Chapter 203. Serious problems arise

Walking around the town and noticing the demolished buildings, he finally found one of the Questgivers.

The man, Bryce, was giving out orders left and right while planning what to reconstruct first and where.

"Hello. Can I help the rebuilding effort?"

[Aye. We could always use a strong back. Eh... but your talents would be wasted swinging a hammer here in town, Wanderer.](Bryce)

"Seems like you have something else in mind?"

[Truthfully... I've been hoping to visit my sister and her newborn up in Braestaig, but the roads are too dangerous. Damned cutpurses lying in wait at every turn.](Bryce)

"Bandits, huh?"

[Aye. Lots of folks around here would feel better with someone like you keeping those bastards in line. I don't care how. With or without them, the glens are a better place.](Bryce)

"I'll see what I can do."

[Mhm. Be careful. We lost too many already. There's no point in throwing your life away for some lowlifes.](Bryce)

Honestly, bandits were one of the few types of people Michael had no qualms with outright massacring. Irrelevant of their 'troubled pasts,' they made their choices to become the cancer of society.

If when young people don't know better, once they are older, they persist, and then there's no reason to keep them around. 

'Life is hard enough as it is in Sanctuary. There's no need to add extra baggage; less oxygen wasted.'

[ Side Quest issued - Blood of Brigands

Objective: Slay Bandits (0/50)

Description: A man in Cerrigar claims the roads have become even more dangerous following Astaroth's attack.

He has hired you to strike fear into bandits throughout the Emerald Chase, hoping he may travel again soon. ]

Then, the most troublesome Side Quest popped up after meeting with the Druid Albard.

He was standing in front of a large tree with a sad look on his face. Remembering the tree glenfolk were praying in Cornbach, Michael assumed that it might be something of similar religious belief for the people of Cerrigar.

"Hello, sir. What meaning holds this tree for the glenfolk?"

[This one? She was raised here by Vasily himself, first of the Druids. He planted scores of oaks just like her all over the Glen... today, only two remain.](Albard)

"You seem worried about something. Are you alright?"

[No, I'm not alright! Just look at the color of her bark, the poor Tree. My chanting is the only thing keeping her upright.](Albard)

"Anything I can do to help?"

[Well... she needs a piece of her mother - the Great Oak of Túr Dúlra. Got to go deep for it, though... down to the Underroot where the Ancients first planted. I'd search that darkness myself but can't leave her side. Please... help me save her?](Albard)

A bit confused by the man's emotional swings, the Necromancer eventually relented and accepted the Side Quest. However, it proved to be more problematic than he first anticipated.

[ Side Quest issued - Daughter of the Oak

Objective: Take a Root Cutting from the Underroot

Warning: Stronghold must be conquered first

Description: You met a Druid named Albard, the keeper of Vasily's Tree. He says the tree is ill and needs a piece of the Great Oak, taken from the Underrot beneath Túr Dúlra. Who knows what you will find down there? ]

Checking the time, Michael frowned. It was already 5 p.m., and he couldn't go today. Furthermore, postponing the Stronghold Event until after he completed his Second Class Awakening was out of the question since the difficulty would increase tremendously.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself and properly asses the situation, Michael found a somewhat manageable plan.

"How long can you wait? Is an extra day a problem?"

[No. But within three days, I will no longer be able to maintain her life.](Albard)

"That's enough. Wait for my good news."

Leaving the Druid behind, Michael first contacted Gonk. Asking the man if he was willing to go clear another Stronghold with him, he got a positive response, but the other two party members were recalled by the Silver Wolf tribe for a possible relocation.

'That means I'll need to find two more party members. Let's ask Helen first.'

Oddly enough, the tigress's response was Evelyn and Neyrelle. She would've asked Tia to join, too, but she was already Level 60 and couldn't party with them.

Evelyn and Neyrelle had reached Level 52, just within his five-level reach.

He connected his Ring to Neyrelle's magical 'frequency' and asked her about it. Both she and Evelyn agreed immediately, as they never cleared a Stronghold before and were curious.

With the matter decided, even if he was a bit worried that he couldn't protect the girls properly, he eventually remembered that they were stronger and more experienced at this Wanderer business than he was, even if younger than him.

'There's also Gonk. We'll be fine. For now, I have about two hours of daylight left. Should be enough to gather up the tusks and get rid of the trash on the way.'

Exiting through the southwest gate of Cerrigar, Michael was guided by the Sanctuary to the area where most of the monsters were.

Realizing there were two large zones, one near Cerrigar and one further north, he asked the Sanctuary about it.

"Since the two overlap, would it be a problem if I hunt more than the requested amount?"

[ Notification! Rewards will remain the same, regardless of the amount hunted over the mentioned sum. ]

'That's good. This way, I can eliminate more than one or two dens.'

Exiting the town, Michael quickly found the relevant 'Chargers' the Quest mentioned. They were wild boars about three meters long and two meters high.

They were literally tanks, lacking only a gun mounted on their backs.

After hunting about twenty of them, the Sanctuary didn't 'drop' any Quest Items, but he could very well see the tusks on the killed boars.

Unfortunately, he had no idea about butchering and didn't want to ruin that kid's business. So, for now, he stored the twenty corpses in his Quest Inventory and continued toward the planned Spring Cleaning.

After preparing to leave for the Sanctuary-marked locations, he stopped abruptly upon seeing a strangely glowing statue and a Silent Chest.

When securing the perimeter and realizing no monsters were nearby, Michael brought out a key from his Consumables Inventory and opened the 'lootbox.' 

Unfortunately, he only got some gold coins - less than 300 - three Magic items and one Legendary Wand. The wand was pretty trash, so he decided to have it salvaged once he returned to the city.

