I woke up returning from the void while it was dawn. Lightly pinching myself to be sure all that was not a dream. I tried to sit back seeing Erio and Aisy were laying down right by my both sides. As this time, I was the one to wake up first.
But hurriedly I reminded myself how as The Face commented, every civilians of Antarah was supposed to become petrified. I ran front to get a clear view of the crowd and sigh, it was true.
Everyone became petrified. Only their physical body though, their clothes were as it is and I noticed something curious next. Among all these dead statues, there I saw a boy alive. Perhaps, he was the "Brave" the Face talked about. I felt sad that Fiad who was supposed to be among the mass became a piece of stone too. The guild members, and everybody.
A thought just sparked my mind, I once received the "Holy Heal" skill that lets me heal anything. But that only worked on living beings. I had frankly no idea as to how to check if they are still alive. I went back and pushed Erio to wake up.
"Erio, wake up! Aisy! Come on you two!"
I frowned as I did that too. Since the Face said, one day they will be the one to come and proceed to kill me. But now that I know it, perhaps the future can be changed...
Erio slowly opened his eyes in frustration as he sat back.
"All of Antarah, everyone died... Didn't they?" he asked.
"One survived, the Brave." I replied to him. "Aisy, come on! We have to move!"
I noticed Aisy's body shivered at the moment as if she was experiencing major pain of some sort. But she too, woke up soon enough although her expression meant she woke up from a nightmare.
"Everybody.. Everybody died.. So much.. Blood." sniffed Aisy, I saw as she began to drop her tears silently.
I had nothing to do about this. I kept quite as well and faced the other way.
"Did the Face tell you two, about the three taboos?" asked Erio with a quiet serious face.
I nodded.
"So the dead won't return. And I have learnt certain futures... To reveal them I would be breaking a taboo and die right?"
I nodded yet again.
He then gave me a striking look that was very suggestive from my perspective but I ignored it. I had no desire to harm him, also.. And also, I had become immune to his harm, afterall.
"Come on now, I have seen the Brave. Aisy, I feel you but we have to go." I said, did I sound rude again? I don't know.
Aisy though, listened to me standing up and wiping her face. We climbed down the little hill and approached the Brave who against my expectations, happened to be a young boy, even younger than me. Around fourteen or fifteen I say.
The Brave, as I did't know his name just yet, looked at us with fierce eyes as he lifted his face up from a petrified statue. Perhaps, it was someone close to him. Should I show sympathy? Later.
"This little brat is the Brave?" Erio commented. And that was an unlikely statement coming from him.
"Should be," I replied to him. "Brave, did the Face talk to you?"
The Brave nodded as his composed and strong look gradually turned into a large frown. Eyes were almost about to boil out some tears but he kept it in and responded, "Yes, and are you the Hero?"
"Yes," I replied. "Brave, as I see, what just happened is sad. You will perhaps never forget this event as long as you live. But you are brave, so will you give up?"
That was the best motivation I could form in my mind which didn't sound all that great, I know. But hey I was trying.
"Never," he replied to me.
"Then what is your goal? To support the Heroes on their way to save the world?" I asked again.
"Yes,"
"Then I trust you." I finished and moved backwards giving chance to the two then to interrogate him as they wish while I wanted to examine the statues.
The statues were solid rock. The only way to test if it has lost its life might have been using my Crystal Eyes on it. But in that case if it actually was living, then I would be killing it.
I decided to leave them as it is. One day perhaps this will serve as a great symbolism of the Lord's wrath.
"What did the Face tell you?" Erio asked the Brave.
"He forbid me from using my real name again, and He... as he said, gave me powers which I would see myself soon enough."
"Did it tell you some future?"
"No, but he did tell me about the taboos. So I wouldn't tell you even if he did." and with that, Erio finished his inquiries too.
Aisy just asked him one question at the end, "Do you trust us?"
And the brave replied, "No," I looked at him, concerned, "Only Him. The Face told me to be by this messy hair's side."
I was shocked, truly. The Face recommended the Brave for myself? I knew how to check it though. Returning from the Guild, I unlocked the Lie detection skill, it was finally time to make use of it. I silently murmured, "Lie detection,"
"The Face told you to support me, specifically?"
"Yes,"
He told me the truth as I could see his speech turning him into a green.. No, giving him a green aura. I turned off the skill to see that the aura disappeared with it. Green should mean, its the truth, right?
Well, good for me, I guess. Free pet.
"Fine then, you will travel with us." I said, looking to the two as they didn't seem to have a problem with it.
"Then, what do we do now?" asked Erio.
"Loot the markets. Take the essential weapons and head to the capital." the Brave responded to him.
This brat, he was more than he looked. Although I had same plan. He had a dirty cloth, possibly from the mud below as he fell subconscious when in the void and he called me messy hair, right? While his hair was the messiest.
