A proof of Defeat

Traveling further down the slope, Jay saw it turned towards the south again after he surrounded half of the high mountain to his right.

He had encountered two more ambush teams and taken care of them to that point.

As he passed the second mountain to his left and rode towards the south, he saw the path leading up a winding slope and getting narrow between two mountaintops in some distance. From the valley he was in, Jay no longer saw the plains behind the mountain range.

In that valley with a small and not too dense forest, some more groups of bandits lay in wait.

Even two bandits all by themselves crossed his path, though they looked more to be on the hunt for some deer in the forest.

Close to the other side of the valley he found an encampment next to a small pond.

Like he had done with all the patrols and hidden bandits, Jay trained his stealth skills on them and killed off the five bandits in the camp.

Again the last one had to endure a small questioning as Jay needed to know their numbers and locations. All together there had not been much over twenty persons in the camp and they were the last group on this route.

Down the mountains on the other side were only two scouts watching for incoming threats, but one of them hab been between the four dead men in the camp.

Glad about this information and that he didn't need to travel the whole way towards the south, Jay ended the torture.

The sun was already beginning to set and he had no desire to spend the night in the mountains.

After checking the camp for valuables, not really finding anything of worth, he summoned his monster horse and rode back towards the north.

Thanks to his mounts speed he just so managed to reach the wide plane up between the mountaintops in daylight.

But for the slope up to the west he had barely any natural illumination thanks to laying in the shadow of the mountains. Jay was glad his eyesight was that good or he would have had to use [Night Vision] for better orientation in between the shadows of the rocks and boulders to all sides.

Only as he reached the top there did he get better vision again as he saw the sun kiss the ocean on the horizon.

Speeding up the horse once again to at least reach the bay before sunset and barely managing to do so, Jay rode the last part around the mountain to Stillwell's abode in nearly complete darkness.

That didn't matter much to him, but Daphne seemed to have gotten nervous while waiting for him. She was standing in her yard and looking around with a torch in her hand, just to honestly smile as reached her and jumped off his mount.

The whole trip had taken most of the day and if Jay had known how far the mountain range reached, he would have postponed the tour to a later date.

Visibly exhausted from the ride he got led into the small house and served a simple stew Daphne had prepared while he was gone. She saw him look a bit skeptically at the meat in his bowl and instantly knew his thoughts.

"You don't really think I have used them, right?" D.

"Them? ...Hey, you can't read minds, do you?" J.

"There's no way I can, same for using our victims for food!

Just to clarify that, I always have some dried meat in stock. If you put it into boiling water it will look and taste like normal.

Now eat!" D.

The wide grin on his face made her know he had played a prank on her.

Daphne's face began to twitch as she on the one hand was happy he didn't really have those fears, but on the other had dared to joke with her using those men.

But after some seconds she also had to start laughing like the youth in front of her was doing.

Jay then reported about the bandits he encountered in the mountains during their simple dinner. She knew the locations of which he talked and was astonished he managed to travel this far and even back in barely a day.

He also told her about the bandit base he previously had eradicated. That earned him quite the surprised stare and many compliments.

After that they talked a bit about what he was going to do and Jay stated that, even though he just cleaned the mountain passage, she hopefully wouldn't need to help the refugees for much longer.

Turning around and standing up, Daphne walked over to the wall where she took her shield from it's stand. As she reached it over to Jay he looked as baffled as she looked previously.

"Take it as proof you had killed me. You will need something more than your word to get on their good side…" D.

"That'll help for real, thank you. I promise you'll get it back soon." J.

"No need to! If you really manage to get rid of the local problems, I won't have any more use for it." D.

As he took the shield and put it to his side, Jay got a new system notification that appeared in his field of view. This startled him quite a bit as it was the first time he received a quest just by obtaining an item.

***

Quest:

The proof of Defeat

Object:

deliver the Shield to Lady Brittany as proof you have killed Daphne Stillwell

***

As he looked a bit spaced out, Daphne inquired what he was thinking about.

Jay only told her he had thought about his next steps and asked her to stay hidden in her house for a while. It would be problematic if someone saw her after he told he had killed her.

For that night he had decided to stay there and guard her as another ambush might come after the first didn't return. The chances were quite low but as it was already dark it only would look even more suspicious he made it back alive as sole survivor.

Daphne offered him to sleep in the living room, but Jay declined the kind offer.

He would stay outside on the small bench and keep watch for her to have a safe and peaceful night. There was no way he would try something on the kind granny.

Before he could leave the room, Daphne asked him to wait and went to her massive bookshelf.

She came back with two thick books in her arms and placed them on the table between them. Looking at her questioningly, Jay learned those were skill books she still had in her possession.

She had once gotten them from the church for her adept before she left the service.

It was one book called [Shield of Judgment] how he read on the dusty cover. Without him even opening it, she explained to him that this was the skill she used in the battle that morning.

As it was a physical skill he should have no problems learning it, though she doubted it would suite his style. Skill-books were worth quite some gold so she gave it as compensation.

The second book was one of the light magic school, so she even more so thought he would simply sell it. [Sense Undead] was the name of the book and Daphne explained he would need the corresponding magic to learn it. Thanking her as he took both books, the two wished each other a good night.

It was completely dark as he went out of the house and his eyes needed some seconds to adjust to the new environment. As they were finally done, Jay got presented a spectacular view.

