––– In a certain trail somewhere in the south of Wiunlen…
It was early on in the morning.
Everywhere one would look at is all dim and sometimes outright dark. It was because of the blue hue rising from the atmosphere that there was at least a sense of light.
Oslan and Riang sat down on the grass near the road that leads to Mysteriea City. Riang was counting the coins to make sure that it was the right amount.
"Riang, where do you think Owen went? Until now, he's still not here." Oslan was getting tired of waiting.
It was still early in the morning, Oslan was still groggy from being woken up.
Riang didn't take her eyes off the coins as she replied. "2,800… 2,900… I don't know, don't ask me… 3,000."
Oslan sighed. He tapped his hands rhythmically on the linen sack with a string that was currently sitting atop his lap.
As the two of them waited, they both heard wooden wheels turning behind them.
*Creak…*
It was Owen who was pushing a four wheeled wagon.
Oslan was surprised. "Owen? You're finally here– and… what's with that wagon?" Oslan stood up and carefully pulled the sack's string on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, I need your help with something." Owen waved his hand dismissively and beckoned for Oslan to come over.
Oslan obliged.
Owen pointed inside the wagon and said, "See that rope? Tie it around the handlebar in a loop."
He instructed Oslan to tie straps on the handlebar just like what Udehr did to his wagon back when he was working with them.
Riang subtly glanced at the two before finishing her count of the coins.
Oslan did as he was told and asked once again, "Where did you get this wagon? It looks high quality for some reason…"
"Just get on." Owen looked impatient as he completely disregarded the question.
Noticing his expression, Oslan swallowed his words and hopped inside.
Riang fixed the bundles of coins in her pockets, she then stood up and looked at Owen suspiciously.
"Why are you acting so strangely all of a sudden? Also, why is the wagon damaged in this area?" Riang pointed to a spot of the wagon where it looked like a part was chopped off.
"I'll explain later. Just get on the wagon so that we can leave." Owen inserted his arms into the rope, ready to move out any time. He wasn't in the mood to answer their questions.
"Okay, okay. You seem to be more eager to leave than I am." Riang suppressed her curiosity before also hopping inside the wagon.
After seeing that they're all set, Owen began moving. The wheels of the wagon turned, making it a bit easier for Owen to move.
The moment he pulled the wagon, a panel containing a message appeared.
*Vhoom..*
==========
The [Wagon Master] perk is currently active.
==========
Right now, the sun has yet to rise, so the road was still hard to see because of the darkness.
Inside the wagon, Riang leaned her back while sitting. "I can't believe I'm actually going to leave Wiunlen after two years… I'm going to miss this place."
"I feel the same way since I grew up here. But at the same time, exploring unknown places is also exciting." Oslan said as he dropped off the sack next to him.
"This is just the start… The places that we'll be going to are dangerous." Riang had already been preparing herself mentally for the future.
Ignoring her somewhat pessimistic comment, Oslan began to let his mind wander. "I wonder what Mysteriea City is like. I heard that it's a huge city… What do you think the city has that Wiunlen doesn't?" began to imagine different things in her head.
"I don't know, more magical nonsense? Owen did say that they focus on soul energy quite a lot." Riang replied.
"Hey Owen." Oslan peeked his head over to look at Owen from the wagon.
"What's up?" Owen didn't turn his head around, but he still gave a response.
"What do you know about Mysteriea?" Oslan passed forward an innocent question.
Owen shrugged. "Depends on what you want to know."
Seeing that Owen was willing to answer, Oslan began to think. "Uhh, okay.. Do you think I can awaken the ability to use soul energy? What I meant is, can Mysteriea City give me the opportunity to use soul energy?"
"Yes, but you probably don't need it from there." Owen gave an answer that was a set-up for another question.
"What do you mean by that?" Oslan was obviously curious why Owen would say so.
"Before I tell you, I want you to tell me if you've ever been wounded before from a newborn until now. This is important, so answer truthfully." Owen attached a sense of importance to the question.
Oslan figured that it was Owen's eccentric style of talking, so he went along with it.
"To be honest… I've only been wounded two times in my entire life." Oslan had other people point out his abnormality to avoid sustaining injuries. He mainly attributed it to dumb luck and didn't place much importance on it.
"Don't you find that strange?" Owen glanced back at him.
"I- I do… From what I'm getting, you know the reason why?" Oslan might be weak, but he wasn't dimwitted. He could follow the cues that Owen has been giving.
Oslan was ready to receive the answer. He listened carefully in order to avoid mishearing it.
Owen smiled, "Yes, I know the reason why. It's because you have the bloodline that belongs to a bull beastman."
Owen's words struck like lightning into Oslan's heart.
Because the different races in this world had such deep hatred for each other, they were extremely derogatory and discriminative towards anyone who wasn't the same as them. Therefore, it was rare for a half-blood of any race to appear because they will be ostracized by almost everyone. In addition, most half-bloods are usually killed very quickly once discovered.
This was the reason why Oslan found Owen's answer very improbable and concerning.
Riang felt the same way. She spoke up, "Owen, are you saying that Oslan is a half-blood?"
Knowing the consequences of being revealed to be a half-blood, Owen immediately denied it. "No, what I'm saying is that the ancestral beastman blood in Oslan's body is so deeply ingrained. Yes, he is human, but if this bloodline awakens, he'll experience the full strengthening traits of a beastman and still look the same. This was the reason why he is so weak, but he has an almost inextinguishable stamina and powerful durability."
"The bloodline only appeared in Oslan's body because it resurfaces every now and then in different generations. But because it's so thin, it needs something to awaken it completely." He added.
Almost unable to absorb what he just heard, Oslan said while stuttering, "T- that's amazing but…. How do you know this exactly?"
