Chapter 25: A Matter Of Trust

“Fuck you, bastard!”

“Up yours, whoreson!”

Profanities and curses rang throughout the whole courtyard. Though there were about 5,000 people here, it did not stop the two of us from exchanging our thoughts to each other. Of course, it came with the complimentary exchanging of blows.

“Sir Brutus! Please calm down!”

“And you too, newcomer!”

We were stopped and dragged away by a few people, trying to separate us. But I could not have it just yet. I spat at him and hit his face cleanly. I then raised my middle finger and swore at him.

“Your effeminate father sure produces impotent lineage, ehh? If I was your father, I’ll have you killed and then hang myself.” The words that I uttered made everyone around us went quiet and pale.

“D-Did he just… just insult the Lord General?”

“Maybe you heard it wrong.”

“It can’t be. I was sure that…”

“EHEM!!!”

Suddenly, a loud voice penetrated the whole area. I was in the midst of exchanging another round of curses when I saw who came next. Standing on top of the platforms were no less than 20 people; including Carla and Popo. I looked at them and Carla winked at me. On her face was a big wide smile. Popo was at his usual self, hiding behind her.

“So, as we were saying…”

While the Lord General was busy explaining, my eyes were locked into the object of my hate. His son, Brutus Caesar; a Captain of the Royal Knight. His gaze met mine as he spat to the ground in contempt. I tried to wriggle around and somehow managed to free myself. It took the four people who held me by surprise and that gave me a good enough room to land another punch on Brutus’ face.

“How do you like that, son of the imbecile?”

And this time, I attracted the ire of the Lord General.

“You two! Behave!!!”

He shouted from the platform. I looked up as I was surrounded and pinned down by no less than 10 people, all from the Royal Knight group. Looked like they all wanted a piece of me, starting from Brutus.

“Juliasus, what are you trying to do to my boy?” Carla suddenly spoke. She stepped in front and beckoned those who pinned me down to let go of me. Reluctantly, they did as Carla too had instructed the Royal Sword Meisters to surround us now.

“Boys will be boys. Don’t mind them. They are too eager to show off their prowess and win our favour. Don’t you think it is a good thing, Juliasus?”

“Fighting amongst themselves?! I’ll have the newcomer hang! I could hear his insult from here!”

“Oh, surely you are above that, Juliasus. You are an esteemed and well-respected man. Someone of your stature should not hold their contempt over a small fry like him.”

“Hmphh! You have a slippery tongue, witch! Since he came with you, you better be responsible if he ever disturbs me again!” Carla looked at my direction immediately.

“And Ghost, do refrain yourself a little, alright. Though you have your reasons, we can’t be delayed.” I patted myself, looked up and then jerked my head at her. I could hear many name callings and murmurs that went around me but I ignored them all. I had no reason to be here in the first place.

Turned out that I was drafted into one of the battalions for the next Siege War Event, the next big event. According to the other players here, it was just like the Siege of Thoran. It got everyone excited, NPCs and PCs alike. But for me, I was properly turned off.

Turning my back, I was going out of here. I had enough of war to last me the whole lifetime. Taking no interest, I had kept quiet and bid my time to excuse myself from listening to all the nonsense of a pep talk and glorified speeches of the so-called leaders, mostly from other players who try to rally up their own members or drafting others into their forces.

Of course, that happened before I saw Brutus. Our eyes locked into one another immediately and he flew into a rage in the midst of the Lord General’s speech.

“Sigh… he sure is a hard-headed and immature fool, po!”

*****

“You are back quite early” Mimi greeted me once I arrived at the house.

“Nothing interests me. Though I’m sure Popo would think otherwise.” I slumped on the chair beside the fireplace. Elly served me tea while Rose climbed up onto me and sat on my lap.

“Papa, I’m hungry.” It was time for me to feed Rose again. Lifting the sleeves of my robe up, I let her injected her delicate and transparent needle vines onto my skin. My HP and Mana dropped down as she continued to syphon it for the next few hours.

“Ghost, I need to tell you something about Rose.” Mimi took a seat next to me.

“What is it?”

“It’s that time already,” Mimi answered with a big smile on her face.

“What time?”

“Time for your little girl to grow. Did you forget?”

“You mean…”

Mimi just nodded. I rubbed my chin while looking at Rose happily latching herself to my arm.

“So, what do I need next?”

“Well, for her next stage, she needed a good pile of Blood Wyrm Soil and Goddess Tears.”

I did not think this would be easy at all. Just the names mentioned to me meant that either it was time-consuming or way above my head or both. And looked like I was right. As Mimi marked the locations where I could most likely gather the items, I could not help but to shake my head a couple of time. Once more, I was swamped with an unrealistic quest. Given that I had limited time trying to find the 7 keys, this quest came at the wrong time.

