After providing him with some additional details about the job, Rust's crew left. Manco headed out to begin another round of preparation.

He checked his equipment. Besides his crossbow, the Hunting Cap was also destroyed, though he did not mind it much. The belt and backpack were unbreakable, so the only items need repairing were the leather armor, pants and boots. He unequipped them all and put on the ragged set of clothes he was spawned in. He left his gear at the armorer, who promised to get it fixed in a few hours.

He walked to the south gate and found Gwyndham on one of the watchtowers, gazing at the Misty Woods.

"You're back!" the old man said with a quirked eyebrow, "I assume it killed you a few times."

"Yup," Manco nodded, "but I also killed it once."

Briefly enjoying the shocked look on the wrinkled face, he handed over the diary and the comb.

"I believe you know this person," he said.

Gwyndham flipped through the diary and tears began welling up in his eyes. Snapping it shut, he looked at Manco.

"Let's discuss this at my house," he said and began limping away.

Besides the striking resemblance in the external layout, Gwyndham's cottage was very different from the Corruptor's dwelling in the cave. It was a lot more well-furnished and cozy. However, everything was covered by dust from years of neglect.

They headed into his study. Dominating the room were several heavy shelves loaded with hundreds of books. In one corner was a large writing table covered with books and loose paper sheets. Another table was nearby, heaped with various tools and strange artifacts, some even Manco had never seen or heard of. Permeating the room was a stale smell of a place that had not seen human presence for a long time.

Opening the window to let in some sunlight, which illuminated the dust particles swirling in the air, Gwyndham wiped the dust from two chairs near the writing table. He sat down on one and gestured to the other for Manco to sit.

"Ah! Where are my manners?" The old man shook his head. "What'll you have? There's only herbal tea and well water, I'm afraid."

"It's alright, sir" Manco replied. He was in no mood for tea.

"Haven't had a guest in years, and I forgot my manners! How embarrassing!" Letting out a self-deprecating chuckle, he turned over the diary's pages. "I assume you've read this."

"Yes, I did."

"The thing in that cave. When you killed it, did it say anything?"

"I briefly heard a 'thank you'. That was it."

"I see…" sinking back into his chair, the archery master looked pensive. His eyes stared into the past.

Manco internally sighed: 'Here we go.'

"Gwendala and I were lovers," Gwyndham began. His gaze fixated on a framed drawing on the table. Depicted in the drawing was a young woman, looking to be in her twenties, in a summer dress. Despite the simple charcoal drawing, Manco could still see her bright eye and radiant smile. The drawing was obviously done by a man deeply in love.

"She was… amazing. The best fighter of our generation. A formidable hand-to-hand combatant and a prodigious spellweaver, an incredible combination. Beauty, talent, compassion, she had it all. I couldn't imagine how I won her heart. Gods, I miss her so much!"

"Twenty-five years ago, we were sent here to be the village 'guardians'." He said the last word with a snort. "Back then, the monster attacks were much more frequent. There was an attack once every three days. We could deal with them easily enough, but after two years, it got exhausting."

"Then something, or someone, gave her the idea to confront the Corruptor in the Death Forest. She believed it would slow down the spread of monsters, earn us a year of respite from their rampage. A year for us to have a child. She always wanted a baby girl…" he said, lovingly touching the small comb, a single tear falling down his cheek.

"I did my best to dissuade her. But she was like her father: adventurous, headstrong, bull-headed, even. She left when I was sleeping. Just left a note saying 'I'll be back'."

"And she did come back. But what came back was… no longer the Gwen that I knew." He shuddered as if reliving a nightmare.

"She…, no, It. It beckoned me to come with, and left with a chunk of my flesh when I refused," he winced, his hand subconsciously hovering over his left flank.

"Then it came back many times, begging me, taunting me from outside the range of my arrows. Then five years ago, it stopped coming altogether. I wanted to hunt it down. Destroy it. Give Gwen some closure. Gods know I've tried. But my body is no longer as strong as my mind."

"It was all I can do to wait for it to return. Five years, I've been waiting to end this madness." Gwyndham finished with a long sigh and closed his eyes.

They sat silently in the room, each lost in his own thoughts.

"It both shames and relieves me to know that you've done what I've been trying to do for many years," Gwynham finally spoke up, breaking the silence. He briefly paused, then asked, "Did it say anything else to you?"

Manco paused briefly and nodded.

"In that cave, there was a cottage, probably built in an imitation of this one." Trying not to look at the old man's anguished expression, he continued: "When I ran in there to avoid its spells, it shouted for me to keep away, and chased after me."

"So she was still in there..."

"It seemed that way," Manco nodded again.

"Either by accident or on purpose, you did relieve my beloved of her sufferings, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I had little of value to give to you, except my limited knowledge, should you need to use it."