"I've seen your biography." Owen meant it in a half joking manner.
"Wait what?" Oslan did not know what to make of that.
"I'm just joking. Short answer is that Oslan showed many signs that he has something special with him. It wasn't necessarily a bloodline all the time. It could be some kind of treasure placed on your body a long time ago or a divine bestowment, but that seems unlikely.."
"Why did you settle on the fact that it's a bloodline?"
"I wasn't sure at first, but there is this very weak intuition that I got from Oslan when I talked to him. Then when I heard that your last name is Leifra, I was even more skeptical now."
"As you see, from the historical records that I have read before about beastmen, the Lionmen of Leifra are beastmen who married humans at that time because tensions between races aren't blown out of proportion. The original Leifras are said to have almost inexhaustible stamina, extremely tough skin, and have pale brown hair."
"So even though it's a small possibility, Oslan just happened to match many features of the Leifra beastmen to the point that I couldn't ignore said possibility."
"And how can he awaken that bloodline of his?"
"And that's the best part.. You see Riang, you can help him awaken that bloodline by using the Beisena Blood. Oslan will gain his rightful strength because of it." He added.
"Eh?" Riang was dumbstruck. She looked at her hands as if she was verifying if she really possessed that quality. "Beisena Blood? My family bloodline?"
Oslan gathered his will to speak once again despite feeling as if he was electrocuted from the shock that Owen gave him. "How can Riang help me awaken it?"
"Easy… But first of all Riang, can you transfer your blood origin to Oslan?" Owen turned to Riang this time.
However, Riang didn't respond as expected. Instead she was hesitant as she posed her question, "Uhm… What is blood origin?"
"You don't know?" Owen showed a complicated expression.
"I really don't…" Riang shook her head.
"Oslan?" Owen asked him instead.
Oslan pointed to himself for a bit and also shook his head.
'Well that's troublesome…' Owen thought that Riang knew what blood origin was. He assumed that she did because Riang infused her blood origin to Oslan's dying body to save his life.
Turns out, she may have done so on impulse. She didn't know what she was doing at that moment. All she cared about was to save Oslan's life.
'How touching…' Owen groaned internally.
Thankfully, he knew how to explain it. He originally didn't want to do so because of how much of a pain it would be.
"Alright, listen up. The reason why you can regenerate those crystals in your blood is because of your blood origin. If I were to use an analogy to simplify it, the crystals produced would be a fingernail and your blood origin is the finger. If the finger is gone, you can obviously no longer regenerate your fingernail."
"Severe loss of blood origin can permanently damage it. But if it was transferred bit by bit to someone else like Oslan over here, your blood origin will weaken for a short period of time, but it can still recover to its peak eventually."
Owen decided to shorten the explanation because he didn't feel like running his mouth on the specifics.
"Huh.." Riang understood the main principles about blood origin, but it feels like it was forcefully crammed into her brain. "Why out of everything else, it's my blood that can do this?"
"Didn't I say I promise Oslan acters to awaken his strength?" There was a mischievous, meaningful look under Owen's eyes.
Upon realization, Riang was tongue tied.
"Oh."
Owen laughed.
With a smile, he continued, "Mhm, I'm sure you figured it out… Your blood origin is the acter that I'm talking about."
"So you were planning to bleed me from the start. I should've known." Riang grumpily crossed her arms.
"It's for Oslan, not me so… it's not really the same." Owen pointed out.
But then he asked, "However, are you willing to transfer a bit of your blood origin to Oslan though?"
Oslan nervously looked at Riang. If she says yes, he wouldn't have to be so mediocre anymore. Just thinking about the prospects of gaining strength was tempting enough for him.
Riang didn't reject it at all. "Of course I'm willing, it's just that…" She then scratched her head in confusion. "I don't know how to give him my blood origin or whatever."
"Don't worry, those with a special bloodline can acutely sense their blood origin by delving deep into the connection of their body and soul." This was a lore entry in the game and Owen was just recounting it. The way he said it was too damn convincing that he knew a lot about it though.
He was no expert. He was just somebody who has information that is normally inaccessible to others.
"Let me try…" Riang closed her eyes and concentrated. She wanted to try and sense her blood origin.
As a beginner, all she did for now was to exude her soul energy and to wildly move it around her body to try and sense something within her. Under Oslan's eyes, he could now see a fog of red seeping through her clothes and covering Riang from head to toe.
This method to sense one's blood origin was crude and rudimentary. It was the equivalent of wildly flailing your arms in a dark and empty room to search for something.
Riang started to control her soul energy and no longer let it float all over her skin. She took them in her body and began to search her veins where her bloodstream lies.
Because of this, it was like her arms hit a stone wall within a hallway in the dark room, resulting in her ability to faintly sense a sea of red even though it wasn't at all a visual input.
Right now, Riang was still essentially blind as she looked for her blood origin.
The 'hallway' that she could now sense helped with her search.
Her soul energy was now converging towards her heart, becoming more condensed as the entire red mist of soul energy each followed a single route.
When it reached a certain threshold, something changed.
Riang suddenly felt warmth surging throughout her senses. This change made her feel as if she was surrounded in a bloody pool of strange liquid. After this, Riang's vision shortly changed as if it was now able to see the blood red pool in person.
Astonished as she was, Riang wasn't able to vocalize her bubbling emotions because she didn't have a mouth in this state in her mind. From the outside though, it only looked as if she was furrowing her eyebrows more deeply than before.
She swam around the viscous sea to try and find anything noteworthy.
Like a fish swimming in a swamp bumping into plants, Riang was hit by strands of coagulated blood.
She pushed through and swam deeper and deeper into the space between her bloodline and soul.
