"Before you leave, please take this as well." Hldrmir was not done with his generosity. He handed Albrecht a book.
"The... The Tome of Unbending Earth?! Are you really sure about this, oh great Hldrmir?" Albrecht respectfully asked in amazement.
The Tome of Unbending Earth contained all the skills that one could learn with the Earth Element. For an Earth Element user, the Tome of Unbending Earth is a cheat code, or the greatest instruction manual to ever exist.
There was only seven Tome of Unbending Earth and it should be in the possession of the greatest Earth Element users out there.
Albrecht couldn't believe that he was in possession of one of them. His mind immediately thought of the massive fortune he'd receive if he were to sell such a tome.
"The Tome of Unbending Earth is directly tied to the earth blessing I gave you... so only you could open and use the tome." Hldrmir responded as if he could read Albrecht's mind.
"That's everything I could give you, great follower of Fjormir. In return, I just want you to put in a good word for me to Fjormir." Hldrmir lowered his head.
An Overseer lowering his head to an inferior being was certainly something you don't see everyday. Anastasia and Claude witnessed something that defied the laws of reality.
"Sure, I'll put in a good word for you. I'll also tell her to go out with you for some picnic or something. I'm especially close to Overseer Fjormir." Albrecht puffed his chest. His mind already reworked a plan so he could convince Fjormir to go out on a date with Hldrmir at least once.
With everything that Hldrmir gave him, the least he could do was offer something in return. That way, he would continue to have an amicable relationship with the Overseer.
Also, it would really help him out a lot if an Overseer was backing him up.
Albrecht wore a satisfied smile before he bowed his head. "We have a schedule to fulfill, Overseer Hldrmir, we'll be going now. We express our deepest gratitude for your overwhelming generosity."
"Think nothing of it, great follower, I wish you the best of luck in your adventure... also, uhm, I'll be waiting for that date... okay?" Hldrmir twiddled with his finger as he bashfully whispered the last sentence to Albrecht.
"I'm on it," Albrecht responded, bowing his head even lower before he expressed his farewell.
As the three of them walked away, towards the Zecian Portal that would lead to the Fourth Outerlayer, Hldrmir enthusiastically waved at them goodbye. "Please come visit as much as you want, okay?" He called out.
Technically, since Albrecht received Hldrmir's divine blessing, he had also become his follower.
Hldrmir couldn't help but think that the great follower of Fjormir is also his follower. His heart skipped a beat at the thought, and his face reddened with embarrassment.
Kuuu~
—
Albrecht, Anastasia, and Claude jumped from one Zecian Portal to another. After a leap to Fourth Outerlayer, they immediately jumped into a different Zecian Portal— the one that led straight to the Second Outerlayer.
They clearly avoided the Frost Elves in the Third Outerlayer since Albrecht didn't want to return there and waste a couple of minutes.
Once they arrived in the Second Outerlayer, the three of them made a beeline to the Whitelock Household where Theresa Whitelock was waiting to be cured of her sleeping sickness.
Claude decided to hide his face so no one would realize that he was still alive. To the other villagers, they just assumed that the third person in Albrecht's party was another vampire they met in their adventures.
Fortunately, the village elders didn't see any of them... or maybe they did, and they just couldn't be bothered.
After all, Albrecht would die when he fights against Prima Whitelock anyways. Let them struggle until the bitter end.
"Young master?!" Those were the first words that came out of Walterford's mouth as he caught a glimpse of Claude.
Even though he was still hiding his face, Walterford could tell who he was. "Is that really you, young master?"
"Yes, it is me, Walterford. There's no time to lose." Claude said with urgency as the three of them headed straight to their mother's bedroom.
Their, Theresa was still lying unconscious, awaiting the time when she would die.
Unbeknownst to everyone (except Anastasia), Theresa was bound to die in a few hours. That's why Albrecht had to move fast.
The Mystical Fire Stake wasn't just to prove his presumptious allegiance to Fjormir, it is also one of the few key items that one could use as a stirrer.
Thanks to the Mystical Fire Stake, they don't need to create some flames and boil water on it before adding all the ingredients.
All they need to do was add everything into the Mother of Life Cooking Pot, and then stir it continuously with the Mystical Fire Stake for an hour.
This would give the mixture enough time to get cooked and to be imbued with the life energy that seeped out of the cooking pot.
Walterford and the maids couldn't believe that Claude was still alive, and they asked him to explain how such was the case.
While Albrecht and Anastasia swapped in while mixing the cure, Claude narrated his side of the story. He explained how he used a couple of illusionary skills to fake his own death.
He then told them how he was in direct contact with Drac, the High Elder. Somehow, they believed the story.
A couple of hours ago, they had doubts about the identity of Albrecht, but now, they had no doubt in their mind that he was sent there to help their tribe. They thanked him profusely, even though he wasn't done mixing the cure just yet.
—
Once they were done with all the necessary preparations, there were still two hours before the deadline of the emergency (timed) quest. Albrecht didn't wait until the last minute though.
"How do we feed the medicine to her? We can't just open her mouth and pour it." Walterford pointed out the obvious.
"Then we'd have to deliver it mouth-to-mouth," Claude announced. He then stared at Albrecht while furrowing his brows. "You're the only one who could do this, Albrecht. Please, we left this favor to you, we hope you'll see this through to the end."
"Haah?!" Albrecht exclaimed, his eyes turning into a pure rage as he leered at Claude.