Next Step

"Ahaha... please just forget what I said just now."

Old Man Cantona smiled unwillingly while hurriedly waving his hand when he saw the expression O'Connor made.

'That's probably a sensitive line I shouldn't cross.'

He thought at this moment.

He knew that disturbing someone's beliefs was an act of intolerance. It could lead to unwanted conflicts and it could be a very long affair.

Therefore, he acted quickly to stop O'Connor's thoughts that started wandering out of nowhere.

In this world, many people believe in God and there are also many who do not.

Old Man Cantona was sure that the young man in front of him was probably an Atheist, and he felt that O'Connor had a dark history of his own and that was why he caught O'Connor's discomfort upon hearing the word 'God' or 'Great Existence'.

Sometimes ignorance is the better thing.

O'Connor, who saw Old Man Cantona smiling at him with sympathetic eyes, did not bother to correct this misunderstanding and left him to his thoughts.

'Actually, I don't care how others see me and what I look like in the eyes of others...'

From the beginning, O'Connor had given up trusting his common sense to understand this world, the world of the novel he had read. Starting to understand the people in this world was harder than reading their minds.

O'Connor blatantly switched to another topic of conversation and said to Old Man Cantona.

"I would like to ask you where your final destination will be?"

"Oh, about that. I'll stop in Bayern City and buy some supplies before returning to my lord's residence."

O'Connor's eyes immediately lit up and made eye contact with Old Man Cantona to confirm something.

"Sorry, you mean Black Fog City, right?"

"Of course, what else?"

"Then I'm coming with you."

Hearing such a determined statement made Old Man Cantona puzzled for a moment and stroked his chin.

"Wait, you want me to take you there?"

"Of course, by the way, how long does it take to get there?"

"About two weeks or more if there are no obstacles on the route."

'Too long just to get there in two weeks....'

O'Connor's mind was conflicted as to whether he should go or not. Considering he had already wasted a lot of time in Death Valley.

If he decided to go there, he did not know how much time it would take to search for the other Mystery of the World after getting to Bayern City. It should be understood that two weeks was not a short time for him and also he still had an appointment to visit Carpe Territory.

Old Man Cantona who noticed that O'Connor was sinking into his thoughts, slowly interjected cautiously.

"Little Blue, I have a CEG magic tool installed in my wagon, but since I don't have a single Mana Stone. It became unusable..."

O'Connor was a little surprised to hear that Old Man Cantona had a magic tool like Clutch Extender Gravity. It can be said that CEG or Clutch Extender Gravity is a magic tool that has the function of reducing the mass of the wagon load, about sixty percent of the load will be reduced. The positive side of the tool can make it easier for horse animals to pull the cart lighter and faster.

However, some disadvantages make merchants reluctant to use it. Because it consumes one Mana Stone for every lane traveled. In other words, CEG will continue to work while traveling and make the energy in Mana Stone drain quickly.

And it was the same magic tool used by Mr. John at that time. That was the reason why O'Connor was able to quickly get to Bled Village in a short time. It could be seen that the distance for Nova Academy to get to the Eastern Border of the Caladium Empire was quite far and would have taken over a full month of travel had he used cheap public transportation.

O'Connor thought of using the Mana Stone he got from hunting as horsepower to use the magic tool.

Seeing Old Man Cantona smiling awkwardly while scratching the back of his head, O'Connor slowly got up from the seat and picked up the "Space Bag", then pulled out something.

"Is this enough?"

O'Connor calmly showed the blue object in front of the old man's eyes.

Surprisingly, Old Man Cantona let out an exaggerated exclamation.

"Heh! Where did you get that?!"

Immersed in inexplicable excitement, he hurriedly snatched the Mana Stone from O'Connor's hands and scrutinized whether it was real or fake.

"When I was hunting monsters somewhere."

O'Connor quickly answered but was ignored by the old man who was fiddling with the Mana Stone in his hand.

O'Connor was not annoyed but waited for the excitement of the person in front of him to subside.

In no time, Old Man Cantona sighed and spoke.

