Chapter 18: The ruined Hero (1)

With a new companion, Astora resumed her quest as she searched for her mystical father. However, for now, the girl must find a mysterious man named Karuma in order to become stronger. With no possibility to use magic aside the unusual powers of Grimora which seemingly were not common magic, Astora had no choice but to look for other alternative paths, ones that would bring her to the peak of the world. But currently, the group has encountered some difficulties while gathering info on Karuma’s whereabouts. Whoever this person was, he seemed to be on the bad side of practically everyone. The city guards clearly hated him. The townspeople just didn’t want anything to do with him and remained silent, looking at Astora weirdly. Some went as far as vowing to kill Karuma if he ever showed up in front of them. Of course, they were all a bunch of loud speaking men who just wanted to show how tough they were. Although, some guys were different. What on earth did this man do to deserve this kind of treatment?

“BRING THAT FUCKING COWARD TO ME! I will show him no mercy.” A muscular bald man with tanned skin swung around his axe as he was being held back by two friendly adventurers. With no time to waste, Astore quickly made her escape, followed closely by Valanor.

Hiding in a back alley, the girl finally got the chance to catch her breath. “Just what is wrong with this Karuma? The guy is hated by everyone I met so far. What the hell did he do?”

“I believe you already know the answer to that, miss Astora.” Valanor referred to the info he told Astora earlier. Unlike what Astora has expected, Karuma was extremely infamous and not just some old hermit living the woods whom no one knew about. While he had no idea about Karuma’s exact location except for the fact that he was in the Blighted Woods, the tales of Karuma were very well known across the land, but in a very bad way. After all, he used to be a Chosen Hero of the people.

Karuma started to become famous about a decade before current time. Back then, he was still a youthful Crimson Legion’s knight in training whose talents and abilities were recognized by the Angelic Faith. But it was after a conflict against the Fiends that Karuma truly became a legend. It was regarded as one of the most violent conflict against the Fiends as many of them have managed to cross the barrier and landed on the surface. By himself, the young man who was barely eighteen slayed hundreds of enemies and defended an entire city all alone. After the war, Karuma was chosen as the Hero of the Angelic Faith, acknowledged by all.

However, it was the next incident that led to his downfall. During a secret mission at Holbeck, a small town located at the western borders of Angel’s Crown, due to his mistake, the Chosen Hero caused the destruction of the town and the death of more than a thousand people, including old master Gregory who was the Chosen Hero before Karuma. At first, many assumed Karuma himself was dead because of the scale of destructions of Holbeck. However, a few months later, the thought-to-be-dead Chosen Hero showed up at the capital of Angel’s Crown, shocking the world. He was later trialed and found guilty as the person responsible for the destruction of Holbeck. But because of his accomplishments, the king of Angel’s Crown pardoned the dishonored hero and exiled him to the High Walls as punishment until the end of his life. Branded by the mass as a traitor to his duties and a coward who tried to evade his punishment, Karuma was forced to live an isolated life, somewhere in the Blighted Woods.

But the woods covered a rather large portion of the entire continent. It would be foolish to embark on an unknown destination, not to mention the dangers that awaited inside the black forest.

“I still feel that there is something more in this story.” Said Astora, scratching her small head.

“What do you mean? Asked Valanor.

“I don’t know what exactly. It is just a feeling I have. By the way, something else bothered me greatly in Karuma’ story. You said that the Fiends only came once every few decades, right? So, excluding the time when I arrived at Valhalla, which was a month ago, the last invasion was a decade ago?”

“Yes. And from what I understand and from what you told me, these enemies we call Fiends are actually the Gods from another realm?” analyzed Valanor. “The last time the bells rang, it was not an actual invasion but they were pursuing you. That would explain why the threat was dealt with so quickly. So, we can exclude that. In conclusion, to answer your question, the last invasion is indeed ten years ago.” Answered the painter. “Are you afraid of them coming for you again?”

