at the water. Darwin thought that immense sorrow had hit him, so he let him stay alone for about an hour. In actuality, Lee was calculating the number of murder and deforestation he had to do before buying the fruit worth of 950 Essence.
'D, how useful is Affinity in battle?!'
[Quite. Affinity helps you to be in harmony with an element or entity with 100% perfection. It still has levels like Lesser, Mid, Higher and Absolute. When you absorb a beast core that has an affinity with an element, you gain the affinity. If the affinity is a compound in nature, the constituent affinities will rise. You can-]
'What is compound affinity?!'
[Shut up and listen first. Let me finish what I'm saying.]
'...'
[You can also gain affinity by absorbing trees, plants, fungus and even corpses of some beings. If there is any affinity in the surrounding atmosphere, I will notify you. About your doubt, compound affinity is an affinity that is stable by itself. For example: Lava. Lava is the combination of Earth and Fire, and is stable.
A crucial point, there is a chance that you might encounter beasts with 'Law Constitution'. Do not absorb them right away. Store them and only absorb when your affinity in the element reaches Absolute level. Or else you'll die.]
'I have to ask what 'Law Constitution' is.'
[Some creatures are born with an innate Law Constitution in their body or acquire them as time passes. This Law Constitution body is actually a small fragment of the respective law. In danger, a beast can activate the Law Constitution body that gives them complete invincibility for about an hour. If you absorb such a body after reaching Absolute level, You can slowly comprehend and control the complete law. It is a slow process, but having a law at hand isn't bad, right?!]
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Quest!
'Save An Fenfang from death'
Reward: 250 Essence
Warning: The Colorless Swamp Serpent resides in Silentwood forest.
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'Looks like I can gain some benefits by going there.'
Lee's face suddenly brightened. He turned around to see Darwin standing about 5 meters from him. Darwin was confused to see a bright expression on his face. Until a second before, it was sad. Before he think anymore, Lee said-
"I've decided to go to the forest to get the Blue Barnacle fruit!" (Lee)
Stunned Darwin saw seriousness and honesty in Lee. He slightly smiled and shook his head, and said-
"I knew you'd be determined. So I've too decided to accompany you. My men will stay behind to guard the village in our absence." (Darwin)
Lee was surprised, and moreover displeased. He wanted to go alone. But if Darwin tags along, his plans will not work.
"You don't have to come. I am the reason she's in this state. You must stay here. I must go alone." (Lee)
Darwin was not ready to give up. He opened his mouth to reason, but Lee cut him off.
"If you come with me, it'll be a burden. I am better alone." (Lee)
Darwin's expression faded. He didn't utter a word, turned around and walked towards the carriage. He unbolted and disengaged a horse from it and came back with it. Lee was watching his action and prayed to not let him tag along. As Darwin was walking towards him, he pulled a folded paper from the inside of his jacket and gave it to Lee.
"This is the map to the Silentwood forest, where the fruit can be found. You cannot walk to the forest. There's at least two day travel to reach there. Take this horse. It used to be a warhorse. It will get you there much faster."
His face was positive. He knew he cannot discourage Lee, so he encouraged him. As an experienced knight, Darwin knows the power and perseverance that guilt provides.
Freya silently approached them and heard Darwin's words. She was mildly curious as to Lee's behaviour. From what she could guess, all these actions fell in place to form a secret love sprout.
Lee only had eyes on acquiring Essence, and the attempt to go on a deadly mission was a golden chance for him. But, he couldn't accept the horse. Because he did not have any experience riding one.
"Friend, I thank you for supporting me. But, I don't know how to ride a horse." (Lee)
Darwin was stunned for a moment, but came back to his senses. He remembered how Lee lived this entire time. No wonder he did not know how to ride a horse.
"I want to-" (Darwin)
"It's okay. Even if I had a horse, I would still prefer to walk to the forest. I am the reason why she was hurt. I must not do this the easy way, or the guilt will suffocate me!" (Lee)
Saying this, Lee turned away and disappeared through the village entrance. Darwin stared at Lee's disappearing image. A certain question arose in his mind.
'Could he be in-' (Darwin)
His thought was disrupted by Freya's words.