"This much is enough for us to go there. Moreover, looking at the quality, it can be expected to last for a very long period of time. sigh. On the contrary, by selling this Mana Stone, I'm sure it will sell well in the auction market..."

'If you're talking like that, I won't hesitate to sell it there and acquire temporary wealth.'

O'Connor railed inwardly.

To be honest, the quality of Mana Stone obtained from the monsters in Death Valley was extremely high. No wonder why O'Connor struggled so hard to kill the monsters there. What's more, it was enough to conjure up the eyes of Mages or Magic Tool Craftsmen.

The thought of the money before his eyes disappeared made him feel regretful.

Then somehow he felt something odd and frowned at O'Connor's forehead.

"Wait, you can tell with just one look?"

Smiling bitterly, Old Man Cantona responded.

"That's because of the Gift I received from the Church of the God of Grace Nightly. In other words, a special gift when undergoing the Coming of Age Ceremony. Other than that, people my age have done it too."

O'Connor nodded before saying.

"If I may ask, when did you obtain the Sacrament during the Coming of Age Ceremony?"

"Ah. At that time, I was about twenty-eight years old. Considering that commoners like us have to work hard to accumulate enough money to undergo the Coming of Age Ceremony. Hahaha..."

Old Man Cantona laughed then shook his head before tipping his hat.

"In this world, nobles and their blue blood lineage are absolute themselves. They can even easily do things that commoners consider less capable. That's why those who are born poor must be patient to make a living..."

Looking at Old Man Cantona who continued to lament his fate, O'Connor secretly activated the Eye of Gluttony.

__________________

[Target Status]

–Name: Chantona Randall

–Race: Human

–Age: 57 years old

–Gender: Male

–Profession: Merchandise Shipper/Gemologist

–Title: The Horse Hat

[Statistics]

[Strength: 14] [Agility: 23] [Vitality: 51] [Mana: 3] [Intelligence: 29]

[Traits and abilities]

–Unique Ability: [Analysis and Synthesis(D+)]

–Skills : None

– Traits : [Coward] [Gemology Scholars] [Weak]

_________________

'Merchandise Shipper is his original profession, while Gemologists is the Fate Profession he got from the Maturity Ceremony back then.... ....'

O'Connor put together the knowledge he got from the original novel with the information Old Man Cantona gave just now.

If the God of this world gave his followers random special gifts every time they performed the Maturity Ceremony. Then it meant that God was very powerful in this world, and if so, O'Connor would sooner or later have to perform the Coming of Age Ceremony after turning Seventeen.

'The problem is which Church should I believe in? God of Grace Nightly? Divine Sun of sovereign? Spear Goddess? Or the Non-orthodox Church?'

His thoughts were currently leaning too much toward the obscure. Fortunately, he quickly came to his senses by shaking his head.

"That is a trivial matter. First of all, let's focus on the matter ahead."

Finishing his words, O'Connor unhesitatingly prevented Old Man Cantona from speaking further.

"In that case, we'd better have dinner and get some sleep for tomorrow's trip."

Old Man Cantona, who was awakened by O'Connor's words, turned to him and bowed his head apologetically.

"I'm sorry if this old man has talked a lot of nonsense from earlier."

"No."

O'Connor shook his head and gave his honest opinion.

"If you talk like this with someone other than me, sometimes it's better to keep quiet than to explain what you're feeling because it hurts when they can only hear but not understand."

"Quiet?"

Old Man Cantona raised his eyebrows and asked.

"Yes."

"Sometimes it's better to keep quiet than to mention your problems, because you know some people are just curious, not because they care."

"Ah."

Old Man Cantona felt as if he had been struck by lightning. It was the first time he had ever felt fooled. If it weren't for the young man in front of him, he would just be a fool looking for sympathy from someone. Then he smiled warmly at O'Connor.

"Thank you for bringing this old fool to his senses, Little Blue."

O'Connor nodded his head in agreement and then they started cooking dinner.

—|—

In the darkness filled with the starry sky.

O'Connor sat in the wagon and stared outside with Old Man Chantona sleeping beside him.

In his reverie, O'Connor raised his eyes slightly and looked up at the crimson full moon. It was midnight.

Seeing the strange phenomenon, O'Connor fell into Cogitation.

