Chapter 263. Sentimental Value

Finishing their breakfast, the duo watched a drowsy Priestess still in her sleepwear walk to their table.

Watching the ridiculous curves that couldn't be hidden behind the thin material, Michael swallowed his saliva and looked away, much to Helen's amusement.

Half an hour later, he and the tigress parted ways at the Waypoint, with Helen headed for the loathing Hawezar region while Michael teleported to Jirandai in the Dry Steppes.

Coming out of the blue portal, he was surprised at how the city remained the same, even if two weeks had passed since he last visited it.

Furthermore, except for a slight increase in the number of Wanderers going about their business, there wasn't much to take notice of. 

The exotic smell of the spices filled the air, as the overall temperature was much higher than that of Kyovashad's.

It was understandable since Jirandai was closer to the vast deserts of the Kehjistan region; therefore, the climate was also hotter.

Before leaving for his first Quest Marker, he stopped by the house where he accepted the Quest related to the spiders. 

The grieving woman was cleaning a newly made grave and planting flowers around it.

When she saw the Necromancer, she asked if something had happened to him and if he was hurt while hunting the spiders.

Michael honestly explained his situation, and the woman calmly thanked him for not forgetting about her request.

She was more than satisfied after hearing that the spider calamity would be dealt with today.

Bidding the Wanderer good luck, she returned to her tasks while watching the Necromancer depart the city.

'While it's interesting to see how the game mechanics work in real life, it would be best to complete all the Side Quests I get from now on the same day or prioritize them. Who knows what might change if I forget about them for over a week, like I did just now.'

Seeing the blue exclamation mark on the city's map, Michael quickly left before he somehow agreed to accept that one as well.

The closest marker was for the Sentimental Value Quest, which required him to meet Ulagan in Desolation's Reach.

Unsurprisingly, the amount of monsters he saw on his way to the marker was extremely limited. Furthermore, upon seeing a horse galloping their way, the Blood Clan goatmen fled as if the devil himself was chasing them.

'I guess the excited Wanderers massacred these mobs in the past week to the point where they're terrorized upon seeing someone head their way. That's not necessarily a bad thing.' 

At the entrance to Desolation's Reach Valley, Michael found Ulagan surrounded by a squad of six Wanderers.

When they saw the Necromancer and got approval from their contractor, the six men left swiftly for their next job, leaving only two of them behind.

"I see you got my letter. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long, but I got caught up in troublesome situations for the past two weeks."

[There's nothing to be sorry about, friend. I'm glad you didn't forget about me.](Ulagan)

Since he had decided to do the Quests today, he asked Sophia if she had any Wanderer friends who could deliver a letter to Jirandai yesterday.

After paying 1,000 gold coins, the newbie Wanderer Sophiehired delivered the letter to Ulagan, asking to meet on the spot mentioned by the Quest early in the morning.

'I still need to further investigate how the Quest-giver/Quest-receiver relationship works, as well as how external factors influence it. There's also the fact that neither Sorga - the grieving mother who asked me to slay the Spider Queen - nor Ulagan thought of hiring a different Wanderer. I have to check later with Helen and Mina if they somehow 'know' that the Quest is still ongoing for the Wanderer that accepted it.' There must be changes, too, if, for example, the Wanderer dies. And if that's the case, how does the Quest-giver know that the Quest-receiver did indeed die? Does the Sanctuary act as a proxy?'

[Wanderer?](Ulagan)

"My apologies. I was lost in thought."

[No worries. So, uh... as I was saying, I don't know precisely where it's hidden. But this is the place. So it should be buried around here somewhere.](Ulagan)

"I see. The area is pretty large, but thankfully, I also have my minions who can help us search. I'll split and send them to search around us."

[I sure hope nothing's happened to it. Should I look in a different area?](Ulagan)

"No need. Stay around me in case monsters ambush us."

Waving his hand and using 20 Essence points, all minions, including the Golem, were summoned.

