"No, my dear lioness, only those who have power can decide their own fate and not become pawns in the greater game. If you want to be free, then you can only achieve it through power that frees all... If you want to become free, become Beyonder, step on the first airship that is heading from Lannisport to Noxus."
"Will I find there my happiness?"
"Yes, not immediately, but in the future, you will find your happiness in the form of 'Him'... you shall see... no Silver Princes or Royal Stags are compared to the Inheritor of Mysteries of the Astral Blood. In the lands of the Valoran, you shall find everything that you seek, be it the power, status, recognition and even the love that you seek that much. But be aware..."
"Once you leave the lion cave, you won't be able to return and when you return, you would return as someone entirely different. For something to be gained, you need to lose something in the first place."
- Recorded Prophecy of Maggy the Frog, Beyonder of ??? Pathway, Sequence ???, Westerland Province of Loen Kingdom, Recorded in 292 AC in Empire of Noxus
***
The price of the Beyonder goods was rather versatile because everything depended on the place where one was buying the Beyonder Goods. In some places, it was more pricy, and in some places, it was cheaper and biased; everything around it was relative.
After he finished the dissection of the Sequence 7 Mutated Bugbear, Valkorion went to dissect the rest of the Bugbear corpses that he personally killed, as they were his loot in the end.
Ashe was long ago done with the dissection of the Bugbear corpses way before him; she was much faster than him doing the job, something that Valkorion noted to be from her Beyonder Path or so...
Perhaps it was a combination of that and sheer skill.
"Are you going to remain here for a bit or continue towards your target?"
Valkorion asked the female archer, who was now longing through the equipment of the Bugbears, various collected weapons, and so on. Because all these things were rather numerous and rather big, it was impractical to take them with them.
Aside from the fact that these things were not particularly precious or valuable, all the weapons and armor pieces that the Bugbears collected were basically worth something around a few tens of Golden Dragon Coins.
"I will rest for some a few hours before continuing..."
She said quietly. After several moments, she passed Valkorion a new sword. It was a typical longsword made in the Valyrian Freehold, obviously not from the Valyrian Steel or any other precious metal, but it was still top-notch steel from the Valyrian Forges and should serve him for some time.
Unfortunately, this was just a temporary solution for Valkorion, as he would sooner or later need a more durable weapon to withstand his ever-growing power.
"Thanks... so, what do you want for the Healing Potion? Hopefully, nothing that is vastly above my capabilities, my dear Frost Archer."
Valkorion stated as he finished scrutinizing the weapon that Ashe passed him before he put the sword back to its sheath. Rather, an ordinary weapon, most probably taken from a deceased adventurer or soldier who was killed in this wretched place.
There were a lot of them. Unfortunately, there were no weapons made from Valyrian Steel or something equally precious like Mithril, Orichalcum, or Adamantite. Even Magisteel would be more than welcome, but Valkorion was, for the time being, content with what he had.
In the end, it was better than nothing.
"Nothing... consider it just a favor."
As she answered his question, he didn't really know what to think about it, but afterward, he just nodded his head, accepting it as a favor. He didn't really know what to think about it, because it was very unusual behavior for adventures, but he didn't have time or luxury for that.
Right now, he needed to heal as soon as possible, and thanks to the Healing Potion from Ashe, who was doing its wonders, he was confident he would be in combat-ready shape in a few hours.
And as Ashe chose to remain here, he was more confident in his speedy recovery, as she was essentially guarding him from coming to any harm. He, meanwhile, was just resting on the ground because he was tired as hell, and everything was hurting too much for him to do anything...
As he was being healed, he often took a sneak peek at what Ashe was doing, but she was mostly sharpening her blades or preparing her arrows and checking that she had everything prepared for the further journey.
He was too sharpening the sword that he got from the bunch of things that the Bugbears completed because, unfortunately, to his dismay, the sword was blunt. It wasn't even a bit sharp, so it needed to be sharpened during the time when he was resting and healing.
Soon enough, a few hours had passed since he slayed the Sequence 7 Mutated Bugbear, and during those few hours, he was already in a very good condition. The Healing Potion was indeed a small miracle of the Valyrian Freehold and its mastery over the Blood Magic.
In the end, it was a topic that countless Beyonders were studying and perfecting over many millennia, so it was only respectable that they would be able to create some really miraculous objects of power and such...
When Valkorion was fully healed, it was a clear sign that they needed to part apart. Ashe was going in an entirely different direction compared to the Valkroion, who headed essentially in the same direction where the Bugbears were originally traveling to.
He was going to the inner regions of the Painted Moutnains in search of his treasure or whatever, while Ashe was heading towards the Green Peak or its vicinity, where the thing that she needed to obtain was located.
They decided to part ways when he was helping, as she did him.
It was undoubtedly a great service when she guarded him during the time while he was still healing, as it was a time when he was most vulnerable against potential enemy attack.
"So... until we see each other again in the future. I shall be returning to the Catharys in a few days, perhaps, so shall we meet at my manor? I would like to repay you for your help to me this time."
Valkorion always paid his debts; that was his personal motto, and he was aware that he had a great debt to Ashe. She willingly gave him the Healing Potion and also guarded him during the time he was being healed, which is such a rare thing among the adventurers.
He was sure that many others would have killed him for sure, not just for the things that he had on his person, but mostly for the Extraordinary Core of the Sequence 7 Mutated Bugbear, as that was the real prize here.
However, he was sure that more unscrupulous ones would also kill him even for the little things that he had on his person because, in the end, it was worth it. When he finished the fight against the Sequence 7 Mutated Bugbear, he was in very rough condition, and if even a squad of well-trained soldiers appeared, they would be enough to finish him off.
Not to mention, even a skilled archer could take him out, as he was at his weakest.