I said no more words and moved a few steps forward to come across a hole up front. They followed me as I reached the place where the priest was killed with that thunder. I saw it back in the hill right when I woke up but here I am now, right in front of it.
There was a white robe perhaps belonging to one of the seven priests. But this one, it was like none other. It survived the thunder without barely a scratch on it. I took the robe scratching off the ashes on it and then unclothing my previous robe to put this one on.
"What are you three doing? Go loot whatever you find." I said facing back as they were watching me do what I was doing.
Oh, or maybe they were seeing my abs? I have a light four pack, not the buff but... I guess I did have decent cuts.
I looked around to see if there was anything else that looked interesting. Suddenly I remembered Fiad again. He said there was this orb which doubles someone's mana. I needed that.
I climbed up the hole to discover Erio in a flashy armor and Aisy still clueless what to do. The brat, or should I start calling him brave now? Nah, brat sounds more suitable for him. He was trying to unhand a bow from a petrified guard.
"You're an archer, brat?" I asked.
With a late response he responded, "Yes," as if he was ashamed for it.
"Ah, we lacked an archer only, now here we have it."
My comment seemed to positively boost him as his face brightened up.
"Can't you find better bows at the shop?" I inquired.
"No, I heard these guards get special supply for weapons. By the way, what element are you? Our mage tools are... no were quite good."
Element? Did me mean class? I remembered that these non-heroes can learn any class. All they need is practise so it seemed quite logical to have sets of all class. Element... From what I read, that means those fire, wind, water things don't they?
"How do you check your element?" I asked.
That seemed to shock the brat but he replied,
"You need an elemental orb to know that. I guess there was one at the guild."
Oh.
Doesn't seem like we are moving out the village before noon.
I decided to hit up the guild before shop and then possibly stealing Fiad's caravan then leave the place. Aisy could drive the bulls, I planned.
I told Erio and Aisy if they had finished their business here, so we head to the guild. The guild was very close, we reached it. But a bad news was waiting there. I saw, the walls of the guilds were smashed off. And inside resided two deadbulls. Of course, those monsters did the damage.
"Can you deal with them brat?
"Me? These deadbulls can kill anybody under C rank, I won't last a minute."
"Is that how confident the Brave is?" I mocked him. Opening Crystal Eyes I focused on the bulls.
"Watch, brat." he looked as I uttered, "Devaste."
In a moment, both of the bulls died causing furious damage to the guild.
"Holy shi- and Are you a moron!?" shouted the brat which startled me.
"Hey, I am the Hero..."
"You just broke the elemental orb in there!"
"Aw, shucks."
"Now we have to go to another guild to find one..."
I completely forgot about it. Whatever. "Nothing to do about this. Where was Fiad's house? You know?"
"Fiad? Fiad Burn?"
"Yes, yes."
"He lived right opposite to the guild."
Is everything major for me in the village built centering the Guild? Well, that does seem logical.
"Then there we go!"
"Why?"
"To steal his caravan."
"Who will drive? Wait no, I am not going to pull your caravan!"
"Lol no, you will see."
"Lol?"
With that foolish turn of events we went to Fiad's stable. Of course, I already forgot where he lived. Even if it was right in the opposite side of this area, the path to his home was dangled like a maze. Whatever, the case, we reached there. And I discovered the gates already broken as the bulls escaped.
"Aisy, you know what to do."
She came up and used her Rise skill to bring two deadbulls. The brat was simply dumb shocked while Erio was quiet which is also very unlikely of him. Yeah, he was acting strange ever since he woke up today. What exactly did the Face tell him? I decided to talk to him about this sometime soon.
Then we rode on the caravan to come before the shop and looted everything nice we found there. Even things we didn't really need but we probably could sell them at a high price.
I got my orb there since somehow only one orb was in the shop. It was bagged as if Fiad was ready to sell it to me, although I would actually come to buy the robe, weird he was. Sigh.
And the robe which he talked, I got it too, it was just by its side. Also packed. But I kept that one in a pouch because I was enjoying this white robe of the priest.
I took this ring that looked expensive because I didn't know what effects did each ring bear, I only took tens of them. And other amulets and stuff to hold the orb. That was it, and I took a grey wand although I don't think I would need it.
But Erio and Aisy.. They emptied this shop. Even brat didn't back off. He took this bow he could barely wield and many arrows.
Like that, fully equipped, we left the shop and then the village.
"You don't have anything to take or see before leaving?" Aisy asked the brat as we were about to leave.
"...No." the brat replied as he was embodied with a red aura then since I had my Lie Detection on. And I didn't feel a need to ever turn it off as the mana was getting refreshed so quickly, thanks to the orb.
This little Brave was a very bad liar.