It was almost dark in Argos when Maria met Ashtan.
"Huh? You became stronger?" she discerned changes in Maria's strength just by observing her.
"You've noticed, huh? While waiting for this day to meet your aunt to meet me, I did some quests." Maria wondered how high Ashtan's insight was to be able to know someone's power just like that. It would be nice if she could also do it.
"I see. My aunt agreed to meet you since you are the benefactor of her brother. We can go to my house. She is currently staying there and will be traveling again soon."
Maria followed Ashtan to her home. The house was located near the outskirts of the southern gate's residential area. Several dilapidated shacks were clustered. Ashtan's home was the most decent one among them. (I didn't know that there is a side of Argos like this. It looks like a distressed community. I wonder what went wrong in this neighbourhood.)
"Come in, Blumock," invited Ashtan.
When she entered the house, she immediately noticed a middle-aged man and a woman sitting on old furniture across each other. On the center table, there were teacups and a pot of tea made from clay. She could smell the faint aroma of dried leaves floating in the air. Based on the faint earthy scent mixed on the leaf scent, it was herbal tea. Maria set the sensitivity back to normal after the stinky herbs incident.
"You must be, Blumock." The first one to greet her was a man, who was Ashtan's father. He looked frail but there was a smile on his face.
"Yes, I am Blumock, good sir. Thank you for inviting me to your home."
"It is an honour for me to have you here. You are my patron, an apprentice of the honourable master alchemist in Argos, Albion. How can I not be this grateful? Please have a seat."
She bowed a little to both elders before she sat down to a chair facing them. Ashtan also sat down next to her.
"How are you feeling, sir? Are you still having trouble with your mana?" she voiced her concern.
"You may have noticed when you entered this neighbourhood, it was in poor shape." The one who spoke sharply was Marion. Not only her tone was sharp but also her eyes. It was the look of a shrewd merchant. Since it was her trade, she was accustomed to speaking this way.
"Yes, I have noticed with regret. What happened to this neighbourhood?"
"The condition of my brother is usual here. Almost everyone is suffering from the mana curse like him. That was the reason this area was declining. This community was once a rich one. Some escaped and transferred to another town, but most stayed here and suffered. Because they have nowhere to go to." She drank her tea after speaking this information.
"A mana curse? Do you mean mana was draining from someone's body? Was it why Ashtan needed a lot of mana recovery potions?"
"Yes. Mana is continually draining from me because it is incurable. Potions will only help by a little. That is why I can sit here with you. But what of those who couldn't afford potions? They are all bedridden. I used to be that way until Ashtan brought your potions. I am really thankful."
Although Ashtan's father was smiling, Blumock could see that he looked so exhausted. "Do you need to lie down, Sir?"
"I-I am okay." He shifted his position in the chair. "It is fortunate that Ashtan is not affected by the mana curse. But who knows if in the near future the younger generation will also be affected by this curse? For now, they are safe," the elder said worriedly. "We can't perform our usual tasks because our mana was depleting fast even if we are not doing anything. What caused us to suffer like this, we really do not know," he added bitterly.
"Did you raise this problem to the town chief? He should help you resolve this, right?"
"Blumock, the people who Chief Garry sent out to investigate were also affected by the curse. There were more than 20 people whom we thought were capable as they were strong individuals. They were the proud soldiers of this town, yet they got cursed as well. The town council ordered to stop sending people after that, even though Chief Garry opposes it. There is nothing that he could do. He issued a quarantine notice to the citizens of Argos not to step on this area so they will not contract the curse."
"Is this also the reason why the mana recovery potions are always sold out in the alchemy tower?" she asked with realization.
"Yes."
"How can I help? I can't just stand by knowing that there are people who are suffering like this."
[You earned +5 Affinity points]
[You earned +5 Affinity points]
[You earned +5 Affinity points]
"No, I don't think you can do anything about this curse. You have already helped me significantly with your mana recovery potions. Surely, I cannot impose another trouble for you," the middle-aged man said remorsefully.
"I disagree," blurted Marion. "She can help."
[Ting.]
[New Quest: Investigate the cause of the curse. Do you accept it? Y/N]
"I accept." She didn't even hesitate. She was also curious about the cause of the stupid curse.