"He's definitely in love."
Darwin was startled to hear her voice from behind. He couldn't hear her approaching. He turned around and asked.
"You knew?!" (Darwin)
"I had a suspicion. Now I confirm it. The incident was completely accidental, but it left a huge sense of guilt in him. If he comes back alive, I believe he will protect her from any harm in the future. A wish to protect her from harm can be felt in his actions." (Freya)
Darwin heard this and his eyes showed agreement to her words. He slightly chuckled and said as he walked towards the doctor's house.
"Then let's pray for his safe return, with the cure." (Darwin)
Freya followed Darwin after hearing this.
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[You really are a cunning fellow. You pulled off such an act in front of an experienced knight. But I advise you to fall in love with Fenfang. She's an average woman, but had an above-average cultivation. In my opinion, she could have been tricked to eat the fruit by a rival. She will die if there is none to protect her.]
One could barely see a figure running through the woods, but a trail of disappearing trees about two mile long was very eye-catching. He regularly glanced at the Essence count and saw a slight increase every time.
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Essence: 510
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Lee decreased his speed and came to a halt. He brought the quest panel again. It was now the new line of information caught his sight.
[Don't tell me you didn't read this.]
'What is a Colorless Swamp Serpent?!'
[A serpent is about 100 meters long and lives for 500 years. Its speciality is it's scales. They perfectly camouflage its presence from one's sight. It is as if it does not have a colour. Thus the name Colourless Swamp Serpent. It's natural habitat is marshlands that enable smooth and fast movements. To be precise, you are at a disadvantage.]
'So if it's out of the swamp, I could see it?!'
[You cannot see it clearly, but it's outlined under good lighting.]
'Then all I have to do is expose it to light and kill it, isn't it?!'
[Even if you clear the area around the swamp, you need to pull it out of the swamp.]
'I'll show you how I do it.'
Lee had already resumed running and selling the trees to Shop. His Essence increased to 887 by the end of the day and didn't go any further. Lee was already out of the snowy forest and had entered grassy plains. The transition was sudden. The dusk had already welcomed night for company.
Lee slowly walked forward as fatigue had hit him. He glanced at the map Darwin gave him and found that he had already reached half the way. Lee stood on a small mound and saw green plains under bright moonlight. Lee laid down and took a small nap. His face looked at the beautiful doughnut in the sky. His nap was soon disturbed by D's soft voice.
[Don't move. Stay still. Some non-hostile beings similar to hen are approaching.]
Lee half-opened his eyes and saw hen-like creatures bobbing as they walked towards him. He stopped about 3 meters from him and looked at him with a tilted head. Lee saw that they had 4 eyes and wings capable of providing flight. Since they aren't hostile, he closed his eyes and took a nap. Seeing that Lee was asleep, those hens came and sat around him. They surrounded Lee like a fence. Lee unknowingly fell into a calm and serene slumber.
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Morning.
Lee woke up to see a hen sitting on his chest. He raised his head and saw that he's surrounded by the same creatures. They were all sleeping just like a hen does.
Lee tried to move without waking up the hen. But as soon as he moved, the one sitting on his chest opened his eyes and tilted its head as it looked at him. It suddenly made a loud crow which woke up the whole group. Those who opened its eyes jumped up and ran scatteredly. Lee didn't mind their actions and noise unless it was hostile. He stood up and dusted his jacket and pants. A sudden urge to pee hit him. He moved from his spot and released his stress. Hunger and thirst was slowly showing up, but wasn't intense.
'D, why is my hunger and thirst surfacing now?!'
[You were foreign to this dimension. I was slowly injecting small amounts of energy into your body, mind and soul to make it adapt with your surrounding energy. Your being has now completely absorbed and assimilated the energy and can absorb Qi and Mana from the atmosphere. Your metabolism was partially halted to perform this process.]
'So I can absorb Qi and Mana? Just like that?'
[You can come across Qi and Mana abundant atmospheres very rarely. But when you come across, you can absorb it completely without any problem.]
'Notify me when energy rich areas are in vicinity.'
Lee took a brief look at the map and continued his journey with further ado. He increased his pace and disappeared into the horizon without realising two pairs of eyes locked on him.
