Yushin increased his speed and overtook the deer-people, knocking the first one in the lead down with [Spear Sweeping], making him tumble and hit a branch hard. The other two have good reflexes and immediately stop, taking a fighting stance and growling. The one that got hit has bloodshot eyes, he gets up and rushes towards Yushin!

Little leaf child is hiding in a few vines, his eyes open wide. Yushin jumps to the left, dodging the antlers of the enemy that extend themselves in many paths and strike forward to pierce his body. As soon as he lands, another one tries to stomp him with the hooves. He avoids with a backflip, striking in the deer-like face with the tip of the spear and causing it to bleed.

The third one did a jumping attack, aiming with both inferior hooves at Yushin, who tumbled out of the way. The attacks kept coming and he barely had time to counterattack. Those three are fast and strong, even quite smart, not giving the spearman an opening to fatally wound. Activating any of the skills meant a certain hit would come!

Yushin spear skills are not fast yet. Although powerful, his skills are lacking in speed, the reason he often favors normal attacks. Those deer-like are not only strong but fast and control the flow of battle well. Managing to hold out without taking any damage and even doing some to the enemy was already a great effort. A chain striking sound came out of nowhere, making Yushin smile.

One of Aurei’s skills is called [Chain Grab], able to lock down a body part with the chain. He often avoids using it because he’d lack the means to strike afterward, and frequently loses in strength to the opponent. But this time he was not the one pulling it. The chain grabbed one of the deer by the leg and Bitter Cat pulled at it, tossing him in the air. When he flew, both her and Shum managed to hit at the same time. Instant death.

One down, Gron also came out from behind and struck another one. Yushin followed his attack with several precise strikes, aiming at dangerous spots like the throat. One kick from the other one sent Gron flying, but that gave enough time for Bitter Cat to arrive and smash his head with [Power Smash]. Two down.

Yushin was locked in a one-on-one and soon it was over. His normal spear attacks were so fast the deer could not dodge. [Double Thrust] finished the job as expected.

“Whew,” Yushin breathed in relief. He looked at the vines and smiled, “You can come out, little friend. We won’t harm you.”

As if somehow he understood and felt a connection to Yushin, the Leaf Child slowly came out of his hiding spot and looked curiously at the party. He had never seen those species before, but since they saved him, must be good people. Well, he didn’t like Shum that much and kept eyeing him with care.

“Are you Warriors?” The Leaf Child asked.

“We are!” Shum proudly exclaimed, but all he got back was a distrustful smile.

“We are indeed,” Yushin completed, and this time The Leaf Child seemed happy. Shum looked dejected at the side.

“My village needs Warriors. I will guide you there,” Leaf Child said before sprinting away. The group looked at each other and nodded, then followed right behind those small leafy legs.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the Leaf Village. They had a few grown Leaf-people as lookouts and since the group didn’t have any intention to hide they were found out fast. As Leaf Child led the way they didn’t look in a hurry to react.

The village from the outside was, in essence, a circular giant branch in the form of a wall. It wasn’t too high, only at one meter and a half and easily jumped over by players. There are no towers the sentries could go into, so defenses are weak. The front door is made of branches and vines, and it opened without trouble. Inside, the group met with a lot of Leaf People, many are warriors and hold wooden weapons, taking position in strategic spots. Some are very afraid and looked like commoners.

“Strangers, do not misbehave,” one leader looking guard approached. He was a tall leaf at almost two meters, carrying some sort of [Vine Lance] as a weapon. It clearly wasn’t a normal weapon, “Lataf, are those who? Are you why outside walls without permission?”

The Leaf Child, Lataf, looked down in shame, then went ‘hehe’ with youthfulness, “Those are Warriors, to help our people! They killed the [Mahrga] that came after Lataf!”

Leaf Guard Leader did something similar as knitting his brows in surprise, “Warriors, from where came you here?”

Disregarding his funny speech, Yushin answered, “From the Hidden Valley in the South.”

Leaf Guard Leader seemed even more shocked and his eyes jumped around the party, “You killed [Mormis], the Vitalus, and army dead?”

Yushin understood he meant the Variation Vitalus and nodded. As proof, he signaled Aurei to show the [Variation Wooden Elemental Power Core]. Their attitude immediately changed and an air of excitement and reverence filled the air.

“The ones who killed Vitalus are great warriors!” He roared in excitement together with the rest, “Call here Elder!”

Soon a whistling leaf sound started and from a central circular wooden building, an old looking brown and lifeless Leaf Elder came. The leaf people all looked like human bodies made of leaves with light radiating eyes, but this elder was way past his prime, such as the light in his eyes dimmed to ebony.

“Great Warriors!” The Elder went forward and prostrated himself, kowtowing before anyone could react, “It is the will of [Mother Tree] that you have appeared in our hour of need!”

All other leaf people bowed in unison.

“We are [Mutal], The People Of Leaves, descendants of Mother Tree herself. We have lived for many years and survived with our peaceful ways. But now the [Mahrga] came. With their evil ways, we have been at war for a long time,” Yushin understood from this that for a long time they had some kind of balance going on, but it feels like something changed that greatly threatened them.

