"Why aren't you following the script?!" The fairy whined as she sat down on a huge tree stump, her hands clutching her knees tightly.
"Script? What script?" I gaped at her. Along with Myria and Long Wang, we were sitting on a fallen tree log. Xiao Huo was sniffing at a bunch of mushrooms that had grown along a portion of its length, while Xiao Huo Long stood at the end of the trunk, his flaming tail raised upward while he carried out sentry duty.
"Weren't you supposed to only want to talk, and then do nothing but let me shoot you? Only for your friends to rush in and save you and persuade me to stop fighting? You're supposed to be a kind pacifist! The type to let your feelings shine through to the other party in order to win my trust! Not defeat me by combat skills!"
"Seems like she watched the same anime series that I did," Long Wang muttered. I glared at him, wishing he would shut up.
"Lady, I'm sorry, but I'm not that much of a pacifist. I'm not a saint or a Buddha. If someone attacks me, I'll fight back. I'm not a doormat. Besides, there are already people calling me a spineless beta 'Japanese' MC in the comments, so imagine how they will start frothing in their mouths and going into convulsions if I just stand there and let you shoot me without fighting back."
"I bet a good number of them would suffer a stroke from their edgy rage," Long Wang said, and this time I agreed with him.
"My name is not lady," the fairy said. She lowered her head. "I'm Sylvie."
"Ah." I also bowed my head politely. "I'm Song Jun Wen."
"Myria Poseidon." Myria smiled and raised her hand in a friendly wave.
"This is Long Wang, my butler, and those are Xiao Huo and Xiao Huo Long." At my introduction, Long Wang rose and bent his waist to bow courteously, like the steward he was. On the other hand, my other summoned spirit beasts paid us no attention, still staring around at the vibrant, verdant forest.
"So why are you here?"
"We needed to secure a few materials," I explained. "And I was wondering if you have a spare seed of the World Tree. Of course, I'm more than happy to trade for it. Please name your price."
"We do have spare seeds of the World Tree," Sylvie confirmed with a nod of her head. "And you are welcome to have one as long as you have something that we want. We do accept trades."
"That's great!" I smiled. "As I said, please name your price. Unless you require us to negotiate with someone else inside your community."
"I apologize, but you cannot enter our village." Sylvie sighed and shook her head. "I set up the barrier type spirit array in order to protect our village and bar all entry into it. If I were to deactivate it, I might put the village in danger."
"I understand. Would you mind serving as our intermediary then? We will stay outside the village, but I hope you can help us with the trade."
"No problem. But you must know that the seeds of the World Tree are a highly valuable treasure that is guarded by the fairy race," Sylvie continued. "We won't just accept any kind of trades."
"Yeah. If I don't have it right now, I'll just go off and obtain it, then return here to exchange it for the seed of the World Tree. So don't worry about it."
Sylvie hesitated for a moment. "It doesn't necessarily have to be an item or a rare material."
"Hmm?" I raised an eyebrow, though I was beginning to have an idea as to what she might want. "A request, then? A favor? You want me to do something for you?"
"…something like that." Sylvie shifted uncomfortably. Noticing it, Myria stood up and went over to hold her hands, squeezing them encouragingly.
"It's fine. You can tell us the truth. You can trust us." She smiled and glanced at me. "Song Jun Wen is reliable. He was the one who saved my kingdom of Atlantis when we were invaded by the Deep Sea Tribe. I can vouch for his skills."
"Atlantis?" Sylvie gasped, staring at Myria in disbelief. "You're an Atlantean?"
"That's right."
"No wonder…the water qi around you seemed different from a standard human cultivator. I did think you were someone extraordinary, but I never imagined you would be from the lost kingdom of Atlantis. Incredible."
"Well, I have never met a fairy before either. I didn't think you were real." Myria shrugged.
Sylvie took a deep breath, pondering for a moment before she steeled her resolve and nodded determinedly. Clutching her knees tighter than before, she looked up at me.
"I will be honest. Truth be told, I actually don't have the authority to trade away the seeds of the World Tree."
"Then why should we bother negotiating with you?" Long Wang asked stiffly, but I held a hand up to silence his protests.
"However, I am in charge of protecting the seeds of the World Tree. It's not like I don't have my own status. After all, I was tasked with the duty of protecting the village with this spirit array." She gestured toward the willow tree. She bit her lip, seeming guilty. "Since I'm the one taking care of the World Tree seeds, the elders would never notice if there was one or two missing."
"Wait, so you're just going to give them to us like that?" I was taken aback. Sylvie nodded.
"Yes, but on one condition. You are to fulfil a request of mine."
"Sure," I replied without any hesitation. "As long as it's within my power, and it doesn't involve hurting anybody, I'll do my best to help you."
"I had a feeling you would." Sylvie smiled, sneaking a peek at Myria. Apparently, she was thinking about what she had heard from the Atlantean princess regarding me. She took a deep breath, and her sky blue-eyed gaze turned distant. "I have a young sister. Her name is Silvia. In terms of personality, she's my polar opposite. She's bright, cheerful and friendly."