'When the moon turns into a Full Moon, its color will change and when it takes the form of a Crescent Moon, it will return to its normal color. This indicates that this world is very mysterious and far from the depiction in the original novel, which only focuses on the Main Character facing the world of the apocalypse...'

O'Connor slowly raised his hand and massaged his temple.

He began to remember the first time he opened his eyes to this world. Recalling the events he went through from then until now. Finally, after uniting his mind and soul, he made an accurate judgment of himself.

"I was careless."

It was not just empty talk and mockery shown to himself, but that sentence had dozens of specific meanings that could be explained.

For example, where he enters Death Valley without adequate preparation and with only simple equipment. It's also a problematic point because O'Connor didn't foresee certain variables.

As a result of the Calamity Grade Gluttony Trait that he was unable to suppress, he brought his weak body into Death Valley which was filled with monsters and dozens of unpredictable goblins.

That's why he called himself Sloppy for failing to understand more about the valley.

The experience as well as the pain experienced in Death Valley, left a deep impression on him. It felt like he wanted to die once again.

Of course, he didn't mean to die once again. So, he searched for ways to survive and devised all sorts of means from the onslaught of approaching danger.

If it wasn't for his good luck when he teleported to the tomb of the sword god, then it was certain that O'Connor would be a cold corpse in that damp place.

Within seconds, a holographic board broke his mind and brought him back to reality.

[Congratulation! You have successfully completed the Sub-Quest.]

[Compensation for your outstanding achievement will be recorded in System History.]

[You obtained the 'Removal of Trait Coward' Reward]

[Are you sure you want to remove this Trait?]

[YES.] [NO.]

O'Connor was silent for a long moment at the sudden system notification. Then he remembered the two boys he saved.

'That means they made it out unharmed. Maybe the knights are already there. Well, that's not important now.'

O'Connor spontaneously clenched his fists tightly in excitement.

That's because—

'Finally...! After a long wait. I can remove this damn trait! Huu...'

O'Connor slowly rubbed his chest and calmed his rapidly pumping heartbeat. And without thinking, he pointed his index finger at the choice he made.

[You successfully removed the "Coward" Trait.]

Without realizing it, the corner of O'Connor's mouth twitched upwards at the system's message that his suffering was over.

Until there was a moment when he licked his lips to quench his thirst amid his sleepiness.

But that was back then.

"Sigh..."

For an unknown period of time, O'Connor took a breath to ease the tension that enveloped him. For a moment his mind raced to something else.

'This is not all, Vale. There are still other problems to solve. For example, this weak body.'

O'Connor looked at his thin arm and remembered the pain of lifting Bled Village Chief's sword back then. Because of that too, he had to find information about his body that he himself did not know.

There was only one answer to that question.

Go to Marquis Carpe Territory!

It was the only place of O'Connor's real birth and the only people who knew about his condition.

Of course, he still stuck to his plan and placed the plan to go to the Northwest in the last section.

When the worries he felt were over, O'Connor slowly closed his eyes and fell into the shadows of a dream.

... ... ...

Evening in Bled Village.

Burnt ashes begin to fly around the destroyed houses.

Not far away is a rest camp with dozens of tents, lit by a few torches.

A group of men in knight armor chatted and talked with each other. Some were yawning and others were looking around with torches in their hands. And some took off their helmets because they couldn't bear the tightness.

Although some decided to keep their helmets on and not take them off, it was because they couldn't stand the stench around.

Some of them were also in charge of transporting the cold corpses that had been torn apart, especially among those who wrapped the corpse girl who died with the viscera coming out on her stomach.

Amidst the bustle, a knight slowly headed somewhere by passing by the knights.

He then took a step towards the tent and slowly stopped.

Then turned around and looked down to find a boy with a baby girl in his arms.

The boy was none other than Rudger and so was the baby girl named Lia.

Rudger who dared not make eye contact with the knight in front of him slowly shifted his gaze to the side and said pleadingly.

"Please... save Generous... Hiks... Hiks..."

Catching the boy's sobs, the knight let out a resigned sigh and slowly took off his helmet.