“I would be lying if I say I am not afraid. Compared to me, they are monsters with incredible strength. But more importantly, I fear that me being here will more harm the innocent people of this world.” The girl spoke with a sad tone.

“There is no need to worry about that. While I am but a painter, as your companion, I will do my best to protect you until the end of this journey.” Said Valanor.

“Valanor….”

“No need to make that kind of face, miss Astora. I am doing this for myself too you know.” Valanor spoke with comforting words. “Besides, our world is under the protection of the six Pillars. It will not be destroyed that easily. You don’t need to think of it too hardly. We should rather focus on our task at hand first.”

“Yeah, you are right.” The girl smiled in relief as she recalled the individuals she has seen. The white knight she saw on the day of her arrival, the mage from the memories of that talisman, both were so powerful she could not believe them to be sharing this same world as hers. And surely, there were more than just them. With these people, even the Gods would have a hard time attacking this world. But Astora did not mean to be protected by them forever. Small she might be, the girl shall become a colossus and when that moment came, she would repay the kind and gentle people of this world who helped her. Of course, that day was still far away.

“Where do you think we should go next? It has already been a day but we found no one willing to help us.” Said Valanor.

“Hey, what about the expedition into the Blighted Woods?” inquired the girl.

“You mean the treasure hunt? I am not so sure about asking them. Remember the last one we asked about Karuma?” Valanor referred to the muscular adventurer from earlier. Him too was someone who arrived at Nadir aiming for a share of the incoming hunt.

“We won’t ask them anything. Instead, we will join the expedition!” declared Astora.

“Join the expedition? …. Do you intend to search blindly for this Karuma without a proper plan in mind?”

“Just hear me out. The expedition team is bound to have people who are knowledgeable about the Blighted Woods and its layout right? And since the entire region is filled with deadly poisonous mist, Karuma is not going to live just anywhere right? There got to be some kind of safe zone where the mist cannot intrude. By following the expedition team, we have a bigger chance to encounter one of these safe zones or likely to meet Karuma.” Astora explained her intention/

“Hum, you are not wrong.” Said Valanor. “What do you think, sir Grimora?”

“Sir huh?” Grimora, feeling being respected for the first time, has strangely become friendly with Valanor. At first, the painter was awed by the talking flying book. But perhaps it was his personal experience accompanied by the fact that his travel has allowed him to see all sorts of things around the world, Valanor did not feel or show any sign of being intimidated by Grimora. On the contrary, he was more curious about how such a thing came to exist. After all, he has never seen a talking artefact before. Leaving the book fantasizing about him being respected, Valanor resumed the discussion.

“But then we would need a permit to go on the expedition team. Only those certified by the guild or the church could go there.”

“I have one.” Astora showed her permit given by Alan. Thankfully, the paper did allow her to bring a few other people with her.

“How did you get this? This is a first-class permit. Only those close to the church would have it.” Valanor examined the permit.

“Haha I have my ways.” The girl did not tell Valanor about her deal with Alan, merely her encounter with him out of fear that it might bring more harm than good. For now, she decided to keep it a secret until she found a proper timing. “Let us not waste time now!”

And so, the two rushed to the registration office located in the southern part of Nadir and registered themselves as members of the expedition team. Lucky for them, they were just about to depart. Currently gathering around inside a big hall, the group consisting of more than a few dozens of people was waiting eagerly for the sponsor of this time’s event to make his speech. The speech itself wasn’t very engaging. Just another rich man throwing his money in hope that he would find some precious treasures. However, it was the after-event that would be much more compelling. It was then that the group would be divided into smaller teams of five people through a random process including one experienced member. It made the ground covering much easier and avoided the competitive scenario where dozens of men would fight to decide who found what. Furthermore, with smaller teams, it would be much easier and quicker to move and that was a crucial point where they only got a day to go in and come back. So the key point of this whole quest was speed.