"As for you... the third statue of this type I find, huh? Doesn't look similar to the other two, but it's also a statue of a woman. No wings this time..."

Searching for the plaque at the bottom, Michael rolled his eyes at the familiar words.

[ Most of the inscription has been lost to time. A few barely legible words read: '... ATONE... thy darkest... sins...' ]

Leaving the ominous words behind, the Necromancer traveled north of Cerrigar and finally found the dens of the brigands marked on the MAP.

After clearing 32 pieces of trash, he successfully leveled up and was preparing to look for the second den when he saw a notification window from the Sanctuary.

Unfortunately for the 'trash' littering the wilderness, they ended up becoming Michael's venting mechanism after seeing the message. 

Around 7 p.m., he returned to Kyovashad with his equipment covered in blood, but his face was darker than the bottom of a pot.

'Oooookay! Let's calm down. There has to be a way around this. For now, let's hand it the two Quests. For that kid... let's see if I can find a hunter to help.'

Fortunately, it didn't take long to find someone willing to lend a hand in exchange for two carcasses, and Michael gained twenty pairs of tusks.

Kian was still in the same spot he left him and became excited after seeing the Necromancer return.

Smiling slightly, he took out the items from his inventory and placed them in the kid's cart.

"Here. I gathered these for you. No need for a cut of the profits."

[Oh, wow! These are nice, big ones! Not cracked or anything either! Thanks, Wanderer!](Kian)

After checking with the kid and hearing him refuse to take the carcasses since his father was also a hunter, Michael shrugged and went to find Bryce.

[ Side Quest completed - The Fledgeling Merchant

Reward 1: 16,720 experience points

Reward 2: 2,040 gold coins

Reward 3: Salvage Cache. ]

Bryce was still shouting orders and pushing wooden poles with his fellow workers. Upon seeing Michael, the man frowned and then sighed.

[That's a heavy stench of blood on you, Wanderer. I take it that you cleared the path north?](Bryce)

"Mhm. The road to Braestaig should be a little quieter from now on."

[*Sigh* My thanks, Wanderer. I cannot wait to visit my sister's bairn.](Bryce)

Seeing that the man noticed 'a heavy stench of blood' on him even after he used the Cleaning Marble, Michael departed soon after the conversation ended.

Bryce was awkward and uncomfortable, unlike before, so the Necromancer didn't find any reason to torture the poor man.

[ Side Quest issued - Blood of Brigands

Reward 1: 16,720 experience points

Reward 2: 2,040 gold coins

Reward 3: Ore Cache. ]

Preparing to leave through the Waypoint, he passed by the statue showing the 'Three Heroes of Scosglen,' which now stood defaced by curses and striking marks, courtesy of an angered mob.

Feeling sad for Donan, Michael teleported to the Firebreak Manor but couldn't find the owner. The Steward led him to Braega's resting place, where now, a second, smaller mound joined.

Reading the epitaph, the Necromancer shook his head and left after finding no clues of the man's whereabouts from his employees.

[ HERE LIES YORIN

SON OF BRAEGA AND DONAN

PROTECTOR OF SCOSGLEN

He was the true Light ]

There were many things one could understand from these few words. First, the reader can feel the love Donan had and continues to have for his wife by mentioning her before himself.

That, coupled with his ability to resist Lilith's seduction, made it obvious just how virtuous the Horadrim was.

Secondly, the title he gave his son as Protector of Scosglen wasn't necessarily accurate, as Donan himself and Michael put down the scourge that Astaroth was, and Yorin was only collateral damage.

However, in the man's eyes, his son's sacrifice is what led to Scosglen being free of Astaroth forever.

And then, the final line: 'He was the true Light.'

'Without a doubt, Donan's faith in the Light changed considerably. Now, with his entire family lost, his religious beliefs were strongly shaken, and the previous 'Light' appears to be redundant. As for his son, Yorin, he was the only true 'Light' who kept the darkness away after losing his wife. *Sigh* What an absolutely shitty day...'

With the night sky rapidly darkening, Michael didn't have much time left, so he returned directly to Kyovashad.

Heading to the Pink Palace, he found all six Wanderer representatives gathered in the garden, discussing an apparently serious topic with Mayor Collin and Prava.

The Necromancer briefly greeted them, and Helen excused herself and joined him in the kitchen. As he was preparing the dishes, the topic of his 'extreme bad luck' came up.

[So, what is it that you were complaining about so much? Also... you reek of blood, and most of it is human.](Helen)

"Bandits... I'll take a shower before cooking then. As for that... *Sigh* I really don't know what to make of it. Here, take a look."

Taking the tigress's hand, he shared the notification he got from the Sanctuary after reaching Level 50.

[ Warning!

Since you have reached Level 50, you now have two options:

1. Maintain current World Difficulty Tier

2. Proceed to Tier 3 Nightmare Difficulty.

Please be advised that you are currently enlisted in a Main Quest series that would expand further. It has been noticed that throughout your previous Quests, you had plenty of encounters with beings of immense power.

If you choose to elevate your difficulty tier, most restrictions placed on future extraordinary Bosses and Elites you will meet will be insufficient to guarantee your survival. 

If you choose to maintain your current World Difficulty Tier, your survival rate increases to normal, as all current restrictions will be applied to invaders of this world. In exchange, you will not be able to gain higher rarity items, and your experience gain will be reduced.

Please make your choice carefully. ]

After reading through the message only once, Helen immediately gave her answer.

[Definitely the second choice.](Helen)

"And your reasoning?"

[Because it's not normal to get this message. I don't know anyone else who got it at Level 50.](Helen)

"Huh!?"

[It means that the Sanctuary is directly informing you that by increasing the World Difficulty Tier, you will most certainly die during one of your Main Quests.](Helen)