Michael was slightly surprised, as usually there wasn't a cost involved. Planning to check the details later, he opened his MAP and saw three blue circles in the area surrounding him and Ulagan.

Splitting his Skeletons into two teams and having his Golem follow him as the third, the area was quickly scoured for potential hiding places.

Team 1, consisting of Pathfinder and Goon No.2, as well as two Accountants, found some suspicious rubble, which the Sanctuary also highlighted in a light blue color when he approached.

After dismantling the rock pile, they couldn't find anything worthwhile, so they gave up and rejoined with his Golem to some suspicious jars they had previously overlooked.

"Any clue why this ring is so important?"

[I am not sure. The ring once belonged to my aunt, a gift from my uncle. But she passed a while back. She always spoke of how precious it was. Very odd since he wasn't a man of great means.](Ulagan)

"It's not strange for our family members to keep some secrets. If it's indeed valuable, you're in luck since it could be sold for a decent price."

[*Sigh* We'll see. Let's hope we can find it first.](Ulagan)

The empty jars were also a bust. They couldn't find anything worthwhile except for some regular spiders and decomposed matter. 

Just as Ulagan was getting disheartened, Team 2 was able to find a rock cairn. Michael reassured the man that the ring should be there because it also shone a pale blue light as the Sanctuary marked the area.

Unfortunately, nothing was uncovered even after having his Skeletons and the Golem dig almost two meters deep under the rock cairn.

"*Sigh* I'm sorry, Ulagan. The ring doesn't appear to be here."

[Damn it! How can it not be here, though!? I don't understand...](Ulagan)

"..."

Before he could open his mouth to comfort the man again, Michael noticed the presence of a small group of people approaching their location.

Judging by how close they got - probably less than 50 meters away - and how neither he nor his minions sensed them coming, it was very probable that they weren't here with good intentions.

Furthermore, the Quest wasn't yet completed, meaning that...

[Looking for this?](?)

[What? Orsolya? Why are you here?](Ulagan)

'Bingo!'

[Hey! That's the ring! That's mine. How--?](Ulagan)

[Overheard you outside Guulrahn going on and on about some priceless ring. My boys and I had to see it for ourselves.](Orsolya)

'Of course. Petty thieves overheard him bragging about the item, so they followed him and found it ahead of us. Still, except for the woman who seems to be at an Elite level, the others are nothing but a motley crew.'

[Give that back to me! It's my family's heirloom!](Ulagan)

[No problem. But, what are you willing to give us for it?](Orsolya)

'I guess it would be easier to exchange something for it rather than fight. However, I doubt that things would be that easy.'

[Excuse me!? That ring belonged to my family. With my uncle gone, it's rightfully passed to me.](Ulagan)

Hearing the righteous indignation in the man's voice, Michael barely kept himself from smacking him in the face.

With how things were going...

[Is that so? Well then, I suppose I'll have to kill you so it can pass to me, eh? Get him!](Orsolya)

'Figures.'

With the system identifying the group as brigands, scrappers, and other strange names, highlighted with a bold red aura around them, Michael immediately ordered his minions forward.

As expected, Orsolya retreated behind her 'muscles' and pulled out a crossbow, which she immediately aimed at the 'summoner' controlling the Skeletons.

[ Orsolya (Elite) - Level 51

*Multishot: All ranged attacks are mirrored by two more attacks dealing 120% of the initial damage. ]

Without having much time to complain about how weak she was when compared with the demons and Nagas his facade faced in the Nightmare Dungeon, three bolts were already inbound.

Sensing a threat, the Necromancer immediately raised his shield to cover his upper chest and face. Narrowing his shoulders, he reduced the surface that could be targeted.

One bolt passed by while the other two hit the shield square on.

Seeing her surprise attack fail, Orsolya threw away the crossbow and took out two daggers. Then, as if it was all an illusion, she vanished.

Not feeling any danger, even if she would obviously target him first, Michael looked toward the cowering Ulagan.

Five steps away from the man, the grass was suddenly pressed to the ground, revealing the woman's location.

Without hesitation, Michael acted.