Since they registered together and because she had a special permit, Astora and Valanor were allowed to be on the same team. But things never went the way it was planned. By some hapless luck, they ended up with the bald muscular guy who chased them just before along with two members of his team. Even better, this guy was the experienced adventurer who was supposed to take care of the group. If Astora wished to discover more about the layout of the Blighted Woods in hope that she would find Karuma, it would depend on him. Suffice to say, it was an awkward situation.

Regrouping at the southern side of the Walls, just beyond the grand gate, each group followed their leader and departed. Considering the danger level of the area, not many would be willing to risk their lives over this mission. However, it was not the pay from the sponsor they sought but the potential treasures and legendary items hidden there. If you were lucky enough to stumble upon a valuable ruin or found some ancient artefact, it would be the golden opportunity to get rich. However, few managed to accomplish so and many have given their lives for nothing. Considering the frequency of the hunts, having someone who survived a dozen expeditions was the key so success in a team. For only they knew which way to go and more importantly, what to avoid.

In Astora’s case, all the other three adventurers including the bald men were experienced men who have survived ten hunts but never found anything that valuable to be considered a treasure. The leader Ruk has apparently saved the other two, Pete and Wedge, in a previous hunt. Since then, the two have always accompanied Ruk in the expedition and became somewhat faithful followers. Their boss Ruk might seem intimidating while Pete and Wedge were quite friendly. It was thanks to the duo that there had not been a conflict between Astora and Ruk, not yet anyway. Even so, their experiences were greatly appreciated. In just under one hour into the woods, they have already surpassed the other groups in term of length. Everyone knew that the deeper you went into the forest, the better the rewards but also the higher the danger level.

Compared to the vegetation and lifeforms Astora has seen in Valhalla, the Blighted Woods felt almost like a completely different world. The soil was tainted by a strange blackness which prevented most vegetation to grow from it. The trees, now deformed and dark, were covered by some crystalline layer with the leaves and grasses were as sharp as blades. One must be extremely careful to not slipping into a razor sharped grass. Streams of water were contaminated with some strange substance that turned it into a deep dark violet hue. Now Astora understood why one of the adventurers carried so many sacks of water. Normally, one could easily find a pond or river containing pure water in this world thanks to the wonderful nature. However, nature was not on their side in this land. Cut off from the rest of the continent, the Blighted Woods were a place of death. But even in this accursed land, life and its wonders continued to surprise with their vitality, only through different forms.

“Boss, look! It’s one of those flowers.” Wedge discovered a peculiar flower growing at the roots of a dead tree. The flower in question did not in fact look like a real flower at all. It was more like a crystal in the shape of a flower with eight petals and two large leaves at its roots.

“Careful, you know how bad it is!” Ruk barred his hands to stop Wedge from touching the thing.

Meanwhile, Astora wanted to ask about this strange floret but was still hesitant to talk to Ruk directly after the heated exchange between them. So, the girl resorted to a trick unique of her own.

“Psychometry activated!”

Target: Amethysia (variant)

Type: Flora - Uncommon

Description: A mutated strain of flora found only in the Blighted Woods of Valhalla. Following the calamity that struck Malatas, the land became inhabitable as a result of the miasma taking over the entire region. Over time, new lifeforms began to sprout from this dilapidated land. Having adapted to the harsh climate, these lifeforms possessed unique properties that could never be found in any other specimens of the same species.

Share a physical resemblance to a crystallized flower but is in fact a fully organic flower. The petals are infused with miasma due to the long term of exposure. The crystal shards are fragile and will release a tiny quantity of the dark mist upon being broken. Strangely, the flower offers some protection against the miasma’s poisonous aura.

“This is an Amethysia right? Its petals are quite dangerous if broken.” Said the girl. Her analysis shocked Ruk and his teammates. They did not expect such a young girl to have this kind of knowledge.

“…How do you know about that?” Ruk asked with a stern voice.

“Oh you know, just reading books. I am kind of a bookworm and I have read all kinds of books my entire life. One of them depicts something similar to this flower so I just assumed it was. Hehehe!” Astora grinned, trying to pass her guess as mere coincidence.