“Unlike us, they do not wish for coexistence, but to enslave our people! They feed on our bodies, then wait for our natural regeneration to happen so they can torture us for years and years to come. Many of our people are now captives. We have no choice but to fight back! Now Great Warriors come, is a sign from Mother Tree that we will be the ones to survive!”

“Those Mahrga, strong?” Shum asked.

“A bit stronger than Mutal. But recently the Mahrga are very aggressive, found warriors from outside to help. We must become strong enough or face slavery, even extinction.”

‘The fate of a living farm,' Yushin thought.

“Such evil ways cannot be left alone!” Bitter Cat exploded. She is a vegetarian, so the thought of beings similar to vegetables also being alive is conflicting to her. More than that, they are using them as unlimited food supply! How is this any different than real life slaughtering of many animals for food? It is even worse since they are being tortured alive for who knows how many years!

“Of course, we ask not for free. Our warriors will join you, fight the Mahrga. We will also reward Six Warriors with many herbs, wooden armors and weapons, and some of our secret techniques. We, People Of The Leaves, are excellent gatherers.” The Elder seemed satisfied with his offer.

Yushin asked around in party chat and everyone agreed, “However, regarding the attacks and this war, we shall decide the outcome. Your men will follow our orders.”

“Yes, as long as we are safe,” The Elder smiled. A quest window popped up:

Rare Quest

Solve the conflict between Mutal and Mahrga.

Duration

1 day

Difficulty

D

Reward

Promised Items

[The Six Warriors accepted the quest.]

Since Yushin and Co did not name their party, the system decided itself to call them the “The Six Warriors”, as they would be known from now on by the Mutal. Everyone in the party is very excited, quests in Tales are not easy to come by and even usually very difficult and long.

By now Yushin understood that even this dungeon acted like the ones before. Most of them had power-ups, but as long as they were inside, barring some unknown means, it will only show after they leave the dungeon. But if they left right now, there is no telling if they will ever manage to come back to this spot again in the myriad of paths.

Bitter Cat can repair, so it won’t be a problem if they rotate equipment, unless some really tough fights come up and she runs out of materials. Since Aurei knows gatherer skills the party is also able to spot herbs. Yushin pays attention to the Leaf City many engineering devices, hoping some of them lead to an inspirational moment. There are clever uses of vines and branches, so he does profit a bit.

They also don’t forget to go collect some different types of branches, so durability and other uses can be tested later on. Finding some rare and useful material can be a good way to get ahead in their profession. Healing is also a problem since they have to wait for natural regeneration. No one of them had cooking skills. Luckily, their party teamwork is good so they passed most challenges without taking damage. It was also agreed beforehand that sharing the loot would come in the end so that weight distribution could be managed.

After getting ready, their strategy is to find the enemy main camp and take it out, or somehow convince them to make peace. They believe the backers found recently will be players and therefore from Free Forest, so some mutual agreement is definitely possible. According to the Mutal, there are many small Mahrga camps, but only one main base, a huge and well-manned village.

The enemy total force is unknown, but Yushin received many Leaf-Warriors as reinforcements. Even if he did not fight them directly, Guard Leader affirmed they are on par with any of the enemy’s warriors. He wanted to come personally, but Elder didn’t want to leave the village unprotected. Leaf Warriors seem to fight with sharp natural weapons, such as leaves and vines, augmented by their Soul Qi.

Receiving some intel from them, Yushin begins scouting and gathering info on surrounding camps and important points. He sees Mahrga as belligerent and aggressive, but also with their owns ways and culture. If possible, an ending where they both survive would be ideal.

The small camps only have around four or five Mahrga warriors each but are many. They avoided taking one out as not to alarm of the possible raid. There are captured leafies in there, so any rushed moves will instead be dangerous. Yushin believed that if the main chain of command collapses, they will scatter and be much easier to deal with.

Their main camp is also similar to the Mutal. The defenses are not great. No towers, no archers, and only a few sentries. A raid will not encounter any great challenges to enter. After sneaking around the main camp while the rest of the party stayed back, Yushin tagged their defenses and important spots, and soon spotted a few players dealing with the Mahrga. There are four of them in sight, but Yushin thinks there are more around.

As expected, they are all Free Forest members!

Free Forest Members carry their badge with small magic crystal, just like his party members. While not mandatory, it serves to distinguish friend from foe, especially in chaotic situations.

The Margha are much less communicative than the Mutal and only a few of them are capable of speech. One was negotiating with the players and did not seem to be any different than the rest. After talking it over with the party, they agree it is worth to try to make an arrangement, listen to the other side and convince them through diplomacy instead of a battle. Being in the same guild, no one wants to make it harder for the other party. A bit of a naive thinking, but Yushin was happy with it nonetheless.

Competition between guild members is not forbidden and even encouraged, but if there is a peaceful and win-win situation it’s even better. Yushin agrees, drafts a plan to meet and one in case things go wrong. He will meet them, but not without being ready beforehand. Not being seen by the other party, they have time and the advantage of surprise.

