CHAPTER 7 - HIDDEN IN THE SHADOWS

After being renovated to level 3, the legacy village's new town hall was larger than before. The new town hall appeared to be much more sturdy than the old one. It was built of stones. The windows and the entrance were simply decorated. The walls of the town hall were smoothened out with several lined patterns drawn on the stone surface. The roof was tiled with orange-colored stones and another tiled layer was added to the top. The town hall was two-storeyed.

In the town hall, Olivier and eleven girls, including Saya, and ten village girls, one of whom had the name Lily and was regarded to be quite the beauty, resided. Olivier never had the opportunity to interact with those girls. When the village was attacked in the game, they were the first to run inside the town hall. He was curious to find out if they were as cowardly in real life as they were in the game. If he discovers that they would run if the town was in danger, he will have to reconsider their privilege.

But that was not important at the moment.

There was a wide table in the center of the hall. Surrounding the table were several seats, one larger and more comfortable at the front. Olivier sat in the main seat, with Kratos to his left. Bryan and Erwin occupied the seat after Kratos. A lovely woman with a chilly aura sat on his right. She had beautiful pink hair that reached over her shoulder. She was the leader of the archers, Aria. Her brows were knitted in an unusual pattern, and she had a frown on her face. Everyone in the hall was staring at her, waiting for her decision.

Olivier's proposal was generous. She could sense his sincerity in his proposition. Archers would be the second priority after barbarians in terms of strength enhancements, according to the proposal, but only up to tier-4. Archer's improvement required Olivier to make more investment in resources and he had even told her about the number of resources required. Their first enhancement alone cost 30,000 elixirs, and the cost would only rise from there. Olivier did not demand anything ridiculous in exchange. Archers were required to follow the legacy village's laws, which had yet to be formulated, and she would be a member of the legacy village taskforce committee as the archers' leader.

As a member of the Legacy Village Taskforce group, she was in charge of keeping the archers in line. She was responsible for ensuring that the archers followed the regulations and, on occasion, executed the missions assigned by the town hall. Each mission performed would award the archers' merit points, which could be utilized for a variety of purposes. The merit points could be utilized to increase the strength of the archers or to request housing or arrows from the builders.

All of the circumstances were advantageous to them. She was informed that soon, another race called the giants would be awakened and they could be ahead of the giants if she agreed. The reason why she hesitated was the condition proposed by Olivier. Olivier requested to be taught archery by her. She wasn't opposed to teaching him; she was only unsure whether she could teach him the skills unique to the archers.

Archers were skillful with bows and arrows. They could hit their target from miles away. They were capable of accomplishing so because of their unique eye-training technique. They could detect flaws in their opponents' movements and detect things that other people may overlook. Only the elite chosen by the queen was permitted to train in this technique

Olivier had just told Aria of the situation in the village. She had discovered how they had awakened and the law that had governed this village. To be honest, she was perplexed. How did she get here? What should she do and how should she decide? She had no idea. She was skilled at carrying out her Queen's orders, but she had never been put in a position where her decision might impact the fate of her whole race.

'I'll agree. After all, the future of the archers is at stake. The Archer Queen would not blame me for this. Well, if she blames me, I will accept any punishment'. Aria pondered. This also erased her hesitation and solidified her determination.

"I agree. I will teach the archery of our archers to the chief, but the chief is not permitted to teach our way to anybody else without the approval of the archers". Aria stated after she had made her decision. If Olivier doesn't agree, she will not teach him. This was the bottom line for her. She had already sinned by teaching another person the sacred techniques of archery; she couldn't add to her misdeeds.

"I vow to never pass on your technique to another soul without your permission". Olivier Straightforwardly vowed to never divulge their sacred arts to another.

As a result, this issue was resolved. Olivier now had the complete support of the barbarians and archers. While he could force them to follow his command under the threat to once again put them into slumber or to never increase their strength but he did not. He was a tyrant and he loved interacting with the game character that had somehow come to life. This was one of his past self's dreams come true. He had the authority to edit the army, just like in the game. While it had been a minor issue in the game, it had now become a significant issue. He now possessed the ability to wipe someone from the village, and if he so desired, they would never be able to come back to life. He didn't want to utilize that power if at all possible.

Another reason he preferred barbarians and archers was because of the barbarian king and archer queen. Unlike others, he could not put them remove them from the village once they were awakened. While he could choose not to awaken them, they were extremely useful. He could raise their strength to a level higher than other troops. He didn't want to lose such a powerful ally if at all possible.

