005

Alex had finally stumbled upon a clue. At the moment, he was inside the nearby forest. This would have been easier if Alex had better familiarity with mana. Luckily, he had finally found a clue. It happened when he killed a deer and was harvesting it. He noticed the deer's heart was slightly purple, and its blood was also a light shade of purple. Players aren't given an inventory; instead, they would need a storage pouch or ring. So Alex hauled the deer back to the village. He looked insane as he was drenched in its blood and carrying a deer corpse. As he walked toward the village chief's house, the villagers and players were staring at Alex warily. It was hard for a normal person to look at someone drenched in unknown blood without suspicion. Alex had finally arrived at the chief's house and was about to walk in when he was stopped. The guard looked at him with annoyance and disgust. He then said,

"Sir, I need you to wait. The village chief and elders are in a crucial meeting."

"I have something of great importance to report. It's something that threatens the whole village!"

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"Alright, wait here. I'll go inform the chief."

The guard quickly went into the house. While he didn't personally believe the young man, he still had a duty to do. He returned through the door after a couple of minutes with a face of disbelief. He still looked unsure of himself; however, he said,

"Alright, the Chief and elders have decided to hear you out. I warn you that if this is not urgent, you will face serious consequences."

"I understand."

Alex quickly went through the door and headed toward the main room. Once inside, he saw the chief and the elders sitting down, looking at him. Alex breathed in and out quickly and said,

"I'm sorry about my appearance; however, this is urgent."

"Well, if it's so urgent, then get on with it, boy!" An elderly man yelled while also standing up.

"Let him be, Robert."

"Tch! Alright, chief, however, when we find out that he's lying about its urgency, then I want to be the one to punish him."

"Alright, that's fine, Robert."

The elderly man, now identified as Robert, sat back down with his arms crossed.

"I assume you all know that this village is built upon a mana vein. Am I correct?"

"Where did you hear about that, boy!?"

"Yes, this village was built on a mana vein." The chief confirmed Alex's information about the mana vien.

""Chief!!"" All the elders said in unison, with disbelief on their faces.

"Well, that mana vein has been corrupted by a Dark Magician. If left unchecked, it can cause the death of everyone in the village or worse."

"How sure are you?"

"I'm completely sure, sir. Here, this deer's heart has been tinted purple, as has its blood. This is a common sign of prolonged exposure to corrupt mana."

"Robert, can you check his claims?"

"Hmm? I would have to do a thorough analysis to be sure."

"What would be your best guess, Robert?"

"My best guess would be that he's right, chief. Corrupt mana usually takes on a purple color. When exposed for long periods of time, your mana inside your body will start to become corrupt. This leads to your blood taking on a purple color and your heart becoming tinted with purple."

"Alright, now let's say I do believe you. I need to ask the obvious questions. How did you know about it? How did you know what to look for? Lastly, why would you tell us?" The chief questioned with suspicion.

"Well, I can answer all of them quite easily. Chronos told me about the situation. All I needed to do was look for something as evidence."

"Chronos? That's impossible; he abandoned us!"

"That's not true. He just wanted all of you to develop on your own. Unfortunately, he's been losing strength because of the loss of followers. So he couldn't help you when you truly needed it. In recent years, he's been trying to regain his followers."

"Lies! Chronos is a deity. How could he have trouble solving a mortal's problem?" Robert yelled enraged.

"Have you ever thought about what type of problems he might be facing? The problems he has to deal with are a hundred times more severe because he is a deity. Yet, even after all of you abandoned him, he still asked me to help you with the corrupt mana problem. He even said that this problem should be easily resolved, as you have an item to fix it."

"That is true, chief. We do have an item that may be able to fix it. The only problem is that we can't activate it; we need the blood of the Viper Snake." Robert began to explain to the elders and chief inside the room.

"Hmm? Alright, so you claim to be someone tied to Chronos. Then, as a trial, I want you to find and hunt a Viper Snake and bring us its blood. If you can do that, we will believe your story and also repent for our past actions."

[Quest 'Falsehood' has been generated]

[Would you like to see the details?]

'Yes,' Alex thought.

[Falsehood

Difficulty: Rare

After your bold claims, the village chief has decided to give you a trial. Complete this trial, and it will prove your words as truth. Fail this trial, and you and your falsehood shall be banished from the village. Chronos watches this trial with great interest because of your claims.

Rewards: Trust of the Villagers, 20 silver, item.

Punishment: Banished from the village, loss of 5 levels, and displeasure from the deity Chronos.]

[Quest has been automatically accepted]

Alex looked surprised; however, he quickly calmed down. He nodded to the village chief and elders. The village chief seemed pleased with his answer and told him about his foe. The Viper Snake is a large snake with potent venom. It's at least a level 15 monster and has a basic level of intelligence. It was a rare snake as it mostly hides deep inside the forest.

"I'm sorry, young man; however, I never got your name." The village chief asked.

"Oh, my name is Lucifer, sir."

"Alright, Lucifer, I wish you luck on the task at hand."

Alex nodded and began to leave the chief's house. Once he had left, he smiled at the guard and began to walk toward the forest. The guard still looked annoyed with him; however, he did nod back. When he had almost reached the forest, he suddenly paused.

'Wait, I don't have a weapon. I also don't have any magical skills. Now that I think about it, I have no skills. How am I supposed to defeat a level 15 elite monster at level 1 with no skills or a decent weapon?'

Alex began to turn back toward the village with a slightly flushed face. He didn't have much money, as he only had 10 bronze coins. Alex had gotten these coins at the start of the game. The money system was a simple copper, silver, and gold coin currency. A silver coin was worth 100 copper coins, and 1 gold coin was worth 100 silver coins. Of course, some areas have a different system; however, this system is mainstream. With 10 copper coins, I could maybe get a worn and fully iron sword. Alex knew it might not be much however it was better than anything. Now armed with a blade, Alex began to head toward the forest a second time. This time he was ready to complete this quest.

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A/N

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

If you like this book so far you should check out my other work, A Last Wish!