It didn't take long for her to sense the bright red light deep in the sea. By following it, she soon found a clump of thick red liquid that emitted a strong presence of light. When she tried to interact with it, the clump of red liquid felt like a part of her.
The thick, blood red liquid extended a tendril according to Riang's will.
'This is crazy... This must be the blood origin thay Owen is talking about.' Riang was astounded by the sight. She played around with her blood origin and made it churn and morph into different shapes.
And without her realizing, she accidentally sliced off a bit of the liquid, prompting a powerful wave of weakness to assault her being.
This jolted her back to her senses.
Riang opened her eyes with beads of sweat on her face. Her breathing hastened as she felt a numbing sensation of weakness throughout her body.
This feeling quickly receded and Riang found her strength back.
Oslan noticed her weird reaction and asked her with concern, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I think so but…" Riang unconsciously glanced at her palm and saw a drop of blood that glowed with a red light. "Owen, I think I did it…"
"That fast?" Owen was surprised. He turned his head to verify.
When he saw the drop of blood that she extracted into her palm, he rejoiced.
"Yes, that's it! That's blood origin right there…"
Owen didn't have to take a closer look. Just from its ability to glow, he already knew that it was legit.
"Oslan, drink that drop of blood. It's not yet enough, but by repeated consumption of those drops every time Riang healed her blood origin, you'll eventually awaken your bloodline." Owen said encouragingly.
Owen knew that if Oslan managed to fully awaken his bloodline, he could gain the help of a powerful combatant by his side.
After hearing what he said, Riang grabbed Oslan's hand and tried to give him the drop of blood on her palm by shaking it off her. But because it was firmly sticking to her skin, it wouldn't move at all.
Seeing this, she tried to wipe it into his palm, but it surprisingly phased through his hand and directly entered his bloodstream instead.
Once it entered his palm, they both noticed a red glow that swam from his wrist to his forearm, to his bicep, until it reached his chest.
Oslan felt a surge of strength from his palm slowly spread throughout his body. He felt a unique sense of warmth comforting him like a tidal wave of relief.
He exhaled under a euphoric air.
"Wow– I feel stronger just from that little bit." Oslan looked refreshed. He looked at his hands and clenched them before releasing.
"What do you mean little bit? Is that how you treat my blood origin?" Riang pouted while turning her head away.
"N- no, I didn't mean it that way.. it's plenty, it's very plenty!" Oslan began to apologize profusely.
Satisfied with the reaction, Riang smirked teasingly. "You're welcome.."
Oslan secretly sighed in exasperation.
Meanwhile, Owen watched the entire process with a nod of approval.
"Just a reminder Riang, check the state of your blood origin. If part of it is black as tar, that means it's permanently damaged. But if it's just darkened, it indicates that it can still heal." Owen also warned Riang to be careful.
Heeding his warning, Riang took a deep dive into her soul once again. And since it was the second time she did it, the process was a lot easier.
She saw the clump of liquid with a patch of dark red. She heaved a sigh of relief before reporting what she saw to Owen.
The journey went on.
They watched the sun slowly rise up.
Around them, trees began to appear more often. As they got deeper into the trail, the trees formed a canopy over their heads with some gaps letting sunlight pass through.
There was a mix of hesitation, eagerness and curiosity to whatever heaven or hell might have in store for them.
Owen pulled the wagon with his shoulders for fifteen minutes now. At this point, they couldn't see Wiunlen anymore.
What surrounded them from all sides are trees and foliage.
Riang and Oslan talked for a bit to pass the time. Owen occasionally replied to their questions but that's about it. He didn't become meddlesome because he isn't that crappy of a person.
"... You know Owen, I've come to appreciate you for bringing a wagon. Are you sure you aren't tired? I can switch with you if you want." Oslan laid down the wagon. Until now, both him and Riang didn't have to walk an inch because of Owen's hard work.
The effort Owen was putting just for their comfort was commendable. Oslan's perception of him even grew higher because of it.
"This is the fourth time you have offered to help. And like I said, no need.. I'm not tired yet." Owen replied once again.
Of course he wouldn't allow him to take his place. He'll be losing progress points in his training.
It's free strength points, only a numb headed idiot would let go of that benefit!
"About the wagon, why don't you tell us how you got it in the first place? You seem to be very secretive when we asked you about it." Riang was staring at the cloudless sky as shadows of trees ran past her face.
"Oh.." Now that they're far enough from Wiunlen, Owen decided to reveal it now.
"Last night, I happened to see a bunch of parked wagons outside the main building of the Ichor Construction Guild branch. So, I chopped the insignia off the wood and hid the wagon somewhere and waited till the night passed." Owen partly admitted what he did.
Riang and Oslan quickly sat up from their backs and looked at him with bewildered expressions.
"You stole this wagon??" Oslan was shocked.
"Yep." Owen didn't refute it at all.
Riang laid back down as if she quickly accepted that Owen did what he did. She then said, "At least it takes us to the destination faster..."
Something still didn't sit right with Oslan.
"I know but, isn't that wrong?" He laid back down as well after voicing his concern.
"What am I supposed to do then? Return it? The Ichor dude is rich, a missing wagon wouldn't hurt him." Owen didn't care at all.
"Good point, there's no use going back now… But that doesn't mean I'm fine with you going around stealing random stuff, can you agree to that?" Riang sounded firm with her statement.
"I'm no kleptomaniac." Owen replied.
"Sure… But what drove you to steal this to begin with?" Riang yawned as she stretched her back.
"Hmmmm…" Owen thought back to what he did approximately 7 hours ago.
— Yesterday, Wiunlen Community Market, 15:00 PM. 11 Hours before midnight.
'So this is the market.. Doesn't seem so different from what I saw in the game.' Thinking to himself, Owen observed the market.
