"Ben, Ben? Benn!!"
"Huhh?" Ben focused his attention on the present, where Ray and Alex were standing alongside him.
"Quit dazing mother fucker, you almost gave me a heart attack! Elaborate any single detail you are hiding in your mind." Ray screamed, nervousness visible on his face.
The sun was getting golden yellow from red, and all four of them were currently next to the rice field, green moist grass with morning dew twinkling in the sunlight like countless stars in the sky.
The cold breeze was passing through greenish rice plants, making a rustling noise.
But even in this beautiful dawn, there was a tense situation between Ben, Alex, and Ray while Freya was practicing her sword skills a few meters away from him.
"So you are saying there was an Advanced-Tier talking wolf in the city ruins, and he is planning to attack this village on a full moon?" Ray inquired with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
So far, Ben has explained everything to them, cleverly manipulating the 'him being a vampire' part, and naturally, there were some plot holes in the story, making it hard for Ray to believe the story.
"This is the third time you are asking that question," Freya resorted. She continued to practice with her sword.
"Hey, don't be involved in the conversation if you are not even listening to it; not to mention, that's not how you practice your sword skills," Ray remarked, looking at her immature practice style. From his perspective, she was just randomly swinging her sword in the air with no visible effect or benefit.
Freya stopped, and looked Ray directly in the eyes, "The part of the conversation I heard was escaping the village and running; as for my practice, I am aware of what I am doing."
"Oi you two, stop your off-topic nonsense unless you want a Round 2 with me being involved." Ben's lips twitched, and his words came as a serious warning to both Frey and Ray.
"Okay, I take your words seriously. You are saying that there are some hundreds of wolves attacking us on the full moon, which is days from now." Alex intervened; who was completely silent in the conversation since the beginning.
"So are you suggesting that we should abandon the village and run?"
"I am saying running is a possibility," Ben responded, as silence fell in the air. He knew that the quest won't let him run away and the unknown entity was keeping an eye on him. Still Ben had a little formulated plan in his head.
"What happens to your village is none of our concern; we are not bound to stay here and die with you people." Freya tuned in, only to receive an annoyed glance from Ben before she fell silent again.
"Freya is correct; you guys are just passersby; you are not bound to stay here." Ray stated, as he sat on the grass with his legs crossed, " But the fact that you didn't run up to now, and explain this to us. I guess you aren't planning to leave, are you, Ben?"
"You aren't as dumb as you look," Ben answered with a smile on his face. " If I am planning to leave or not, it solely depends on your answer to my question."
"Spit it out. What do you want to know?" Ray responded in the same tone as Ben: " Whether I answer it or not will solely depend on your question."
Ben stood up and stretched his body before he looked at the fully golden sun in the sky. "The question is, why are the wolves attacking the village?"
"Earlier, you explained that the nobles were attacking the village because of the jealousy and abnormal growth of the village. The demons attacked the village because of the mana stream present in the city."
"But now that you don't have the city nor the mana vein, then the question is: Why didn't the attacks stop by now? There must be something in the village that is attracting people to attack, so Ray Tell me, What is it that you are hiding in here?"
"I will give it to you; you aren't as dumb as you look. But the answer you are searching for, I am trying to find that as well." Ray said it with a serious expression on his face.
"Just admit it, you are dumb," Freya chimed in, getting on the reverse scale for Ray yet again.
"Then what the hell are you village lords for, bro?" Ben slapped his forehead, all this suspense and acting he did to get a few answers just to know that Ray was even more clueless than him.
"Honestly, I am the one who does most of the work. Wonder what the hell the village lord is for?" Alex also commented in a low tone while looking away in a certain direction, trying to avoid any eye contact.
"Come on, now, all three of you start roasting me." Ray was dumbfounded, looking at his respect crumbling like a building of cards.
"Well, you can't roast someone who is already burned down to ashes," Freya said again, looking away in the same direction as Alex.
"Well...Ouch..." Ray gritted his teeth in a comical response.
" Ben, don't get me wrong here, but you did see a talking wolf in the village ruins?" Alex asked in a slightly confused tone.
"What! You never saw a talking wolf in your life." Ben counter-questioned: After all, this was a magical world; animals talking to each other must be a normal thing, right?
"No, it's not that... Any beast or humanoid monster who evolves to a certain point can talk, but I am curious; how do you know monster language?" Alex asked again, elaborating on his question further.
And silence fell on the ground. Everyone looking at the blanked-out Ben expecting some reasonable answer.
"This one; it's the magical device I use to communicate with monsters." Ben pointed at the half-moon crescent ornament hanging on his neck. All that he needed was a magical device that could cover up the plot hole in his story.
"What are the other questions?" Ray asked, he wasn't sure whether to trust Ben or not. But one thing he knew was that Ben had no reason to lie. And so, he was using the safest bet in here.
"Yes, I have. Do you know anything about Fane or a debarred God?" Ben asked.
"No idea," Ray nodded his head in response.
"What about someone called Cursed? Are there any healers in the village who can cure diseases?" Ben asked, thinking about the third quest he got but once again he didn't get any satisfactory response.
"Then I guess I will focus on my primary goal," Ben's tone changed to serious, as he muttered under his breath. But what he didn't expect was for Ray to hear the thing.
"And what is your primary goal?" Ray inquired.
"Our primary goal is to run away from the village as fast as we can," Freya responded, which in turn added to the frustrated expression on Alex's face.
It was true that they wouldn't stop Ben from going away, but internally, they were desperate to get any help they could.
"But Ben said he would help us if we answered his questions," Ray asked in a soft tone, contrary to the chaos in his mind.
"And you didn't answer the question," Freya claimed.
"Aren't there any other ways we can ask for your help? Like money, skills, or weapons, maybe?" Alex came up with a diplomatic approach; even if it cost them a few gold coins, Ben's help would still be invaluable in comparison.
"If that happens, I will let you know what you can do for me." Ben sighed, scrolling through his status screen. "For now, let's just part ways. At least, unless I find some of my answers."
"You are right, Ben; your shift is now over. Feel free to rest for the day; we will take it from here." Ray responded with the same calm tone as Ben before he walked towards the guard post on the other side. "Let's go, Alex."
"Ah.Yes." Alex responded as he took long steps to match up with Ray's pace. He was taken aback by the sudden turn of conversation but still decided to follow his friend's decision.
Ben, on the other hand, looked at them going away with a sharp smile on his face until Freya walked near him and asked, "Don't tell me you are planning to stay in the village."