Levelling Rose (3)

Rose had finally on the verge of reaching the next stage in her development. You must prepare the items needed for her growth.

Quest Rank: D

Completion Requirements:

Gather:

x99 scoops of fresh Blood Wrym Soil.

X99 vials of Goddess Tears.

Quest Reward:

None. Rose’s growth will depend on the quality and purity of the items you gathered.

This quest cannot be rejected or cancelled.

However, there was one thing I could be happy with. The locations where I needed to gather all the items just coincided with the locations of the Old Gods statue. With one catch though; I needed to be wary of the monsters level there, with the minimum level being in the low 70s. Mimi had advised that I should make a party for this, but after what had happened back in Brensberg, I doubt that I could trust any players for that matter.

“And one more thing, Ghost. Here.” Mimi handed me a book called ‘The Fundamentals Skills that Every Botanist Should Know.’

I opened it up and there were 5 new unnamed skills that I could learn. Unlike the usual skill books one could purchase in the shops, all the skills came with ‘????’ and their properties were only to be revealed after I had learned them. And without a choice, I must learn them all in order to develop Rose further. It irked me a little but seeing how the little ginseng-lookalike was happily humming while still syphoning my HP, I could always unlearn those ‘useless’ skills later on. Maybe, only if I knew how.

ACTIVE SKILL: GROWTH Level 1

Descriptions: Increasing the speed of one’s growth. Increase all EXPs gained by 5% during the duration of the skills.

Duration: 1 hour.

Cast Time: 5 seconds.

Area of Effect: Single

Mana Consumption: 15MP

Cooldown: 30 seconds.

ACTIVE SKILL: REJUVENATE Level 1.

Descriptions: Use the nature that surrounded you to increase the flow of natural essence into your body. Increase your healing capabilities by 10% to HP and 5% to Mana during the duration of the skills.

Area of Effect: Single

Duration: 15 minutes.

Cast Time: 10 Seconds.

Mana Consumption: 35 MP

Cooldown: 2 Minutes

PASSIVE SKILL: INCREASE NATURE POTENCY Level 1

Descriptions: All natural products or skills would have their potency increased by 10%. Items including various potions, elixirs, panaceas and poisons.

PASSIVE SKILL: PURIFICATION Level 1

Descriptions: You are able to withdraw the ancient techniques to purify various items. The chance of success depending on your current skill level.

PASSIVE SKILL: PLANT IDENTIFICATION Level 1

Description: Identify various plants. Due to your current level, you could only identify basic properties of low-levelled plants.

Surprise, surprise.

Despite my earlier cynicism, these were indeed excellent skills to learn. “This is my gift for you for saving us back then. Popo too had something for your but I’ll leave it to him to give you later.”

“Thanks, Mimi.”

“When your skills level increases, I’ll have more waiting for you. You have the abilities to become a great botanist.”

Ugghh… I loved to learn the skills, but becoming a botanist? I did not think it sounded nice. I was doing this for Rose though the skills that Mimi had given me was useful to anyone. I like the sound of a Royal Sword Meister but after I had found out that I was unqualified, I think I needed to explore more jobs in this world. Or better still, create my own line of jobs. Maybe I should call it Burning Blaze Badass.

... Yeah, right.

*****

The nearest location marked for both of my quests was at a remote swamp. What used to be a patch of forest, the nearby river had flooded it over the years, making it quite inhabitable. Except for Saha’agins. A type of water-loving lizard that had their level ranged from the low 70s to mid-90s.

And to make the matter worse, the first Old God’s statue was located in the middle of their nest spawn. It was an old ruin located on the riverbank, surrounded by huge trees, shrubs and tall grasses. The three of us would have a hard time getting towards the centre of it without getting surrounded by the Saha’agins.

“Perhaps we could go elsewhere first, Ghost? Where there might be players instead of a desolate place like this.”

Elly was right. I must never underestimate these Saha’agins. They were at the advantage here. I might survive but the other two might not. Their safety was my only concern for now. And the best course of action was to retreat and secure the other keys at a better location. One where we could use other players as distractions. Fortunately, the next location was a couple of maps away for us to find out.

However, before we could do anything else, we heard a few footsteps approaching us from the back. Startled, we took our weapons out as we withheld our breath, waited patiently and with anticipation of who might come our way. To our immediate advantage, we had been hiding amongst the tall grasses all these while and we could lay our ambush if needed.

“Boys, this is the place where I’d told you about the other day!”

“Whoa… look at those Saha’agins. We are in our luck.”

“You better not count your chicken before it hatches, Brom. EXPs fodder they might be, but don’t let your excitement get over your head.”