The market was a humble congregation of common folk trying to make a living. Their stalls were made of wood nailed together to be strong enough to handle the weight of their wares.
Just from a passing view, one would be greeted with the sight of vegetables, fruits, frozen meat, fish and many more.
However, Owen wasn't as interested as one might think. After all, it was just a number of honest people doing honest work. It didn't meet the criteria to evoke much of a reaction from Owen.
"Owen, what do we need to buy? We only have 5,441 copper coins, so we need to be very very careful when spending our limited resources." Riang stressed the word 'very' two times.
Owen replied, "Add 30 copper to that. I might as well help."
"Isn't that the one that you earned from Fritsen? That's kind of you, thanks." It was a guess from Riang's side, but she meant her gratitude.
"It's not a problem. The problem is food, so we need to buy long lasting ones that you can eat for the road." Said Owen as he made 30 copper coins appear out of thin air in his hands.
The inventory function is a funky thing to use in real life and Owen couldn't have been any more grateful for its existence.
"Like what?" Riang said while taking the copper coins that Owen gave her.
Owen listed out several things, "Obviously, we need water. For food, it's rye bread, beef jerky and fruits like oranges."
"Why do we need fruits?" Oslan asked.
It was plain curiosity on his part and Owen knew about it clearly.
"Vitamin C." Owen answered without further explanation.
"Ah, I get it." Riang nodded.
Oslan was still left in the fog though.
"I don't…?" He wondered what the term meant.
Riang looked at Owen, thinking that he would explain it, but seeing his silent demeanor, she took it to herself to explain instead.
"I'll just tell you from what I read. Vitamin C is a nutrient that is good for your body, but they're very tiny and you can't see them. Just think that it would help us from being too out of shape during the month long trail."
"Oranges do that?" Oslan's learning funnel was piqued.
Riang affirmed it with a light nod. "Citrus fruits probably do the trick. Obviously, they don't have to be citrus. I just don't know how to identify them."
"So can I just bring Nulmiap fruits? They're also citruses." Oslan suggested.
Hearing that a cheaper alternative exists, Riang commended him for the idea.
"That's good thinking… we'll even save money from that." She then said with a snap of her fingers, "Oh–! There's that spot where we can get them."
"That spot has a lot of them.." Said Oslan.
Meanwhile, Owen was trying his best to remember just what the hell a Nulmiap is.
'Nulmiap? Oh, Nulmiap! Those weird trees with fruits that cost 1 copper for one of them. And when you collect those fruits yourself and sell them, any merchant NPC will only buy it for a scam amount of 5 fruits for one copper.' Owen frowned upon gathering the relevant information in his head.
"Where do you find those?" Owen asked.
"We know a place where a lot of Nulmiap trees grow near the Flor River." Oslan quickly answered.
"Take me there after we're done here." Owen said while scouting the market for items in his mental shopping list.
"Sure." Oslan smiled.
Suddenly, his nose twitched twice upon catching a whiff of raw meat.
Oslan's head was directed to a certain direction. He stared at a butcher chopping up a block of meat and couldn't help but salivate thinking about what it would taste like when roasted.
"Hah– If only I can eat some of that." Oslan rubbed his stomach while his primitive instincts told him to eat.
"Unfortunate. If only we had some money for that." Riang immediately punctured a hole in Oslan's fantasy with her overly sensible approach.
Oslan stared at her unimpressed. "Why are you always like thi– oof."
While walking through the busy market, Riang and Oslan were suddenly stopped by Owen's arms blocking their way.
Riang stared at him questioningly. "What?"
"Rye bread up ahead." Owen pointed to a stall of an old man with bread, biscuits, sugar canes and other miscellaneous foodstuffs.
The trio approached the old man. He looks like the type of person to wait for tea to brew for an hour before taking it from the kettle only to observe for a little while more until he finally sips it.
In short, a patient and disciplined looking old man.
Owen took the lead and talked to the man directly.
"Excuse me sir, how much for the rye bread?"
"A single copper for two." The old man said in a kind manner.
It was the standard price.
"Give me 42 of them." Owen pointed to the bread laid neatly upon the stall.
The man nodded and began to wrap forty-two pieces of the bread in a brown paper-like material made of plant fibers called 'Orutlam' which literally translates to, 'Brown grass paper.'
The man wrapped seven rye bread in six different orutlam before giving them to Owen who carried them like a tower of books.
Riang reluctantly took 21 copper coins from her pouch and paid the old man. From her face, it looked like she was enduring a sharp aching pain lingering on her heart.
"Thank you sir." Owen expressed his gratitude as he took the rye bread packed in orutlam.
"Thank you too." The old man returned the sentiment.
Owen walked off with the two to find beef jerky next. However, Owen quickly found and went to go to a secluded area.
Hearing footsteps going the wrong way, Riang turned around with a puzzled look.
"Owen?" She followed him. "Where are you going?"
"Hiding stuff." Owen did not elaborate further as he snuck behind a stall with the rye bread in his hand and forearm.
When Owen was finally behind the random stall that he chose, he opened his inventory and threw six of the wrapped bread into the dark blue panel the moment it appeared.
Now that it's been taken care of, Owen dusted his hands without acknowledging Oslan and Riang's stares.
"Shall we?" Flicked his hand, pointing towards the crowd of stalls.
"You know you could have just told us to hide you."
"It'll be obvious that what I was holding suddenly disappeared. That would be too magnetic for the eyes of onlookers."
"You're wearing torn chainmail, leather pauldrons and leg guards. You are not inconspicuous in the slightest." Riang only saw the extra actions as unnecessary.
"But at the end of the day, I don't make it seem as if I made bread disappear, don't I?" Owen shrugged.
"Alright…" Riang did not argue further.
She suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder coming from Oslan.
"While you two were talking, I saw a guy selling beef jerky.." He pointed towards a certain stall with a woman behind it.
"Really?" Riang looked over to where Oslan was pointing and upon confirmation said, "Why didn't you tell us then?"
"Doesn't matter, let's go." Owen went straight for the person immediately.
Without losing sight of the woman selling beef jerky, the three stepped in front of her stall and looked at the various foods that she was selling. There was cured pork, sausages, smoked fish and bags of spices.
Owen sniffed the air and found that the aroma of the spices were not only delectable alone, they seemed high quality as well.
'I can't say I dislike the natural vibe.'
"How much is the beef jerky?" Owen asked the woman.
The brown haired woman wearing a patched up leather apron was slightly surprised.
"Aye? You actually went for that?" Her eyebrows rose up by a small distance.
"Any reason not to?" Owen was suspicious of the question.
"Just a little shocked, that's all. My beef jerky isn't what gets sold the most.. A piece costs 3 copper and that's the cheapest I can give ya' right now." The woman had a particularly crisp accent as she spoke.
Riang felt a sharp pain hit her ears the moment she heard the price. And she knew very well that they would not just buy one, but many.
Browsing her goods, Owen pointed to a collection to inquire, "What about the sausages?"
"Erm, a good couple of 4 works." The seller said after a pause.
Attempting to bargain, Owen responded, "Can it go a little lower?"
The seller shook her head. "No can do, I am running a business here."
Letting his deceitful tongue do its job, Owen convincingly stated his cards. "I've seen others selling cured sausages for 3 copper, just sell yours for 3 and I'll be generous and pay full price for two of them."
"That's 4 copper gained you know. It's not a bad deal." He added.
The seller bit the bottom of her lip. "How many are you buying?"
"100 jerky and 5, no– 40 sausages." Owen was trying his best to convince her.
Good thing that in the end, she gave in.
"If you pay full price for at least half the sausages, I agree with the bargain." The seller sighed, relenting with Owen's stated price.
"Then it's settled." Owen casually gave Riang a glance.
Riang paid her 300 copper coins with an additional of 140 for the sausages. At this point, there was only numbness in her heart for spending so much of her hard earned money.
'I guess Oslan and Owen both contributed their shares, but I still provided most of it!' Riang thought to herself, aggrieved.
The woman began to wrap the corresponding products bought with orutlam. After that, she gave it to Owen.
"Here you are." The seller's tone was blunt. Clearly, she didn't appreciate Owen's bargain.
"Thanks." Owen grabbed the food and nestled it under his arm.
Gesturing towards the two, he said, "Let's go get the Nulmiap fruits. Oslan, lead the way."
"Sure." Oslan was now at the forefront this time.
But since he wasn't used to it, he was clumsy at times when directing Owen to the place.
The three of them left the market soon enough.
Scenes shifted from the wooden stalls, to streets filled with houses, to the town gates, to the grassy plains and into the riverside.
While moving along the river, Owen took a good look at it, leaving Oslan and Riang together.
He stared at the river rapids like they were graceful snakes that swam up and down. The noise of rushing water was prevalent on his ears in a way that felt relaxing. Like, a calm rainy day sort of feel.
While engrossed in his daze, he was only brought back to reality when Riang's voice started to register properly.
"Owen? Owen? Are you still in there?" Riang snapped her fingers in front of his face.
Getting her hands off his face, he turned to her, "What?"
"There's the Nulmiap trees right there." She gestured with her head.
Looking ahead, Owen saw the familiar, low leveled trees that he used to encounter in the game. Those same trees slanted opposite the river with their large fanned out leaves and green stem like a banana tree.
"..." He took in the image in his mind for a good second before clapping his hand against his forearm. "What are we waiting for? Let's grab them then."
"I was worried that you'd jump into the river or something." Riang remarked jokingly.
"I may look like I want to die, but I'm not suicidal… Well, not yet." Owen coughed to mask the awkwardness. "Regardless, don't assume something like my death. I still have what? 80 years probably?"
"Whatever you say." Riang walked with large strides, completely ignoring Owen's last sentence.
Owen came closer to one of the trees and observed the round green fruit hanging from a soft vine connected to the top of the tree. When he picked it up, a panel appeared above the fruit.
==========
[Level 3, Nulmiap Fruit (Common) - A fruit that thrives from cold climates with a flavorful mix of sweetness and sourness.
Effects: +22 Hunger, +7 Thirst
Special Effects: N/A
Ripeness: Fresh
Inventory Space: 39 Per Stack]
==========
'I wonder what this fruit tastes like. It's not like my hunger and thirst will be gone if it's just a nibble.'
Owen took the fruit closer to his mouth and took a bite.
However, the sweetness and sourness of the fruit that it was known for didn't surface in his taste buds. In fact, it was so bitter that he immediately spat it out.
This caught Riang's attention.
"You're supposed to peel it first. Who eats Nulmiap like that?" Riang stared at him with a perplexed expression.
Owen's face did not show anything out of the ordinary as he said, "I was just curious if I could bite it directly."
Riang felt that his words didn't register immediately.
"You know that you should consider the 'why' at least four times before you do something right?" Her sentence was a pool filled with sarcasm.
"I'm open to many experiences." Owen defended himself.
"Weird ones included apparently." She shook her head and focused on grabbing the fruits.
Owen began peeling the Nulmiap more properly this time to expose its yellow segments, separating them in rough equal slices. He then took one and ate it.
Unlike his previous mistake, the Nulmiap that he tasted was so much more delicious. He could see why this was a good fruit.
'It's criminal for this to be so cheap yet so good..'
Owen did not finish the fruit.