“I see….That explains why you carry around such a weird looking book.” Talking with a haughty tone, Ruk stood up and resumed the trail. “Come on, we don’t have time for this. Let’s move!”

“ *sigh* Valanor, can you go on ahead? I will catch up right after.” Astora asked. “Keep an eye on them for me please!”

“Of course! But be careful!” Valanor followed the others, leaving Astora by herself with her special book.

“Alright, come out now!” Opening the book, Astora took out her unique tool to gather materials for her transposition technique: the Unholy Grail of Malevolence. Dark limbs quickly came out of the chalice and grabbed the flower before pulling it inside. Very useful against delicate or dangerous materials! Once finished, the girl rushed ahead and rejoined the group while wondering in her mind what she would be able to create with this new material. Although, it did not look like something too special so she had to keep looking until she found something more valuable. Only then would the girl escape this humiliation of having to fight with a spoon.

However, Ruk has noticed the girl’s brief absence. He was clearly annoyed when seeing Astora rejoining the group despite doing practically nothing. If the girl could not follow properly, it was best to leave her behind at the Walls. Still, they were all too far gone into the depths of the Blighted Woods to come back empty handed now. Whatever their differences were, they would have to settle it later but not now. Ignoring the girl, Ruk continued to mow down the thick tree branches stopping their ways.

“Sorry for leaving you guys doing all the hard works!” Astora apologized after feeling a bit unnecessary in this trip.

“It is nothing. This is your first time going on an expedition, right? Leave it to the experts!” Pete said cheerfully. In fact, the only reason the two were so willing to do all the work was because they had a beautiful young girl with her instead of a bunch of rough crude men like usual. The difference was quite clear and the two enjoyed it.

“By the way, do you know that this place used to be the homes of the beastmen?” said Wedge.

“Really?” Astora turned to Valanor. The guy was a beastman so she expected him to know a lot on this subject.

“I am afraid that I cannot answer that question. I was raised by a human and rarely had the chance to learn about my culture. I would be grateful if you can enlighten me on the subject.” Valanor concealed his hands within his long sleeves as he gently asked the adventurer. Astora also noticed the painter’s unusual behavior, as if he wanted to avoid talking about his origin deliberately. But everyone got their secret so she felt that she should not push it any further.

“Not a problem!” Wedge proudly said. “Ehem. Long ago, back when there were still a lot of conflicts between the races, the beastmen occupied an entire region known as the Whispering Forest, a place known for its spiritual energy. They lived in tribes and led a reclusive life, almost completely cut off from the outside world. However, following the events which led to the downfall of the southern region, the Whispering Forest was corrupted by the endless stream of miasma and became what we know today as the Blighted Lands. Of course, the Whispering Forest was not the only victim of the crisis back then. The elves also lost their proud kingdom and were forced to move their remaining population, along with the beastmen toward the other human kingdoms. In short, the Blighted Land is actually the combination of Malatas, the old elven kingdom and the Whispering Forest, which once inhabited the beastmen.

Now, this is just my opinion but the miasma happening is not all bad.” Wedge shocked both Valanor and Astora. How could such a tragedy which took countless lives not be bad?

“Wait wait, I mean…it is bad but there are a few good things that come of it. Just hear me out okay?” Wedge pled. “You know that back then, all the races were like killing each other. Before, all we had for each other are hatred and mistrust. But after the calamity and the war with the Dark Lord, it brought everyone together. The tragedies made everyone abandon their old way of life and turn them into something better. What I am trying to say is that without the tragedies back then, you and I might be killing each other today. Do you see what I mean?”

For an adventurer who did not receive any serious lesson in his life, Wedge was absolutely right about the history of Valhalla. Tragedies must not be forgotten. We could mourn for the dead for all we wanted. At the end of the day, it was all for the self-satisfaction of the livings. A funeral did not exist to honor the dead. We performed such ritual to relieve ourselves of our grief. As for what happened next, it was up to the livings to take what they could from this experience and make something out of it. In this case, the war and the calamity brought the people of all races together. By having a common seemingly unconquerable enemy, people forsook their differences aside and joined hands together to counter the threat. This event eventually led to the situation we had today in Valhalla: peace and tolerance between all the races. But peace did not come that easily. Not even with that amount of sacrifices. Without the proper leaders who strived toward this noble goal, this hard-earned peace would not last until today.

