"Aren't you afraid?" Arthur asked in a distressed voice. The crystals had already begun to glow again, illuminating the entire city with their ethereal blue light.
"What do you think?" Conrad replied before letting a hoarse groan escape his lips as he tried to sit up on his weak body, "We are all afraid of dying... but we each face it in our own way."
"Ah... I understand."
"I have a family..." Conrad spoke, a little regret dominating his voice and face as he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small pocket watch.
"A boy and a beautiful daughter," Conrad smiled, but there was no happiness on his lips, only a piercing sorrow that seemed to come straight from his heart.
"My son must have just gotten married, and my daughter's birthday must have been a week ago... I promised her many gifts, but I won't be able to deliver any of them..." Conrad opened his pocket watch and showed Arthur a picture; it contained a photo of two children, a little boy with black hair and a little girl with red hair.
"I'm sorry..." Arthur had a lot of words stuck in his throat, but he didn't know what to say.
"Don't be," Conrad looked out of the only window in the living room of this house, staring at the buildings on the horizon, "I didn't live a long life, but it was a good one."
"I've killed a lot of people, but I've also saved a lot of people, I've fought countless battles and fucked so many whores in my adventures that my lineage probably extends to many countries beyond Albrid, hahaha." Conrad laughed bitterly, "It has been a life well lived, long for my deeds, not for time."
Concluding his speech, Conrad looked deeply into Arthur's eyes before taking off the space ring he was holding.
"I want you to give this to my daughter... her name is Astrid." Conrad placed the ring into Arthur's hands.
Hearing Conrad's request, Arthur's shoulders shook as he felt the small metal object in his hands. Once again, a man about to die had given him the mission to be the last messenger.
"Why me?" Arthur asked, "Why not Gabriel or Safira?"
"Gabriel is a man of the church, he has his own problems to solve... as for Safira, she also has many duties after leaving this place..." Conrad replied before grabbing Arthur's hands and holding them tightly, "She lives in the city of Noster and works for one of the few apothecaries in town..."
"Please, young man... fulfill this old man's last wish..."
[Quest: An old man's last wish
General: A dying man asks you to deliver a space ring to his daughter, unknown rewards await you.
Grade: D
Rewards: ????]
Arthur paused for a moment and his heart ached, but in the end, he made what he thought was the right decision.
Arthur pulled his hands away from Conrad and said, "I will find your daughter and give her this.
"Thank you very much..." Conrad thanked him before letting his body fall back and closing his eyes. It was a short conversation, but it still left him exhausted.
Seeing the old man fall asleep again, Arthur stored Conrad's spatial ring and decided to see what the others were doing.
***
The house where Arthur's group was staying had a courtyard that was about the size of a quarter of a football field.
In this courtyard, the figures of Gabriel and Alice could be seen, animatedly playing a game of catch.
Not far away, Safira sat in the shade of a strange-looking tree. It was tall, with a black trunk, purple flowers, and no fruit.
She watched the game with a happy look on her face as if this was the best source of entertainment she had seen in decades.
Arthur completely abandoned the melancholy of his conversation with Conrad and sat down next to Safira, who kept her eyes fixed on him as always.
In the first days after joining the group, Arthur had been uncomfortable with the intensity of her gaze, but he had gotten used to it and learned to ignore it.
At that moment, Gabriel finally noticed Arthur's presence and stopped playing with Alice.
"Arthur, how about a sparring match? We haven't fought in a few days and I'm a little rusty." Gabriel waved in the air and two wooden swords appeared in his hands.
"Hm... Sure, why not?" Arthur stood up and walked to the center of the courtyard.
"Hahaha, this is going to be interesting," Gabriel threw one of the swords in Arthur's direction and the two of them took a combat stance.
Alice quickly moved her tiny legs and ran towards Safira, taking refuge in the woman's arms. Although she looked frightened, there was a certain expectancy in her eyes.
Arthur gripped the hilt of the wooden sword tightly and took a wide stance, his eyes filtering Gabriel coldly as he waited for the signal to begin. This was only a friendly duel, but he was excited to test Gabriel's skills and had no intention of losing.
They both looked at Alice and Safira as if waiting for one of them to announce the start of the fight.
"Begin!" Alice's childish voice rang in their ears, announcing the start of the duel.
At that moment, the air between them stirred as a crimson aura flowed through Arthur's sword and a golden aura filled Gabriel's sword.
Without wasting any more time, they advanced, and a dry thud echoed throughout the courtyard as their swords met.
A powerful vibration ran through Arthur's arm, and he was forced to take two steps backward as the effects of the exchange still coursed through his body.
Gabriel, on the other hand, took four steps back, a look of surprise on his face that was soon replaced by excitement. With a roar, he charged towards Arthur, the ground beneath his feet cracking with the force of his steps.
'So powerful!' Arthur repeated to himself as the battle continued, each exchange of attacks seeming to reverberate through his body and mind, making him feel as if he were fighting an impenetrable mountain as Gabriel parried each blow with seeming ease and returned it with an attack of overwhelming force, putting colossal pressure on Arthur.
The battle reached its climax as a sword dance ensued between the two young men, who defended and attacked incessantly in a battle of quick, precise, and powerful blows.
Still hidden in Safira's arms, Alice's eyes shone like a star as she watched the battle, her small body trembling with each exchange of blows, getting even more excited at the sight of the powerful pulses of mana that stirred with each strike, spewing red and gold particles into the atmosphere. It was a violent but beautiful sight.
'Shit!' Arthur exclaimed in his mind as he was thrown backward again. A quick glance at his status showed that he had less than 15% of his mana left.
15 seconds,' Arthur repeated to himself before moving forward again. He didn't know how high Gabriel's mana reserves were, but he believed they were at least comparable to his own.
"Aaaah!" With a roar, he sent all the mana in his body into the sword and prepared to deliver a powerful vertical strike at Gabriel. The moment the two swords met, a dry crack echoed through the air, and Arthur's eyes widened as particles of wood appeared in his vision.
He stood still, watching as half of his sword was thrown into the air and the other half disintegrated in his hands.
He had lost.
"It was a good fight," Gabriel put down his sword and placed his hand on Arthur's shoulder. "If you hadn't overloaded the sword's material with more mana than it could hold, I'm sure the outcome would have been different."
Hearing this, Arthur nodded. He would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed, but it was a beginner's mistake, and he would do his best to correct it.
"WOW!!! Uncle Gabriel, you were so awesome!" Alice ran up to Gabriel.
"You did bam! And he went boom, and then crack! Broke, hahaha." Alice punched the air as if trying to choreograph her attacks.
"You did good too, Uncle Arthur, hehe," Alice complimented Arthur, trying to brighten up his dejected appearance.
Arthur smiled as he messed up the girl's hair. Alice had regained her original glow and was cheering everyone up again.