After getting the experience of eating a Nulmiap, he tossed it into the river, letting it be taken away.
The scruffy duo began to reach over to the trees to grab as many fruits as they could. Oslan climbed up the tree first then observed what fruits were ripe and which ones were not.
Riang's style was much more barbaric to say the least. With her smaller stature, she had to get on her toes and then jump to grab a single fruit from the vines.
If she accidentally grabbed a fruit that hasn't ripened yet, she just threw it into the river.
Owen was the tallest among the three of them so it was not a hassle at all to take the fruits directly.
"How many should we get?" Asked Oslan. He was on top of the tree, ready to take the fruits below him any time.
Owen counted in his mind. "78 is good."
"Why so specific?" Riang felt that the number was large, but at the same time, inadequate.
Owen did not want to explain the number of a stack per slot to them, so he made up an excuse.
"Like you guys aren't used to my eccentricity?" Owen scoffed with a smirk.
"I don't think anyone will be." Riang did not put up with his nonsense.
'To be fair, you're correct. I think my family only tolerates me.. But still, I don't like how you said it outright.'
They began to grab all the Nulmiap that they could get. Oslan would toss them directly to Owen, who will immediately shove the fruits into his inventory.
Best part is that he could ascertain their freshness by using the interface. Sometimes, Owen threw away Nulmiap that seemed fine from the outside because it was not at all fresh anymore. Much to Riang's dismay, she couldn't do anything but believe Owen.
After a fruitful fifteen minutes they filled two slots in Owen's inventory.
Oslan decided to perch on the tree for now while Riang sat down on the ground to take a break, letting her feet soak on the rushing river water while eating a Nulmiap.
"… You know, the river is sometimes beautiful to look at." Having a higher vantage point, Oslan was able to see more of the river.
"Yeah.. I guess you can say that." Owen was standing across the river.
He looked down and saw an unripened Nulmiap and kicked it into the river.
"Since we have solved the food problem, when do we leave?" Riang looked back at Owen, waiting for an answer.
"First thing tomorrow morning. As in before sunrise.
"Isn't that too soon?" Riang turned back to face the water, finished the last of her Nulmiap and threw it in.
Owen shook his head. "Riang, you said it yourself. Your earnings are swindling. At least in Mysteriea, you can at least reimburse yourself with what you earn in that city of theirs."
"... Heh– If you're scamming me, just know that a few copper isn't worth it." Riang said while her eyes reflected in a contemplative light.
"Then that should be an assurance for you. A scammer chooses wealthy targets." Owen shed some light on the facts to dispel her doubts.
"Also– if I was, I wouldn't have told you about the detection rune assuming that I was with whoever is looking for you." He added.
"Mhm.." Riang only hummed in response.
Owen rolled his eyes inwardly.
"Even if you aren't convinced, I don't care.. But what I do care about is our survival once we finally go to Mysteriea. That is why I'm going to teach you something important." Owen knew that she had no other choice but to trust him.
"Don't tell me it's some weird advice…" Riang was preparing herself for a long speech full of 'meaningful' lessons.
Owen felt somewhat insulted that he was cheap enough to pay with advice.
"I would not give you something that lame. But first, how many magic circles do you have on you?" Owen walked over to Riang and sat down next to her.
"That one that is the same as you, Firestrike. Then there's Heating Aura, Quick Punch, and Partial Mud Skin." Riang counted before holding up four fingers.
"That's all?" Owen wanted to double check.
Riang did not answer him directly. "It's what I learned from Sister Ezella. Why? Do you think you can give me something better?"
"Of course. A healing magic circle sounds good, doesn't it?" Owen did not press on. "The only problem is that I lack soul energy, so you'll have to draw it yourself."
Riang tucked her legs in and buried her face in it.
Her muffled voice could still be heard though.
"I appreciate the offer, but I don't think I even have the soul capacity for it. Even the basic ones are hard to draw and they cost a lot of soul energy to create for beginners. The load that can give my soul would be no joke… Well, unless the magic circle is well optimized."
"But there's still the risk of drawing the incorrect symbols even if it is optimized. I know I have drawn runes on you before, but they have room for a large margin of error. My classification still falls under the weaker end of a Tier-I Siyech'an, so I have to admit…"
"... I can absolutely bastardize a complicated magic circle when taught to me." She then took her face out of her knees and looked displeased at herself.
"I even wasted two magic circles on my soul because of my skill level… That's how bad I am at it." Riang's tone turned gloomy. Her face was disappointed in herself.
Was it self loathing or a shield of self deprecation?
It seems that even though she was a bookworm and someone with a foundation for fighting, her weakness in making magic circles was her insecurity.
Her saying that she was classified under the weaker end of a Tier-I Siyech'an was a sign of that. Siyech'an means soul user in a rough translation. It's used for anyone who can use the Effari language.
Owen was about to pat her in the back but pulled his hand back at the last second.
"If you're not confident, I can just draw using your hand while you keep the flow of soul energy steady." Owen offered a solution.
"..." Riang paused to consider it.
She nodded upon recalling that it was actually a feasible method. "That could work.. It is a real method used aside from tracing after all."
"Then allow me." Owen reached out with his palm outstretched.
Riang didn't hesitate to give her hand with her index finger outstretched. "Are you sure you won't mess up? Do you at least remember what you're going to draw?"
"Of course." Owen thought that it was a pointless question.
Why was Owen so confident?
It was a lifesaver that many players used in the early game periods of Garden of the Gods. He spent countless hours staring at the spell's appearance when leveling its characteristics in the spell upgrade menu.
Owen's memory is better at recalling and maintaining information than how an average person can. That was why in his childhood, he can be considered as a genius if it weren't for his lack of empathy and emotional understanding.