Yet, here was another interesting question: for how long could they keep this up? Conflicts existed in men of all races. It did not matter whether you were a simple human or a thousand years old elf, conflict was a part of all. As time went by, peace evolved into stalemate, dullness and eventually lethargy. It was nice to live in it but people started to crave for a change. For something to happen that would shake their boring everyday lives. And what would be a nice change for peace? War and conflict!

“I get it…but still, while I understand the reason, it is hard to accept that so much sacrifices have been done…” said Astora. Personally, she felt a bit distant from what Wedge has said. This world was not hers after all. Its history might appear important, worthy to know but in the end, it was history. But only by dwelling into the pasts that Astora could find out more about her father. She wanted to know who he was exactly, what did he do, and more importantly, how did he end up being branded as the loathed Dark Lord?

“…..” Meanwhile, Valanor remained silent as he noticed the girl beside him. As if understand what was going on in her mind, the fox spoke out to change the subject. “It is very interesting what you are telling us. But can you tell us more about the current state of the Blighted Woods? This is after all the land we are venturing in and it would be best to learn more of it while we have the chance.” The painter of course already knew quite few things but asked the question anyway for Astora, knowing that her background would not have provided her with much insights of the world.

“Huh, you should have done your homework before charging ahead like a bunch of idiots.” Ruk rumbled loudly.

“Don’t mind him hehe!” laughed Pete. “We were all once amateurs. Making mistakes is understandable. No need to feel bad about it! Although, the boss is right. You should do more research before going on an expedition, especially when the destination is a dangerous area like this one.

Let me see here…what can I tell you about the Blighted Woods? Well, the most obvious point is to avoid the miasma at all costs.”

“Miasma is that dark mist thing right?” Astora asked. When standing on top of the High Walls, one could have a full clear view of the black forest engulfed in some kind of dark mist. The thing was apparently the cause of a tragedy long ago.

“Yeah. It is bad stuff and we must do whatever we can to avoid it. Every once in a while, the mist would clear out but will come back within a few days. Us adventurers make us of this phenomenon to travel across the area like what we are doing now. But just because the mist is cleared doesn’t mean it is safe. There are still a lot of other things to look out for.” Warned Pete.

“Like what?”

“Well monsters for one.”

“Monsters? I thought this place was deserted.” Commented Astora.

“For people and most monsters yes. At least that was the case long ago. I don’t know the exact time but for the last century, a lot of new monsters have appeared out of nowhere from the Blighted Woods. Unlike common monsters, these ones were much more aggressive and quite capable, making them extremely dangerous. It is because of their sudden presences that made the guild restrict the adventurers restricting their members access to the Blighted Woods.” Said Pete

“Not to mention the phantoms!” Wedge added with a spooky voice.

“Phantoms?” Astored sounded scared.

“Phantoms are wandering dark spirits tasked to guide the souls of the dead onto the next life. They possess an ethereal body that is practically invulnerable to all types of attack, making them the worst kind of enemies to encounter. Luckily, they are not aggressive and in most cases, will just ignore us as long as we don’t bother them.” Explained Wedge.

“But I have heard that phantoms are attracted to powerful individuals possessing a mighty soul.” Pete commented.

“Isn’t it just a rumor?” Wedge retorted.

“A lot of things are just rumors when we talk about the Blighted Woods.” Pete said. “Like the story of the White Phantom. Or the one about that strange phantom.”

“Those are just made up stories of some drunken old men who wandered too far into the woods.” Wedge denied the legitimacy of the stories.

“What are those about?” asked Astora.

