20 The Stealth Knight and the Ranger

'Daily Quest Completed.'

'Quest Reward: Brewing Material.'

<< 1,000-year old Darkbane Flower >>

// Used to brew materials against Grand-rank Dark affinity beasts.

This is cool. Elliot grinned before entering is house.

He reviewed his Quest Panel and saw the list there. The Daily Quest was marked as finished and the color was now darker.

[ QUESTS ]

[ Daily Quest (finished) ]

[ The Farmer's Dilemma ]

[ A Lion?!?! ]

Elliot decided to check the second quest. The third one was quite intimidating, so he picked the easier looking one first.

< The Farmer's Dilemma Quest >

// A farmer's wife in a village of Yusta is sick! Help the farmer.

That's it?

Although the quest description did not indicate the reward, Elliot thought it might be something better. His first reward was high-class just after completing a simple task after all.

"Let's go on a journey tomorrow," Elliot told Connor and started to eat his pork. "I have to go to a village called Yusta. This is delicious."

Connor smiled, which Elliot saw. He pursed his lips and asked his friend, "What is it?"

Connor shook his head, the smile ever leaving his face. "It's just… I'm from Yusta."

Elliot formed an 'O' with his mouth. "What a coincidence."

Before the dawn broke, the two started their long journey. From the city of Alorde, it would take them at least two days to get to Connor's village. They would even pass the Crimson Palace after half a day.

"Do you know the lore regarding the Palaces?" Connor asked while they walked around the barren lands. Phantoms roamed not too far from where they are, but it wouldn't engage in battle unless they step foot over their red soil.

Elliot nodded, looking at the border between the green grass and the dried up soil. "My mother always told me about those. Fascinating beasts, they are."

The lore started with the Almighty. When He blessed the world with magic, He provided five virtues to five Kings. Freedom for the Sunshine King, Acceptance for the Lilac King, Strength for the Grass King, Emotions for the Crimson King, and Resilience for the Azure King.

The Almighty told the kings to spread his virtues to the people. Although they obeyed the Almighty, the Kings fell into the pits of evil. Their purity was tarnished with darkness.

With their dying breaths, the Kings returned their virtues to the Almighty before they succumbed to corruption along with their kin and lands. This was later named as the Five Palaces.

A conquest was made 19 years ago. A Conquest to usurp the Azure Palace. With the legendary five-membered guild, Pentos, leading the way, the world saw victory. All the Top 100 guilds participated, providing their best Adventurers.

Although the Azure Palace Conquest was a success, to the eyes of the continent, it was the biggest failure in the history of conquests. Only a quarter of Adventurers that participated had gone home. Pentos was questioned as to why none of their members were killed.

The conquest plummeted Pentos' reputation until they disbanded. Just when the continent felt at ease, the rise in the number of Strikes started. A few years shy after the end of Pentos, one of the biggest cities of the continent was destroyed. The people could only scream for help. They were screaming the guild's name.

But no guild member ever returned.

A decade later, another large city, Cacten, was destroyed. The leaders could only remember how easily Pentos could handle an Alpha Strike. Their strength was not I numbers but in sheer power. Yet, now they could only hope their city wouldn't be a victim of another Alpha Strike, remembering how it was easy for their people back then when Pentos was still around.

They said a member of Pentos could match up a hoard of dragons! Although exaggerated, it wasn't far from the truth. They were strong Adventurers.

"Let's take a rest," Elliot said. They were walking for over half a day and the sun wasn't far from setting. Just a few hours from now, the sky will burst in colors of orange and red.

With pre-made potions, Elliot and Connor replenished their strength. It was a concoction made of Midnight Pheasant Eye, True Basil, and Laughing Corn.

Once again, the Manual proved to Elliot that it has peculiar taste in potions and recipes.

Elliot looked at his quest, then at Connor. He was contemplating because of a gut feeling. That somehow, Connor was connected to the farmer's wife they're going to save.

The description did not provide a name or an image. It was pretty vague, actually. Yusta could be a big village and many farmer's wives could be sick there. Not to mention those who live a little further from the village. How was he supposed to know who he's going to save?

It seemed like this system has its faults too. Or does it really want its user to think critically?

As they walked over a hill, two Adventurers were fighting against a large Sand Whale.

<< Sand Whale >>

Great-Rank

Level 45

HP: 34,000/45,000

Seeing closer, it was the two who Elliot saw at Francoise's shop. One of the girls had short hair. Her equipment was light, showing some skin here and there. Elliot could see that she was a Stealth Knight. Wielding two daggers, she was dashing from different directions, trying to find an opening.

The other one had long flowy hair. Her pieces were that of a Ranger. Especially the bow she was holding. She had her back turned against Elliot and his forehead scrunched after seeing that she had no arrows. She didn't run out of it from what he could see.

She had no quiver to begin with!

The Stealth Knight lowered her daggers, focusing on an attack. She raised her arms in front of her and pulled them back.

"Dance of the Ripples."

A wave formed under her boots as if she was standing on water. In an instant, the Stealth Ranger disappeared and a slash appeared on the Sand Whale's face. When a ripple forms in the air, the girl would appear, swiftly slashing the beast.

Her movements were so fast that both Elliot and Connor couldn't keep up. Tens of ripples appeared, cutting the whale in every direction. It thrived in the desert-like terrain they were in but it was powerless against the Stealth Knight.

After her attack finished, the other girl pulled the string of her bow. It was comical how she was pulling it without a string. That was until she started her attack.

"Rain of Frost."

She pointed her bow upward, and with extraordinary speed, her hands pulled the strings at a rapid pace. Arrows that were formed from icicles appear every time she pulls her string, shooting it upward. Her continuous strike made tens of arrows that rained upon their enemy.

The whale moaned in pain as dozens of arrows landed on its sandy skin. The whale died not long after, succumbing to the large cuts and the icicle arrows that pierced its large body.

"Where did the Stealth Knight go?" Connor asked that made Elliot look around.

In a mere second, the girl appeared in front of them, pointing her daggers on their necks. Her eyes were lifeless. As if she was not living at all.

"What do you need?"