"Son, please don't cry. The reason I'm here with you is that I only want to ask for testimonies and events that happened."

The soft brown-haired male knight with red eyes turned around and opened the tent.

"Oi, little sister~ come out and greet this big brother of yours."

The brown-haired male shouted in a flat tone and called out to someone.

And in the silence, a voice full of anger could be heard behind the tent which startled those outside the tent.

"Brother Maurin, I told you to call me by the title 'Dame' if we're on duty...!"

Shortly after, a delicate long brown-haired girl with red eyes identical to those of the male knight came out of the tent in shiny silver armor without a helmet.

She glared at the brown-haired male who was believed to be her elder brother and crossed her arms with a sullen expression.

"Uh-huh, why is our beloved Dame so sensitive about this trivial matter?"

"Do you want to die?"

The girl named Maryell shot words coldly at her elder brother. And then turned her gaze to Rudger and Lia.

With a raised eyebrow, Maryell asked.

"Are they?"

"Just as you think."

Maurin shrugged in response.

If so, why did you bring them here instead of giving them food?

Maryell was a little annoyed at her stupid and pathetic elder brother. In her opinion, if it wasn't for their father's orders, he wouldn't have done the work that was considered troublesome from his point of view.

The victims of this tragedy should have been treated like guests. Moreover, the guests were just two little children who were rescued from the hundreds of residents of this village. Who died horribly.

Maryell who gathered strength in her fists, could not help but sigh in resignation and open the way for them.

"Sigh~ then come in. There happens to be a father doing something inside. Oh! And don't forget to maintain your manners when dealing with him."

"What?"

Receiving unexpected news, Maurin inadvertently frowned until the wrinkles on his face were visible.

It could be considered a grave situation for Maurin to come face to face with his father. Plus, the order his father gave him was something he could not refuse with the authority he had.

Maryell, who was pleased with the display her elder brother made, calmly led the way into the tent.

Once there and entering the tent. The gazes of the three of them consciously shifted to the front and saw the middle-aged man who was observing the corpse of the goblin with the aide who was sharing his thoughts.

Rudger naturally felt uncomfortable which caused his legs to tremble. Until one day, the same Lia who felt uncomfortable ended up crying loudly.

Amidst the outbreak of crying was a baby girl. The two people ended the conversation and their attention turned to Maryell and Maurin.

Realizing the meaning of the gaze, they both saluted.

""Greetings, Commander!""

"Enough..."

The commander they were referring to was their father. He raised his hand in acknowledgment of their greeting.

His long brown hair was tied up and his more dominant red eyes stared at his two children. Around the chin area was a brown beard that matched his hair. Furthermore, he had a body that was much larger than the average knight's. It featured some muscles on the arms and chest.

Anyone who looked at him directly would tremble because of the aura that overflowed out from the body of a Stage-Master warrior.

Thinking for a second, Maryell was about to say but was intercepted by her father's stern voice.

"There is no one else here but me and my aide. So, you'd better use informal language if you want to deliver your report..."

"Yes!"

It was as if the permission was addressed to the two of them especially Maryell whose eyes lit up like stars in the sky. She couldn't help saying cheerfully.

"Father, on the way here. It took two hours or more for the Paladins of the Church of Mother Earth to get to the Scene of the Crime. And as for the reason, there is no accurate explanation for them. Perhaps they were reluctant to join our order of knights or it could be that their side needed adequate preparation."

"Good job. It's only natural that we'll all be exploring Death Valley soon and finding out what triggered the monsters to flock to this village."

Pleased with her father's praise, Maryell tried to hide the excitement in her heart.

After all, who wouldn't be happy to be praised by a Stage-Master Swordsman?

As was known, Maurin and Maryell's father was Baron Stoker.

He was a Stage-Master Swordsman and Warrior who had managed to gain fame, thanks to his faithful performance of duties as a knight commander under the Caladium Imperial Family Authority.

Baron Stoker was officially appointed as an investigator involving the corruption of the nobles that was difficult to eradicate.

If he wanted to punish a noble but was suppressed by the difference in position, he only needed to use the Badge of Judgment that he obtained directly from the Leader of this Country.