From our hiding place, I could see three people walking past ahead of us less than a 50 feet away. A human woman and 2 guys, a dwarf and a Capri; a playable race – big sized Beastkin with horns that mildly resembled a minotaur. And it looked like they did not notice us at all. Rose did well to actually cover us with vines, camouflaging us to our surroundings. I gestured to the girls to remain at their station. I wanted to see what these people were up to. But judging by their earlier conversation, most likely that they were here to farm EXPs and items.

“Are you sure that no one comes here, Sonia?”

Hmm… the name sounded familiar. I remembered one particular Sonia but I could not see her looks properly to identify this particular Sonia.

“I’m sure. I got some info from the guild that the enemies here are good for our levels. And the respawn rates are pretty high too.”

“So, what are we waiting for? I’m itching for action. Let’s go, Kast!” The dwarf bellowed his warcry as he charged forward alongside the Capri, leaving the human woman behind.

“So, what do we do now, Ghost?” Elly whispered to me. We needed to be careful. Other than the Saha’agins, the place was also the dreaded PK-Zone. I still remembered what Carla said to me recently; in a real battle, any players worth their salt would always use their best skills to overcome their foes. I had to admit that despite my fighting abilities, Carla was right. In the open field, all the stats, skills and jobs or whatever bonuses and special enhancements would fully come into effects.

“We will back off slowly. Make no noise, Elly.” I gestured to her to start moving. However, despite her best attempt of being as stealthily as possible, she was not used to this sort of situations. As she stepped on a dead branch, it made a loud cracking sound that alarmed the woman.

“W-Who’s there?!” Immediately, she withdrew a wand and began casting a skill towards our direction. The other two who overheard her scream came rushing back after disposing of a group of 5 Saha’agins. Fearing the worst, I had no choice but to take out my weapon as Elly and Rose prepared themselves too.

*****

“Ohh… it’s you.” As she revealed her face under the hood, I finally recognized her. She was the same Sonia from back then. But I could not be relieved just yet. As her two friends arrived by her side, they were preparing to attack us anytime.

“Fancy seeing you here,” She looked at me and cracked a smile. “Likewise,” I answered her as brief as I could. From the corner of my eyes, I was looking for a way to retreat.

“Kast and Brom. Please stand down. This man means us no harm.” Her words amazed not just the two men but also the rest of us. ‘B-But… why? This is a PK-Zone!” The dwarf was right. Any other players who came here could never be trusted. However, Sonia was not actually perturbed. She gave out a slight chuckle. “He’s alright. I know a player killer when I see one.”

“B-But…” It was the Capri’s turn but she dismissed him immediately. “If he and his party wanted to attack us, they would do so earlier. Right?” She looked at me intently. If that was the case, there still might be a way out of this.

“Yeah, we could kill you three earlier on when you lots let down your guard.” I kept my weapon and urged Elly to do the same. “But, the woman is right. I’m not a player killer and I don’t intend to waste my time killing another player.”

“You are lying. We cannot trust random strangers!”

“Perhaps. But if you are looking for a fight, I’m very well welcome you to try.” I glared towards the dwarf.

“Stand down, Brom. Don’t make me repeat myself. He is the guy I told you about.”

“What?!” The other two exclaimed loudly. I did not understand what she was trying to say. They started to whisper to each other and as Sonia looked at me, I could feel the tension came down a little.

“So, he is that loose cannon?”

“Well, according to some, he is an insufferable jerk no less. Now that I have seen him myself, I think they are right.”

Both Kast and Brom took their turn to speak badly of me. I did not mind a little trash-talking myself but seeing Sonia silencing them off immediately with her stares, I quickly withdrew my verbal assault.

“But, honestly…” She turned around, smiling at me. “You sure have some steel balls treating Brutus like that back then.” Sonia then came closer and that made both Elly and Rose became instantly apprehensive by her advances. But I knew better when someone was trying to harm us or not and Sonia was the latter. I told my girls to yield immediately though with some hesitancy from them.

Perhaps looking at how I treated Elly and Rose, I could see a glint of a wide smile on Sonia’s face as she said, “I like a man like you!”

Huh, where did that come from?

“The name is Ghost.” I pretended that I never heard her saying that and instead extended a handshake. She readily accepted it.

“Sonia.”

The two of us exchanged pleasantries as the others looked on with doubts. Neither one of them were trusting of each other.

“Forget the boys, but what brings you here?” She asked. Looking at the other two who were at my side, she rubbed her chin.

“I’m gathering up some items for my quest. And you, Sonia?”

“Leveling up and farming some items for the upcoming events.”

“I see. Then I shall not disturb you folks. The three of us will be on our way and let you farm in peace. Fair suggestions?”

“No. I’d rather have you join us.” All of us were properly surprised by Sonia yet again.

*****

“What are you trying to do, Big Sis?!” Brom whispered uneasily towards his party leader, Sonia. “Yeah, they could attack our backs!” Kast added on, reinforcing his friend’s words.

“Yeah. Kast is right. I don’t trust them.”