Yushin chooses the spot and hides everyone but Bitter Cat (too big to hide) and Shum. Everyone else is close enough from the meeting point to react fast and also not enough to be easily discovered. As for the Mutal, he had other plans. [Guild Chat] and [Outside Communication] are disabled inside dungeons, but private messaging still works if the receiving end is within line of sight.

He then sends a message to the other party leader looking player, asking for a meeting and introducing his party of three as Free Forest members as well. The other player stops and looks around for a while searching for the one that sent the private message, in vain. The leader agrees to the meeting, knows they are Free Forest’s people as well. After discussing with his party for a few minutes, he agrees with Yushin’s choice of the meeting place without complaining.

Yushin knits his brows, the other party unexpectedly didn’t try to change the spot and accepted it. Did he not fear an ambush? Was he counting on it? Or did he believe his party of three? Is he that confident?

Either way, whether he agreed or not, Yushin had backup plans in place. In the worst hypothesis, they would have to retreat a lot further in case things went south. But this is the best scenario. And that troubles him to no end.

A few minutes later, the other party reached the destination. Yushin, Bitter Cat, and Shum are there. The place is a small forest of branch and vines, not very far from Mahrgas main camp. The final number of players is higher than Yushin had anticipated, around ten players of diverse weapons and armors. As expected, the party had a healer, a lot of warriors and two archers, but no mages.

Bitter Cat is recognized, some members are uneasy and a bit afraid of her. In Free Forest, who doesn’t know the Scarlet Giant?

The Leader goes forward. He carries two long swords and leather armor, with a handsome and serious face. Ashen long hair and slim features complemented well his appearance. His race Yushin guessed, is some sort of a half-elf, “What is this about?”

His air of superiority made Bitter Cat look ugly in disgust, but Yushin pretended not to notice, “We have come to reach an agreement in regards to the Leaf People. Since we are from the same guild, a win-win situation is best.”

“The Mutal?” The leader laughed out loud, “We’ve been tasked to completely subjugate them and the reward is pretty good.”

“Can’t we negotiate?” Yushin asked.

“No.” He answered in an instant.

“You should reconsider,” Bitter Cat weighed in. Her words as a famous player had a lot more weight than Yushin’s. Too bad all she could think at that moment was cursing the other party, so she didn’t speak much.

“Not a chance in hell. You guys better back out on this,” The leader threatened, “I’m going to be Free Forest’s next leader. The rewards from this quest will help me with that. I don’t really care if you know, but we’re getting access to Mutal’s hidden temple, full of treasures and techniques. Those deer people even said there is also a Mutal ancestor’s legendary inheritance. Is their offer better than this?”

Yushin and Co are silent. In fact, the leaf people didn’t disclose any of this to them, probably for fear of their reaction. Those rewards are attractive to anyone, especially if he wants to fight for the position of Guild Leader.

“I am Goldclaw. Help us and the three of you will be given a share of the rewards after we have the first pick,” He added confidently.

Bitter Cat suddenly speaks to the party, she had heard of him. Inside Free Forest, he is rising fast and is backed by a lot of people. He stands in direct opposition to Rain Falls. In fact, is the most dangerous opponent right now!

Yushin didn’t mind too much before when Goldclaw said he wanted to be the guild leader. But knowing he is currently the biggest opposition definitely had a big impact. However, he was still willing to try and reach a peaceful resolution, believing Rain wouldn’t like him hurting guildmates only to eliminate competition.

Yushin sighs and tells of the Leaf People sad fate as a [Living Farm], asking them not to side with Mahrgas evil ways. Together they can convince the Mahrgas to give up this war, and if they resist, deal with them. He is willing to give up on the rewards from Mutal and negotiate access to their temple in return for dealing with the Mahrga!

But Goldenclaw only laughed again, “Why should I care, man? This is only a game. After taking everything from the leaf people we are coming back here and wiping out the deer for experience and extra loot. Why the hell should I care whether a few NPCs die or not?”

Yushin sees this and suddenly turns serious. Bitter Cat and Shum are also mad at his shameless and high and mighty way. Somehow, when inside Tales, they do not feel like NPCs are things, but see them as living beings, even if it is not true. Their actions are so real and human-like is hard to think otherwise. They all have the same thought, if a person like this becomes Free Forest’s guild leader, who knows what kind of fate the guild will have!

Yushin slightly bows, “We will go our separate ways then. As fellow guild members, it is a pity we cannot work together.”

‘This silver-tongued fellow, he isn’t even in the guild!’ Bitter Cat thought to herself. A few of the enemy’s party members were disinclined to mess with other guildies, but not enough as to give up on those rewards.

But then Goldclaw laughs incomparably loud, hits his palm on the forehead. All ten players draw their weapons at the same time, “You chose to come, but who says you can leave?”

Suddenly, from their flanks, many Mahrgas came forward, they planned beforehand to cut The Six Warrior’s retreat!