[Quest Accepted.]
"I also tried to locate the source of this curse before. Sadly, I felt my mana was being sucked by a strange force. I fled as fast as I could using an escape scroll. If I had not done it, I might have been cursed too. But if it is you, Blumock, you may have a chance to discover the root of this mystery. I feel that you can do it. If you manage to give light to this curse, I will give you a chance to own one of my precious items."
Katchiiing! was the sound in Maria's mind. (Precious item...a spatial bag?) Of course, who would miss this chance? She already accepted the quest, so this information was making her excited. "Don't worry, lady Marion, I will get to the bottom of this curse!"
[You earned +5 Affinity points]
[You earned +3 Affinity points]
[You maxed out affinity points with Ashtan]
***
Maria explored the dilapidated area. She went from one house to another and asked people who were affected by the mana curse how they contracted it. She made sure that she provided a few bottles of mana recovery portion as compensation for cooperating with her investigation. It was a good thing she made a lot of these potions while she was aiming to increase the tier of her alchemy. It could consider a loss in terms of material things, but she was actually gaining more although not monetary. (You have to give to qualify to receive.) And she had been receiving affinity points from the people of this community when they heard about Maria's search for clues of the mana curse. Her notifications for earning affinity points was were popping up consecutively, that she disabled it for the time being.
After she acquired a map of the town, she studied the rumored place where the pull was strong. The people who investigated in that area contracted the curse within a day. But some people started to lose their mana slowly even if they were far. Once the curse set in, their mana continuously drained from their body. In this realm, mana was essential in their daily lives. It was equivalent to energy. Eventually, they depended on potions to support them. They spent their entire fortune buying mana recovery potions regularly until they couldn't function anymore without it. That was why the quality of their lives deteriorated.
Maria was feeling sympathetic to these people and promised them to resolve this mystery.
"Can you tell me what happened when you tried to explore in the Sienen residential area? I heard you were the first one to investigate the issue about the mana curse."
Jorwe, a once noble soldier in Argos, nodded. He was the first one tasked to go to the cursed community. "I was not really sure what happened along the way, but there was a dense atmosphere near the well in the inner Sienen. It was hard to breathe, so blacked out after. The physician said I lost all my mana and fainted. A big blue spot on my ankle appeared, then my mana started to drain nonstop."
"This blue spot only appeared when you fainted?"
'Yes. I was told that some of my comrades also got the same blue spot, although they were different in size and area in their body. It was a mark of the curse."
"Show it to me, please."
Jorwe hesitated. "Please do not touch it, you might get exposed and be affected by the curse."
"Don't worry. I was told younger people could not be affected by it." She paused. (Wait...I am no longer young. I am already 23. Oi, grabe! Am I crazy to accept this quest?) She felt a dilemma since this quest was too risky. (But this is just a game. This is a quest. I was just frightened for a second since this game feels so real. Good job, Peter!)
"B-but--"
"It is okay. I will not hold it against you should I contract it. After all, I am an alchemist apprentice." Maria examined the blue spot. She scraped the spot with a knife with Jorwe's permission and was able to extract some blue soot from it. She put the sample in a vial immediately. "You mentioned that there was a feeling of dense air near the well, right?"
"Right. It was also gloomy. As if there was a fog."
"I see. Thank you for telling me this information. I will leave a few bottles of mana recovery potions that I concocted here. I hope it helps." Jorwe thanked her as well. "Then, I will take my leave."
Maria also visited a few more of the town chief's people who were exposed and checked their blue spots. After comparing them, she went straight to the alchemy tower and talked to the master alchemist. She showed him the samples she collected, and he promised to help by examining them. Meanwhile, Maria asked Ashtan to gather ingredients for mana recovery potions. Ashtan wanted to come with Maria when she learned that she will go to inner Sienen to investigate the area, but Maria insisted to help her gather ingredients instead, to help the residents of Sienen who had the mana curse.
"Okay. Be careful, Blumock." Ashtan was worried. Maria's affinity with Ashtan had been maxed out, so naturally, her affection also heightened.
"Don't worry, I am still as young as you." (Not! You are just 8 years old and I am 23.) "I won't get affected by it," she reassured her by this lie.