Countless stars sparkled at the night sky and the moons illuminated the world in a dim light. Combined with the waves crashing on the shore at the foot of the mountain and a soft breeze due to the altitude it really felt tranquil.

Sitting down on the small bench placed next to the door, Jay grabbed the first book and opened it. Nearly the same notification as back with his first skill-book appeared before his eyes:

__________

[Skill-book: Shield of Judgment]

[Shield of Judgment LVL1] is ready to be leaned.

Do you want to learn it or read the book for possible higher level?

[Learn] [Read]

__________

Without thinking much about it, Jay chose to read it again. As this skill didn't require any affinity and was purely physical, he could even understand most of what was written in there without that much trouble.

His reading was still not really good though, so his progress was not that fast.

After he had read the first few pages about blocking and countering and the theory of how shield bash worked, Jay noticed the noised from inside ceasing.

He had to activate [Night Vision] to keep on reading a moment later as the light inside got turned off when Daphne went to bed.

Over an hour later he had nearly progressed through the book when his eyes fell shut.

The skill-book wasn't that thick and he guessed he'd have long finished it if the content hadn't been that dry. How to hold which limb at blocking and where to guide energy was not nice to read for that long, so it was no wonder he got tired from reading it. But Jay still had his vigilance up while he nipped off for a bit.

The night had been completely event-less as the first sun rays peeked over the mountain range to the east.

Opening his eyes he marveled at the sight of the ocean again and as he heard no noise from inside the house, he opened the book again to finally finish it.

During the night he had only managed to get two pages further after he went to check the surrounding area. The moment he had restarted reading tiredness flooded in so he couldn't get that far.

As he had finished the book he closed it and put it to the side for a moment.

Thinking about what he learned for a few seconds and trying to direct energy to the locations mentioned, Jay got the general idea of the skill pretty good. Grabbing the book again and opening it, another notification appeared.

__________

[Skillbook: Shield of Judgment]

[Shield of Judgment LVL2] is ready to be leaned.

Reading the book can not increase the level any further.

[Learn]

__________

The moment he clicked on the learn button, more information flooded his mind. It took him a bit of time to sort it but he did learn another skill with that.

It really was no skill he'd use often as it, contrary to his (Crushing Blow) concentrated the energy but from the hit with the shield on one single point and delivered a hard blow.

As he never really used a shield and wasn't planning to do in the future, this skill seemed a bit wasted on him. He had still learned it without regret as it might come in handy at some point though.

Clanking noises from inside the house brought Jay back from his thoughts the next moment. It seemed to him that Daphne had woken up and was already at work inside.

The sun had not even shown itself over the mountains when he went back inside the small house.

Stillwell was already standing at the hearth in her daily clothes when Jay wished her a good morning.

She was about to make breakfast when Jay shoved her carefully to the side and took over frying some bacon.

"Good morning to you as well… hey, what do you think you're doing?" D.

"Taking care of the breakfast. I'm sorry to say but after your stew I thinks it's better for me to take over…" J.

"Wha… getting bigheaded huh?" D.

"Nope, but you fight better than you cook.

Just sit back and wait a bit until I'm done, okay?" J.

"Okay, I'll let you have your way, but just because I had the best sleep in years thanks to you keeping watch. Thank you!" D.

"You're welcome…" J.

A few minutes later they sat at the table and were eating some fried eggs and bacon, fresh bread and some sliced fruits.

Jay had stored quite some fresh food inside his inventory. Back then he just wanted to check if it ages and rots, but as it didn't do so it became a habit to always have a bit with him.

Daphne was eating not really befitting to her age and had to admit he was better at cooking after all.

After her second serving and with a still stuffed mouth she complimented the taste until she finally was done eating.

As the two were done and she had cleaned the table, Daphne sat back down for a moment. She had prohibited to help him and ordered him to relax at least a little bit.

Doing as she said because he knew he had to travel back soon not to blow his cover, Jay was about to say his goodbyes.

"You know, if I were a few decades younger I'd absolutely have fallen for you. Strong, righteous and now even able to cook? I bet there are numerous ladies going for you, right?" D.

"I don't think I'm that righteous… " J.

"Yeah, anyways… You're welcome here anytime. If you ever need shelter or help, please feel free to contact me.

But please don't tell about me to anyone from the Kingdom.

I plan to stay in my retirement." D.

Waving her goodbye from horseback after Daphne accompanied him to the yard, Jay rode towards Millshire.

He had affixed her shield to a backpack he was wearing not to show his ability to store items when he reached the city. While he had shown it to Daphne multiple times already, it wasn't something his opponents should be aware of.

The sun had finally risen enough to shower him in warmth and Jay took in the view one last time before he sped up his mount and galloped along the path.

The whole way back was without a single incident or even a break.

It was at times like this when Jay was happy about his monster horse that didn't need food or rest, but he still hadn't really understood the theory behind that.

As his trip was that smooth, Jay soon arrived at the fruit tree plantations and not long after, Millshire came into view in the distance.

It was a few minutes later that he noticed a presence close to the road and then heard his name getting called. Instantly looking in the direction where the voice came from and dismissing his horse, Jay leisurely walked over.

The voice had been none other than Agent Kearnen's.

She told him that she was a bit worried after he didn't come back the same day. To that he was a bit happy but played offended that she didn't trust him.

Agent like she was, she instantly saw through that and the two joked a bit before he told what really happened.

What followed was the explanation of his plan to get on the duchess good side and possibly finally access to the mines.