Even if he makes a mistake somehow, there's that uncomfortable 'flawed' feeling that would appear subconsciously, so he wasn't particularly worried.
Regardless of how confident he is, Riang started to direct her soul energy towards her fingertip.
Like holding a pen, Owen began to draw the circle. After that, he went to make the symbols.
When he doesn't need the soul energy to write, he tells Riang to stop. When he needs it, Owen tells her to continue.
By using this method, he finished the magic circle without any hiccups even if it took longer than how it should have taken.
In front of Riang was a white magic circle with a symbol made of broken curves to represent a circular object with 'valves' and 'tubes' in the middle of it.
"There, try it out." Owen let go of her hand and stayed away from it to avoid accidentally absorbing the magic circle.
"Worth a shot.." Riang reached her hand out to grab the magic circle.
The white magic circle shrunk into a glitter before entering her palm.
Once she absorbed it, Riang called upon the magic circle.
"So, how do I know if it actually works?" Riang slowly rotated her hand as she looked at it closely.
"I got this." Owen took the knife that he looted from Yuhmbir by calling upon the inventory panel.
The panel appeared right above his hand. Owen put his hand through it and grabbed the knife's handle.
This action surprised Riang but she quickly subdued it when Owen used the knife to wound his thumb.
He had no intention to use it on her.
Someone like Owen wouldn't intentionally hurt themselves. Especially since he was born with a pragmatic mind and a gift to see the mistakes of what he understood well enough. But with emotions, this hardcoded set of actions is broken.
When Riang bit her finger that one time to draw a rune on his back, that lack of hesitation was a reminder that she was used to pain.
It wasn't pride or ego, Owen did not wound himself because he wanted to match Riang's tolerance to pain that she built up over two years, but to embrace the future where he knows that suffering is unavoidable.
It was small, but it showed that he was trying to leave his comfort zone.
A patch of crimson liquid began to seep down his finger. Owen threw the knife back into his inventory before presenting his hand to Riang.
"Here, test it out." Enduring the stinging pain, Owen did not show any signs of discomfort on his face.
Riang did not waste time. She held out her palm, activating the magic circle by directing her red soul energy into it.
The moment the soul energy passed through the magic circle, it turned into a tiny white orb of light that shot towards Owen's thumb.
It melded into his flesh like a drop of water touching wet ice. Seamless and smooth.
At an observable rate, Owen's bleeding stopped, his wound closed and recombined.
The spell was successful.
"Woah–! It works!"
"Ah–!?"
Riang jumped in fright and slipped into the river. Confused and startled, she wiped the water off her face to see that Oslan was looking at her with his arm stretched out apologetically.
"Oslan?! Don't just jump on people like that!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…." Just from his face, it was obvious that Oslan felt guilty.
At this moment, a mischievous idea filled Riang's mind. Her anger was only temporary.
Riang grabbed Oslan's hand and pulled him towards her, soaking him in the river's watery goodness.
Oslan's head popped out of the surface as he wiped his face.
"There, now we're even.." Riang smirked.
Unamused, Oslan swung his arm against the river and splashed her with water.
Riang covered her face using her arms. She was now up for the battle. "Oh, now you've done it."
She then struck the river with one hand, sending a large wave towards Oslan.
Oslan stood his ground and received it head on. "Hahahaha–!"
The two exchanged splash upon splash. Riang used her palms to create large continuous waves while Oslan used excessive sweeping motions that often led to brief moments of downpour from the waves.
Owen watched the two play in the river and did not mind.
"Should I do something while you two are playing?"
"Huh–? Oh, you can chop the Nulmiap trees so that we can use their trunks as water containers. They have hollow bodies anyway." Riang covered her face with her hands as she talked and gained distance at the same time.
"Okay, have fun you two.." Owen got up and summoned his hatchet from his inventory.
Nulmiap trees are just like bamboo trees in the aspect that they are hollow in the inside. Their bark is more similar to banana trees in terms of texture though.
These trees can be used to store water especially in a hitch. Regular folk can afford buckets, but for the poor, Nulmiap trees fit as a perfect substitute.
Owen chopped down some of the trees, shoved them into his inventory to be filled with water once they got back home.
And so, the day ended and the night was welcomed.
— Riang's room…
Riang was laying down on her bed, trying to get some sleep. Oslan already went home to prepare for tomorrow.
Right now, all Riang wanted to do was sleep and grab all her stuff the moment she woke up.
As she tried to find a comfortable position, Riang suddenly heard the door open.
The creak of the door was just too easy for anyone's ears to pick up.
She asked without lifting an eyelid, "Where are you going? It's already night time, what's there to do?"
Owen stopped on his way.
"I can't sleep… I'm just going to go somewhere to clear my mind." He said as he stood by the door.
"Take the key in the top drawer… Just don't be noisy when you go back." Riang shifted her position to lay down on her side.
Owen raised his eyebrows. "You sure?"
"Mhm.. I trust you. After gathering water for us earlier from the well, can't I express my thanks to you?" Riang's usual snarky undertone was there.
"Sweet, alright I'll take it." Owen pulled the drawer and took the key before safely putting it into his inventory.
He left the room and locked it.
Riang wasn't worried that she would be locked in because the door can only be opened from the inside even if it was locked. And if for some reason, the door can't be opened, she can blast it away with soul energy and get out.
Although that would be a last resort.
The moment Owen walked out, he already noticed how there were less people now that it's approaching midnight.
He wasn't planning to stay put in one place. Owen cannot rest for a long time if he wants to keep the [Fatigue-2] and [Mental Fatigue-3] debuff to keep going.
Right now, all Owen did was check out the different parts of Wiunlen. He wasn't particularly looking for anything to happen. Even if nothing interesting occurred, that was enough for him as long as he can maintain his current debuffed state.