"Did something happen to her?" I asked, already guessing where this request might lead. It was pretty obvious. Sylvie was all alone and her twin sister was conspicuously absent. If she was asking me for a favor, then it could only mean one thing.
"Yes, that's right." Sylvie nodded somberly. "Both Silvia and I manage the barrier type spirit array in the Spectral Forest to prevent anyone from entering the fairy village in here. However, there are times when we are required to leave the barrier to run errands. As you yourself know, some human cultivators come here for trade, or errant spirit beasts and demonic monsters would attack the forest, and we fairies would be dispatched to deal with them."
She swallowed and shuddered, clasping her hands to her chest. I could see tears threatening to break out of her eyes.
"We…underestimated the enemy this time."
"Enemy?"
"Ah…sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself. As I said, we are sometimes tasked with dealing with demonic monsters that trespass into the Spectral Forest. We had received reports that a demonic cultivator was massacring human cultivators nearby and disturbing the peace of the forest, slaughtering spirit beasts and using their blood for some wicked ritual. So Silvia and I were dispatched to slay her. However, she proved to be too strong and overpowered us. Even though we fought as hard as we could and used an array of techniques, she managed to smash through them with brute force alone, and in the end, the both of us had no choice but to retreat. I managed to escape, but that was because Silvia – my younger twin sister – sacrificed herself. She was captured by the demonic cultivator and held hostage."
"The demonic cultivator held your younger twin sister hostage?" Long Wang frowned skeptically. "Why would she do that? Forgive me for my bluntness, but if she was as malicious as you described, I think she would have already killed your sister and use her blood for whatever foul ritual she was performing. They don't have any scruples, those demonic bastards."
"You are right. Under normal circumstances, I would have lost my younger sister then. But the demonic cultivator is cunning. She held Silvia hostage to threaten me." Sylvie held a hand to her eyes and sobbed. "She issued me an ultimatum. If I want to rescue Silvia, then I am to deactivate the barrier type spirit array that is protecting the fairy village."
"Ah." Long Wang nodded, convinced. "That makes a lot more sense. Evil as they are, these demonic cultivators are scheming and often look to the long term. I fear that she will not uphold her end of the deal even if you are to comply with her demands."
"I know!" Sylvie threw her hands up in frustration. "I know that, but…! I can't just abandon Silvia! I mean, I also know the weight of my responsibility. I can't just, for my selfish reasons, agree to such a condition. If I were to agree, the village will be in terrible danger! That demonic cultivator is simply too powerful!"
"What about the other fairies in your village?" Myria asked, outraged. "Didn't you ask them for help?"
"Yes, I did. I can't do anything on my own, so I approached the village chief for help."
Even before she continued explaining, I already knew the outcome. After all, if the village chief had agreed, Sylvie wouldn't be so desperate and depressed.
"However, the village chief told me to give up on Silvia."
"You've got to be kidding me," I grumbled. Despite already being aware of the result, hearing it firsthand still sparked rage in me. "Your younger sister is a part of the village, isn't she?"
"Yes, but the village chief is also concerned with the other fairies in the village. When he heard that we couldn't defeat the demonic cultivator, he knew that it was unlikely that there would be anyone else in our village who could. He did try to send messages to the other villages to contact Earth ranked fairies to come to our aid, but…as of yet, we have not received any response. We are on our own."
She pressed her hands to her eyes and let out another sob.
"The village chief told me to prepare myself. He says that he can't risk the lives of all the fairies in our village for just Silvia's."
"I assume the opponent is an Earth ranked demonic cultivator then?" I asked. Sylvie nodded.
"That's right. Our village is very small, so Silvia and I are among the most powerful there. Even so, we are only Mystic ranked. We are no match for an Earth ranked opponent. We need to rely on the other fairy villages for aid, but at this rate…"
Her head drooped.
"There's only one day left before the demonic cultivator kills Silvia…the hostage. I don't have any time left."
"An Earth ranked demonic cultivator, huh? Long Wang mused, a hand on his chin. "This is going to be very difficult."
"Even so…please!" Sylvie lunged forward and seized my hands, pleading desperately. "There's no way I can give up on Silvia! If you can…please rescue her! I promise you that I'll give you the World Tree seed in exchange! As long as you grant me this favor!"
"Honestly, even without the World Tree seed, I'll still help you." I freed one of my hands and placed it on her head, ruffling her hair reassuringly. "I'm not going to stand by and do nothing when an innocent person is being threatened by a demonic cultivator. I can't guarantee anything, but I'll do my best to save your younger sister. And I'll make sure not to drag your village into danger."
"Thank you!" Sylvie buried her face in my shirt and began weeping. "Please…please…help me. Please save my sister. Waaaah!"
I continued rubbing her head before turning to Myria and Long Wang with a determined expression.
"Let's go, guys. We have a hostage to save."