...

In another part of the legacy village away from the structures,

A light breeze swept in from the west, ruffling the leaves on the trees. The grasses swayed in the direction of the wind. Olivier and Kratos were sitting on the ground on a hill, taking in the landscape. Olivier seemed to be a mouse sitting next to a lion when he sat by Kratos. The scene was extremely amusing to watch.

Kratos was describing the barbarians' technique of body refinement. The barbarians' Fiend body art was a basic yet brilliant method of body refinement. By absorbing the essence of the various materials, one may improve their body to be indestructible by following the Fiend body art training method. By absorbing the essence of iron, one may make their skin as hard as iron. Absorbing the essence of materials such as iron may strengthen the body's defense, while absorbing the essence of materials such as beast's flesh or rare and precious plants could increase the vitality of the flesh and blood, thereby improving the blood's regenerative ability.

As a result, the fiend body art could boost the body's defensive and healing capacity by a large margin. Reaching the highest level of the fiend body art could provide you the ability to tenfold your bodily strength. This level was only attained by the barbarian king.

But Kratos' suggestion stunned him. Kratos preferred that Olivier absorb the gold and elixir within him rather than using other materials. Because gold and elixir have the mysterious potential to transform into various materials and offer life and vigor to living beings, Kratos felt that consuming gold and elixir may boost defense and regeneration abilities to the next level. There is even the chance of enhancing Olivier's poor talent.

Olivier was moved by the prospect. He was excited to try this method, yet he was reluctant. Nothing wonderful ever comes easily. He just might have to pay a high price to improve his talent.

Kratos spoke out, as if feeling his uncertainty "Olivier, your ability to resist temptation is a virtue, but it might also be a liability. Being cautious is a good thing, but being cowardly is not. To move forward, you must have the attitude to demolish any hurdles in your way. While passing them and selecting another route is not a terrible choice, it will take you longer to reach the same destination than if you marched bravely. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Olivier was deep in thought. He nodded after a while. "Choosing the appropriate moment to be cautious or take risks is difficult, but I must be ready, ready to risk everything to get everything. Uncle Kratos, what is the risk?"

Kratos responded, "It is an issue of willpower rather than risks. The fiend body art is a dangerous technique. It is necessary to destroy your entire body from the inside out and then absorb the essence of the material in that disintegrated state in order to reconstruct your body. Breaking and rebuilding your body is excruciatingly painful. During the 'broken' state, you must never lose consciousness and must continue to absorb the essence of the materials. The more you absorb while in that state, the stronger your reform body will be ".

"It is truly a miraculous technique".

"But there's a catch. According to my assessment, gold is tougher and more durable than any other material I have encountered. While the elixir is gentle in nature, I doubt its essence will be any easier to refine and absorb. As a result, you will need more time to refine them. You can't lose consciousness in the 'broken' condition, which means you'll die. To complete the first level, you will need to absorb at least 10 gold or elixir, according to my calculations. Are You Prepared?"

Olivier took a deep breath and nodded. He was willing to take the risk rather than live his life in mediocrity. While he could achieve great things with the help of the legacy village but that would not truly be his achievement. He wanted strength, true strength that could erupt from within him when necessary. He was determined to succeed.

Sensing the determination of Olivier, Kratos nodded approvingly. He took out a large vessel and a bottle filled with golden flames out of nowhere. He explained,"This vessel is where you will undergo the rebirth while this flame is the fire that could melt the gold and elixir. Bryan contributed this flame. He said that every builder has the ability to control the underground fire of the village to construct structures. He had gathered the most powerful flames for years to increase his efficiency in construction. Surprisingly, these destructive flames are docile to the villagers".

Olivier was taken aback. Since when were Bryan buddies with Kratos? But he did not say anything. He took off his clothing and jumped inside the vessel. He had already remembered the fiend refining art. Inwardly, he commanded, and ten round golds and ten droplets of purple elixir materialized in front of him.

Kratos signaled for Olivier to start with an encouraging smile, which looked awkward on his face. Olivier smiled and sat down cross-legged, closing his eyes to start the process.

Kratos' smile vanished after that. He looked at the horizon with rancor in his eyes. His large broadsword appeared in his hands. This broadsword's name was 'blood drunkard'. It had accompanied him throughout his journey. Every time he drew his sword, it always drank blood but its thirst was never quenched. Hence, the name blood drunkard.

Hefting the broadsword on his shoulder, he peered out at the horizon. A few shadowy figures could be seen looming.