“Calm down boys. Our party is top heavy. Ghost and his party could help us.” Sonia calmly dismissed their fears with a wave of her hand.

“Why do you say so? Aren’t we good enough?” But Kast was not convinced. Brom immediately chipped in with his observations of the three who stood a few feet away from them.

“Yeah, look at those three. From their equips, I think they had not yet reached level 50. The two of us are level 70 and with you being level 95, we could take them on! Easily like take a candy from a child.” Brom chuckled at the thought but Sonia, their party leader had no intention of doing that.

“And? Let the Saha’agin finished us once we are done? Think boys or your brains are full of muscles?” She turned her back and look at the other party once more. “Judging by Ghost’s look, I’m sure he is a supporter and healer type. Something that our party needs badly. Besides…” She asked the other two to come nearer to her.

“A healer being a party group leader. It’s a rare thing for any healers to lead a group, what’s more than a group that comprises of other jobs. And I don’t think it would be a good idea to fight them. He is not what we think he is. He had no reason to be here and yet…”

“Big Sis, do you trust them?”

“A man like Ghost? Better than you Brom. Or you too, Kast” The two men looked at each other and sighed. No doubt, Sonia had made her decision and there was nothing that two could do to sway her.

“So, we are going to use them to heal us?” Kast asked for one final time as Brom peered towards the opposite direction.

“And prolong our farming time, yes.”

“I see. But I still don’t trust them.”

*****

“So, how’s the arrangement?” I asked Sonia once she came back from discussing with her mates. Looking at how heated it was earlier, I did think of just bailing out. But Sonia struck me as someone who would not be backed down easily and would often have her way.

“I like it. We can do our jobs and you with yours.”

The plan was simple. Together with the dwarf and the Capri, Elly and Rose would be in the front line. My job was to heal while Sonia was to debuff and support the rest. I knew that I could not trust them wholly and vice versa. Our cooperation might suffer but it was a risk that all of us needed to take. This was the best plan that all of us could come up with. To that effect, we partied up much to Kast and Brom’s annoyance. But they could not convince Sonia to change her mind at all.

The negotiations seemed to work well for now. We were in the enemy’s lair and the last thing anyone of us needed was to be weakened by fighting each other. Sonia had seen the use of my party and I had acknowledged theirs.

“Shall we begin?” Sonia did not want to wait any longer as she walked towards the enemy’s lair.

“Remember, we still don’t trust you!” Kast followed his leader but without first saying what was on his mind. Brom just scurried along without even looking at us.

“We feel the same too!” Elly retorted. She was going along with my suggestion but I told her to keep all her skills unused. I wanted her to attack only using normal skills coupled with ‘Double Strike’. As for Rose, I had her only to cast ‘Kiss me, maybe?’ to confuse the enemy. All of us held our aces to our sleeves closely. And I was pretty damn sure that they would do the same too.

“Let me cast a buff to increase all our EXP gained.” I offered to cast Growth on everyone. Though Sonia’s party hesitated at first, she was trusting enough to let me cast it on her. Once they saw she was unharmed, only then they allowed me to cast it on them.

“A skill that increased EXP gained is a rare skill indeed.” Sonia thanked me. A level 95, she was the highest levelled players in the group. With a job as a Foreseer, she was their party leader and officer of her guild, UnderLord.

“My jobs gave me the ability to use time magic and a few others to debuff and buff others,” Sonia explained.

“Yes, our Big Sis is the best. She had a Special Job, after all!” Kast, the Capri said with such pride. Brom followed suit as he explained how awesome Sonia was and of course, it came with the complementary of bigging up their guild too.

And I found out that a Special Job was like how the name entailed. Something like a Royal Sword Meister. Only certain selected players could be given this job and there was a small quota.

The dwarf was a Marauder and Kast a Fighter. Both jobs specialized in the attack. When Sonia mentioned they were top heavy, I understood her meaning clearly. They needed me to be their healer. Of course, Elly could tank well but I was not about to let her prowess be made known easily; introducing her just as a Warrior. And Rose was my wild card.

“5 more levels and she could transcend her level!” Kast bellowed out yet another hearty laugh. Brom immediately reprimanded him, “Hey! Don’t tell those strangers about it!” The Capri looked apologetically to Sonia but she just chuckled.

“No worries, boys. Seeing how close Royal Sword Meisters were with him, especially that monster Carla, I have no doubt he knew about it.”

I just smiled at her. “Shall we get going now or do we continue our useless gab?”

“You sure are impatient, Ghost. But that what makes me feel so… excited being with you.” Sonia teased me. I knew she meant every one of her words but my mind was on my quest and getting out of here alive. I did not know how long our bargains and stand at things could last, but I better be prepared for it. In the battlefield, all relationships were hang by thread. Flimsy and easily broken. And I had to prepare for anything that might happen.