While he wasn't very familiar with fighting, his attributes and memories would be sufficient. There was also muscle memory that would kick in instinctually, so he wasn't very worried.

Measuring the distance, he lashed with his sword and used a cast of Reap. Judging by the groan and the sudden Corpse formed, it was a successful hit.

Judging the general location of the woman, he charged forward and bashed in the area where he considered her face would be, producing a very dull sound.

Exiting invisibility, Orsolya parried the shield strike with her daggers as she backed away.

Unfortunately for her, strange vines had already crept up and coiled around her legs, drawing her back toward the Necromancer.

With Corpse Tendrils in effect, Michael followed with a Decrepify to slow her further, after which he immediately targeted her wrists.

If it had been a game, the only consequence would've been decreased Life Points. 

But since this was reality and the cuts were deep enough, the Elite was immediately disarmed. Furthermore, she couldn't grip the daggers with her tendons cut, making her almost harmless.

"Huh!? What the..."

Why almost? Because the woman actually had spat a needle toward his left eye, forcing Michael to use Blood Midst since it was too late to dodge.

After reforming his physical body, he followed up with a couple more slashes aimed at her neck, and before his minions could finish the mobs, he was done with the Elite.

Checking the ground around the dead Orsolya, Michael grabbed a crappy ring. Unsurprisingly, the bodies of the dead people weren't vanishing, so they used the freshly dug grave to offer them a proper burial.

'The system identified it as Ulgan's Uncle Ring, so it's the right one. Let's wrap this up. The faster I finish the Quests, the sooner I can Dungeon dive. Hehe! Using the Mother's Blessing emblem and some Elixirs, I'll rise to 55 in a matter of days.'

Even if the emblem lasted 48 hours, it was enough for Michael's plans. As long as he hurried a bit, he could clear at least ten Dungeons in these 48 hours, making the most out of the increased experience blessing.

Turning to the cowering man, the Necromancer rolled his eyes and patted his shoulder to get him to stop feigning death when he wasn't hit even once.

"Here's your ring, Ulagan."

[Oh, thank you, Wanderer! I'll treasure it for... wait. What is this?](Ulagan)

Initially happy with finally getting his hands on the ring, the man immediately changed his tune after seeing its appearance.

Michael's nonchalant attitude about the rusty thing didn't help either.

Taking a rag from his back pocket, the man began polishing the ring until it finally showed a light gold shine.

That didn't do much to lift Ulagan's spirits, as he immediately bit into the small item, prompting an immediate change in his facial expression.

[Damn it! This isn't real gold! Oh, this is so like him. I bet he's laughing up at me from the Burning Hells. You know what... just keep it.](Ulagan)

Catching the thrown ring with a strange look on his face, Michael puzzledly turned to Ulagan.

Wasn't this a heirloom? Wasn't the man supposed to 'treasure it for generations'?

Furthermore, there was a strange feeling just then when he caught the item. It definitely wasn't a simple thing.

[*Sigh* You should've felt it, right? *Sigh* There's something wrong with it. Maybe take it to that weird merchant in the Boiling Plains. I've heard he collects all kinds of worthless stuff like this.](Ulagan)

"Huh? In that case, isn't it better for you to do that?"

[Not really. I had already spent most of my savings hiring those Wanderers to act as my escort. I can't travel on foot to Fate's Retreat since there are still plenty of monsters and bandits to claim my life. Take it as my payment since I have nothing left to give you.](Ulagan)

'So that's your way to evade paying me? How cunning!'

[Maybe he'll give you something for it. I'll just... find my own way home. I need to be alone.](Ulagan)

[ Side Quest update - Sentimental Value

Objective: Take Ulagan's Uncle's Ring to Rakhaan

Description: It turns out the value of Ulagan's Uncle Ring came from the personal meaning it held for his Uncle and his wife. Having learned it holds no 'real' value, Ulagan no longer wants it.

He gave it to you and suggested you take it to Rakhaan, a Curio Collector in The Boiling Plains. ]