He found a cat though, so that's something.
Owen tried to pet it but the cat's hairs all stood up as it hissed at him before running away.
*Hiisssss!*
A few people who were still out passed by. Owen could see their name tags, but they weren't any special.
It was strange seeing all these people and already knowing their names. Owen was already thinking of how he could make use of this in the future.
He walked past a potbellied man holding a bottle of booze limping on his friend's shoulder, a woman carrying rakes tied up by hemp rope on her shoulder, and a suspicious looking man with an orange name tag.
'Wait, an orange name tag?'
Owen turned around to take another look just in case he saw wrongly.
==========
[Luram Nwan - Level 8]
[Affiliation - Ichor Construction Guild, Illegal Courier]
[Skills - Unavailable] (You do not have the necessary detection skill/s to view the following information.)
==========
'Illegal Courier???' Owen's mouth opened slightly. He almost blurted out what he saw.
Thankfully, his self control was strong enough.
Now that Owen saw someone who is possibly a bad guy, he had the instinct to follow the guy named Luram.
He didn't realize it, but a sharp itch started to permeate his throat. Scratching it did help though.
Owen unequipped his hauberk because it was too noisy. And by using the shadows, he remained hidden while following Luram from a distance.
But the more he followed him, the more familiar the place looked. Eventually, Owen realized that Luram was going to the warehouse where Fritsen's branch was situated.
Outside the warehouse were fourteen parked wagons tied to a chain. Other workers were also there, about to leave after finishing their work.
Luram was grabbing a wagon for himself to bring elsewhere. However, a fellow worker noticed him in the act.
"... Luram, it's late. Are you still working?" A man with a deep voice asked when he spotted Luram carrying a wagon away. He wore a sleeveless linen coat and had black slicked hair.
Luram's body tensed. He pressed his teeth together as he hastily crafted an excuse. "Oh, uhh… I forgot to do something and I think I should fix it today."
"Can't you do that tomorrow?" The man had a slight mist of doubt in his mind.
"No, I think it'll be better if I do it today so that my worries would be lessened." Luram hastened his pace as he got farther away from them.
"If that's what you want to do…" The man didn't want to get embroiled in matters that didn't concern him, so he chose to stop thinking about Luram's objectives. It's not like he's the one getting in trouble if something happens.
In one of the corners of the street, Owen witnessed the entire conversation. And by the gods, he is disappointed at Luram's inability to create a good lie.
Seeing that Luram was moving away, he hastened his footsteps to catch up to him.
Luram changed his direction towards an intersection to get into a discreet alleyway.
He was now out of Owen's line of sight.
Owen didn't follow immediately because the angle that he would have to follow him would reveal himself.
It would only take one look back to see him.
Owen wasn't out of ideas yet. He lifted his chin up and looked at the wooden beam.
He simply jumped up and grabbed tightly upon the beam with his right hand while his left forearm acted as leverage. He then lifted his legs into the roof and carefully walked on the rooftops to avoid making a sound. His back was slightly scrunched and each of his steps always started by using his heels to lessen the noise.
By observing from above, Owen was able to follow Luram while the latter remained unaware that he was being followed.
Owen jumped onto another rooftop to continue following him.
This created some noise which alerted Luram.
"Huh?" Luram turned around and looked at the empty alley to find where the thump originated.
Unable to see anything, Luram continued to move.
Owen was ducked stealthily behind a slope of a roof. He only got up when he heard the distinct sound of the wagon's wheels turning.
He slowly peeked from the slope and observed Luram's back as he looked around the alleyway in a somewhat paranoid body language.
'Weird…' Owen snuck out of the slope and began to tail him further.
Walking on the wooden shingles with his boots would for sure make some noise. Owen thought of this ahead and removed his boots, opting to walk barefoot on the rooftops.
Eventually, Owen saw that Luram stopped after reaching a disorderly part of the alley. It was filled with crates filled with abandoned clothes, some random cloth hangers and many more.
There seemed to be nothing worth of value in Owen's eyes, but he kept watching.
It was silent. Too silent…
Not even rats or insects made any sound in this part of the town for some reason. With the cold wind swirling around, it felt rather creepy.
"I'm here… we can start now." Luram suddenly spoke to seemingly nothing.
Owen's eyes followed Luram's direction to see who he was talking to.
But aside from random pieces of wood, there was no one else.
At least, that's what Owen thought at first…
An androgynous figure covered in a gold embroidered ritualistic white cloak with an emotionless porcelain mask under the hood suddenly made their presence known.
This person walked towards Luram. If the figure didn't move, Owen would've never sensed their presence because of how undetectable the figure seemed.
This person had an indescribable sense of danger around them that alarmed Owen greatly. His instincts made him lower his head and hide. At this moment, all hairs on Owen's body stood up in a cacophony of fear.
Owen clearly knew that he was weak, so it was natural that many things would be able to avoid his perception. But for someone to remain inconspicuous despite directly looking at them, it indicated that they were a realm above the observer.
'.... Who on earth could that person be?'
==========
[Iovoi - Level 87]
[Affiliation - Demon Baron Praest]
[Skills - Unavailable] (You do not have the necessary detection skill/s to view the following information.)
==========
In good grace, the figure didn't seem to notice Owen at all.
In fact, Owen could hear what it was saying from the point that he was listening from.
"You made a wonderful decision Luram…"
The figure's voice was a mix of both an old man and a young maiden. These two voices overlapped and echoed on top of each other.
Clapping their hands together, the figure in white lifted their finger, gesturing for Luram to follow.
"To fulfill the requirements of the ritual, a suitable offering is a must… Come, come. I do not wish to carry out something so vile."
The figured chuckled in a humorous way laced with sinister intent.