Half an hour later, the six rascals left in tears with swollen faces and bruises all over their bodies. They couldn't have looked more miserable.
"Quest accomplished. EXP +137, reputation in Red Mountain Town +10."
"You have reached Level 3. Your attributes have increased."
Reading the notification, Roland felt extremely comfortable, as if he just had an elixir. The happiest thing in life was to release pressure while getting copious returns.
Betta said, "I'm Level 2 now. I thought I had to slay the giant spiders for a few more weeks, but they came and offered experience to us. If they come a few more times, I think we can reach Level 5 soon."
He was too greedy. Roland smiled and said, "Half of the town saw us beating them up. Although they were glad to see that, they would inevitably feel that we're violent. If we do it a few more times, chances are that we will turn from dragonslayers to dragons."
Betta thought for a moment and agreed with him. "That does make sense."
Then, they noticed that the children were staring at them with admiration.
The rascals were so blatant in Red Mountain Town because they were related to the mayor.
Most villagers dared not piss them off. Had it not been for Falken, they would've been even more lawless. But since Falken was growing older and older, those people were bossier than before.
After the lesson taught today, they would probably lay low for a while.
Most of the children were from poor families who had witnessed the doings of the bullies. Their personalities might be affected by their fear.
The adults dared not do anything to the six rascals. Naturally, their children were also terrified of them. However, Roland and Betta showed them that there might be another solution besides fear and tolerance.
Children were all great imitators. It was in their nature to follow what their idols did.
Now, the children were more and more fond of hanging out next to the lake. Most of them studied basic sword arts under Betta.
Some hoped to learn magic from Roland… Alas, although Roland tried to direct them, nobody could sense the magic elements.
In the end, all the children studied military sword arts under Betta.
Roland was glad that his work was saved. He focused on Language Proficiency, the level-two spell.
The dense magic nodes were breathtaking. Since Betta could use Language Proficiency, Roland asked for his input.
However, Betta simply opened his hands and said, "Dragon-Bred Warlocks do not need any experience. We only need to recite the names of the skills to use them. So, there's nothing I can teach you."
Eventually, Roland decided he had to count on himself.
Days passed. Roland spent the day in the boxing club and the night in the game every day.
Now that his life was much more routine, he was a lot healthier than before. However, he had a strange feeling of shortness of breath in reality.
It was not a physical feeling, but a mental one.
He always felt that something was missing in the air.
However, the feeling was not strong or constant, so he was not bothered. He thought that it was because the air quality in reality was worse than that in the game.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Roland and Betta had each hunted more than sixty giant spiders, but there were still a lot more in the woods.
It was because the maple forest was too large. After the spiders here were cleared, the spiders on the other side of the ridge would move over.
It was not bad to have incessant giant spiders to provide meat for the children. Yet, Roland frowned.
He and Betta would leave the town someday, and it would still be under the threat of spiders. How could the villagers deal with them?
Next to the lake, Betta was still playing with the children. Some of the talented kids had grasped the basic movements, and Betta was practicing with them.
Of course, it was not a one-on-one practice. Betta was resisting five children simultaneously.
The blond, good-looking noble stood at the center and resisted the incoming sticks. The children's attacks were rather fierce. Regular adults wouldn't have been able to stand against their teamwork, but Betta blocked them very easily.
Even the attacks aimed at his back were dodged or deflected easily.
Was such practicing useful? Of course! Roland could tell that Betta waved the sword faster and more steadily now.
While Betta was making progress, Roland was stuck in his magic research.
Language Proficiency was much more complicated than he thought. It had 372 magic nodes.
The mathematical model was too enormous for him to write down on the memo.
Roland was rather depressed by his slow progress.
Sitting on the rail, he watched Betta practice with the children.
Pillars of smoke were rising against the setting sun. The croaks of frogs and rustling leaves could be heard.
Roland took a deep breath.
The life here was so peaceful and beautiful. His gloom was too inappropriate.
He was going to try again, when a bell was rung at the temple of the Life Goddess.
It echoed on everybody's heart three times.
All the villagers dropped their work and climbed the mountain in silence.
The children fell quiet, too. They looked at the temple in the distance at the same time, as if they were at a loss.
Betta was puzzled. He asked Roland, "What's happening? An emergency meeting?"
Roland vaguely guessed what had happened. He lowered his eyes and shook his head.
At this moment, a child stared at his feet and said in frustration, "Every time the bell rings twice, someone in the town will be buried at the back of the mountain."
Betta asked in surprise, "What if it rings three times?"
"I don't know," replied the child softly.
The children did not know, but the villagers did.
Almost all the villagers were walking to the temple. Roland slightly opened his mouth and said hoarsely, "I'll take a look."