“Supposedly, according to a few old men in the tavern, if you venture deep enough into the Blighted Woods, there is a chance you will meet a white phantom. You see, phantoms are all black in appearance. So, the potential existence of a white one, if proven true, would attract of a lot of curious eyes. But so far, none has found it yet.

And then we have the story of an unusual large phantom. A common phantom is about the size of an adult human. Allegedly, according to the rumors of the same group of old men, there is a phantom about twice as big. Even weirder, the thing carries around some kind of large box on its back. Unlike the previous story, I find this one to be more believable. I mean, for all we know, it could be a fat phantom.” Wedge recalled what he heard from the bar.

“Can phantom even be fat? They don’t have a physical body. How the hell do they get fat?” Pete confronted.

“How the hell am I supposed to know? Maybe it ate a lot of souls?”

“Shut up all of you!” Ruk shouted at the group behind him. “We are not here for chitchatting. You two!” Ruk pointed at Astora and Valanor. “It is your turn to clear the way. Come on up!”

“But boss, they are just amateurs.” Pete said.

“And they will continue to be amateurs if they don’t practice how to survive in this kind of place.” Ruk retorted back.

The path was filled with thorny branches and sharp grasses that could easily penetrate through the skin. Clearing them out of the way usually fell to the one with the most experience as any mistake could end up with a severe injury. However, betraying Ruk’s expectation that both of them would fail miserably, Astora and Valanor did spectacularly. With his strange brush that could curve itself and change its length, Valanor quickly cut down the branches that stood in his way. Meanwhile, using a strange magical blue flame, the girl Astora was able to turn all the grasses and falling branches into ashes. Normally, a mage using fire magic would have to aim carefully his magic due to the potential destructive character of the flame. However, in Astora’s case, her flame seemingly had a will of its own and created a smooth path up ahead with any visible control from the girl.

“The newbies are so good.” Wedge said. What Ruk did in an hour was overtaken by what these two did in just a few minutes. Furthermore, the way of doing was much safer than using an axe to clear out obstacles.

“Hum…not bad!” Even Ruk had to admit it. “Just keep going forward! We should reach a safe zone soon.”

The sun was already high up. If Ruk found nothing of value within the next few hours, this whole trip this time would be for naught and they would have to go back empty handed, which was not exactly ideal considering how much he counted on this trip to bring money home for his family. As for Astora, things were not looking good as well. Still no sign of Karuma and already she felt hopeless. It was true that wandering around aimlessly was not exactly a good plan. However, if no one would tell her his whereabouts, how was she supposed to find him?

“Hey!” While Valanor was leading the way, Ruk approached Astora from behind and spoke quietly. His tone has somewhat smoothened compared to the angry one before. “Why are you guys looking for Karuma?”

Taken by surprise by the sudden question, Astora opened her eyes bigly. That was quite a sudden change in attitude, she noticed. “Why are you asking?” she said.

“A girl and a fox looking for that infamous bastard? Who wouldn’t want to know?”

“What about you? Why do you sound like you hate him so much?”

What Astora just said certainly made a good point. While many considered Karuma to be a criminal of some sort, not a lot expressed such an intense hatred toward him like Ruk. They had no reason to. Simple psychology dictated that when a certain trend became popular among the mass, there was a high probability that you too would follow it for we all sought to be like others and not be the lonely guy in the corner who could not follow what everyone was doing. However, people also got bored of that trend fairly quickly, especially when it did not involve us on a personal scale. Like the case with Karuma, sure he did something bad but in the end, the guy was just another criminal. Common people would forget about him quite quickly instead of holding a grudge against him for an entire decade. After all, it was not like he raised war against the entire world like the Dark Lord did. So why was it that Ruk behaved entirely differently? The answer lied in the minority that actually had a proper reason to detest Karuma.

“My family…we used to live in Holbeck.” Ruk answered as he clenched his fist. His memories of the first time he heard the news upon returning to the place he once called home started to come back. The things that haunted him all these years and the man responsible for his pain: Karuma.