"It's alright, really," Manco shrugged. Then he remembered something. "There's also this thing…" he retrieved the skull wand and showed it to Gwyndham.

The old man's eyes darken at the sight of the hideous weapon. "Put it away!" he said almost with a growl, and Manco hastily complied.

"My apologies," after regaining his composure, he coughed: "That thing was made out of green yew wood, same as her old wand. It possibly is her old wand, changed by dark magic." Looking at Manco, he said: "I don't need it. It will only remind me of how I've failed to watch her back. And it looks like it'll be more of use to you."

Looking thoughtful, he added.

"Come to think of it, you can have this too."

Taking out a crossbow, he handed it to Manco. The weapon was masterfully crafted and clearly custom-made. The shape was compact yet powerful. The handle was ergonomically designed, unlike the awkward blocky grip of the mass-produced crossbows. On top of the bow was a small box, with a lever-operated mechanism to move it forward and back, which also spanned the bowstring.

〘 Gwyndham's Repeating Crossbow 〙(Unique) ☆☆☆

- Type: Crossbow (Two-handed)

- Requirement: STR 15

- Damage: 34-38. Range: 45m.

- Ammunition: Crossbow bolts. Capacity: 8

- Effects:

+ Soul tethered: Upon being dropped, automatically return to the bound location. (Current bound location: Gwyndham's house, Mistwood Village)

- Description:

+ A masterwork created by master archer Gwyndham. With a repeat mechanism that feeds the bolts from a specially designed box into the track, the crossbow has a vastly increased rate of fire. The downside is that the strength needed to span the bow is a lot higher than normal crossbows. It had been enchanted with a spell, preventing the owner from ever losing it.

- Weight: 4.5 kg

- Durability: 45/45

—.—

This crossbow was a far cry from his old one with a paltry 18-20 damage and a 25m maximum range. The repeated mechanism was a welcome addition. But the truly impressive thing was its magical property.

"That enchantment, Gwen did it," as if reading his mind, Gwyndham explained, "her way of teasing me for always forgetting where I put my things."

"That's an incredibly rare enchantment!" Manco said, genuinely impressed, "She really was a prodigious spellweaver!"

"Yeah, it was taught to her by Queen Tarathiel herself..." Gwyndham said proudly but caught himself mid-sentence.

Off Manco's inquisitive stare, the master archer shrugged: "...Ah, what the hell? Might as well tell you the rest of the story!"

"Gwendala was no ordinary high-elf. She used to be next in line for the position of Queen."

"She was a princess?"

"That she was. And for choosing to share her life with a lower-borne wood-elf like myself, she lost everything. Her standing, her possessions, her title, her life… she threw them all away!"

"After Gwendala announced her wish, the Queen wanted to banish us from Betovium completely. Heeding her advisors' words, she reduced the sentence to 50 years serving as a guardian for one of the outposts. Gwen, being the stubborn girl that she was, took it in stride."

"We were not allowed to get within 100 miles of any city. Even contacting our friends and acquaintances are forbidden."

Letting out a humorless chuckle, he added: "That was 25 years ago. Not a word from Mommy dearest. No messengers, no letters. It's like we never existed."

"Tell you what…" Gwyndham stood up, approached his bookshelf and began rummaging through it. "If you ever stop by the capital of Bethor, try visiting the Royal Palace. Drop by and tell the Queen what happened. Ah, here it is!"

He handed a small badge to Manco. "This token will grant you an audience with the Queen. The guards all know me so I can't use it, but you can. Exiled or not, Gwen is her daughter, and she should know about this."

"Uh huh!" Manco grunted noncommittally, unsure if he wanted to come to a powerful spell caster and informing her that her beloved daughter had been corrupted and turned into an abomination deep in the woods.

"Thank you! Be sure to let me know after you've done it!"

〔Quest completed: "The Broken Promise."〕

〔Reward: Standing improved with Gwyndham. Attitude Indifferent ► Amicable〕

〔Reward: Gwyndham's aid with the world's lore〕

〔Reward (optional): Gwyndham's Repeating Crossbow〕

〔Reward (optional): An additional quest〕

〔8600 XP gained〕(+215%)

〔Level up! Your level is now 21!〕

〔Int +2; Wil +1〕

〔Free attributes points + 2 (Total 30)〕

〔Unique quest received: "Don't Shoot the Messenger."〕

'How appropriate!' Manco thought.

Bidding the master archer farewell, he left the cottage. Gwyndham leaned back into his chair, his eyes closed. It was like a burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

Crossing off "Buying a new crossbow" from his to-do list, Manco headed to the general store to stock up on some supplies and crossbow bolts. He also intended to buy a shield, which would be necessary for the expedition with Rust.