Chapter 76: Encounter

In the morning of the following day, Edward and his party killed monsters on the ninth floor until about noon, when everyone finally leveled up to level ten.

There being no purpose in staying there any longer, they returned to the safe zone and started climbing up towards the exit.

Everyone but Echo seems to be in a good mood. She was trailing behind the rest with her head lowered, deep in thought.

Edward pat Minx’s head and slowed down his walking pace until Echo caught up to him.

“Have you thought it through?”

Echo didn’t even notice Edward slowing down for her and got started by his voice. She turned towards Edward, put on a sad smile, and said: “I will not tell them.”

Edward sighed and nodded in reply. “It’s your decision to make. The others are also worried about you.” he feared she would regret it later down the line, but it was not his decision to make. He could only hope she might reconsider until the day of the wedding.

Echo looked at the rest of the party. Both Ingvar and Kara, who were looking toward them, turned their heads around and started looking forward at the same time.

“I know, but it felt better speaking to someone who doesn’t know my fiance’s family. Thank you for listening to me. What about you?”

“What about me?” said Edward, not understanding what she was asking.

“Do you think I wouldn’t notice you also have something on your mind?”

Edward smiled wryly at being found out before asking: “What gave it away?”

“The norm of jokes has decreased drastically since our previous dungeon incursion.”

“Just some trouble with Violet, but there’s nothing to speak about. I’m going to solve everything when we return to the city.”

“Violet?” asked Echo, not familiar with the name.

“Oh, you don’t know? She’s my girlfriend, sort of.”

“Ah, I didn’t know you had one. Is she from the city?”

“Yeah, her name is Violet Glass. She owns an inn in the demi-human area of the residential district.”

“Hmm, I feel like I have heard the name before, but nothing comes to mind right now. Introduce us when you have the chance.”

The two kept chatting while following behind the rest of the party, all the way to the exit of the dungeon. It was mostly Echo asking about Violet and Edward replying to her questions.

When everyone reached the dungeon’s exit, the guards asked them to pay the core tax and, since Minx ate them all, Ingvar could only make up a story about how they lost their bag with cores while running away from monsters.

The guards asked nothing more since he was the guild leader’s son and the party was free to leave. Everyone mounted on Minx’s back and they reached the city by evening.

Edward dropped them off at the west gate, said his goodbyes, and rode on Minx’s back towards their place in the southern forest.

When he reached there, a cloaked man was resting with his back against the tree Edward and Minx would always sit under. Fenrir’s mark on his arm also started burning fiercely, warning Edward this was not someone he could afford to mess with.

Thinking it might be another assassin, he asked Minx to stop and said: “Who are you?” he knew that if Fenrir reached like that, there was no way he could escape if the man wanted to kill him.

The man lifted his head and looked at Edward from under the hood of his cloak before saying under his breath: “Welcome home. No need for any of you to be so wary. I’m just taking a break here while waiting for someone and will be on my way right after.”

Edward nodded and was about to ask Minx to turn around when the man spoke again.

“Don’t be in a hurry to leave. Why don’t we chat for a while?”

“What about?” asked Edward defensively. The constant burning sensation in his right arm gave him a bad feeling.

“Oh, we have a lot of things to chat about. Like that curse placed on your soul.”

The moment the man’s words rang in Edward’s ear, he wanted to turn and run only for Fenrir to stop him.

[There’s no point. You can’t escape him. If he wanted to kill us, it will probably be easier than swatting a fly.]

“Smart girl.” Said the man as he pointed towards another tree. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

Edward nodded, climbed down from Minx’s back, and went to sit where the man has pointed to. His mind was looking for ways he could get out of this alive, and after Fenrir’s words, he knew he could only comply and hope the man would let him be.

“Who are you, sir?” asked Edward after sitting down.

The man took off the hood of his cloak and exposed an average-looking human face. His face was so average that no one would bother to even look at him twice in a crowd.

“I’m just a simple traveler. Now tell me, kid, how did you end up with such a powerful curse on your soul?”

“This…” Edward hesitated, not willing to speak more about Fenrir. He knew nothing about the man’s intention or origin. And him calling himself a simple traveler? He wouldn’t believe that in a million years.

[A powerful enemy placed the curse on my soul and it transferred to him when I inhabited his soul after losing my body. Can you answer a question of mine next?]

“Ask away.”

[Are you from the outside?]

“I’m afraid I don’t understand your question.”

[I mean from outside Yggdrasil.]

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“What makes you think that little girl?” asked the man with a mysterious smile.

[There should be no chaos energy inside Yggdrasil and the amount I can feel from inside your body...]

“Who told you that? Compared to other types of energy, chaos energy is indeed scarce, but not absent. The concentration of chaos energy in the surroundings is at 0.42%.”

[You didn’t answer my question.]

“You are right. I was not born in this world.”

[Can I ask you what you want from us then?]

“Nothing in particular. Since I use chaos energy, I came to the place with the highest concentration around. Your home here has quite a large amount of residual chaos energy.”

“That being said, I would be very grateful if you could tell me more about you two and this world.”

Fenrir started telling the man everything about her, Edward, and this world while Edward just listened to their conversation in silence and rubbed Minx’s head. He figured the man might get bored, but he seemed to enjoy the story, even asking for more details from time to time.

Once the story was over, the man just smiled and said: “It was worth it indeed for me to come here. The task the two of you want to accomplish will not be easy, but since you’re a being born out of chaos, it’s not impossible either. I wish you good luck in your future.”

[Are you leaving?]

“I got the answers I came to this world to get. Before I go, I have some words of advice for you, Fenrir.”

[I’m listening.]

“Don’t be so quick to judge that tree you’re all living on as a passive neutral being. Power gives birth to a soul, and any soul has its own will.”

Because Fenrir has fallen silent after his words, the man stood up and said: “It looks like my ride is here.” Once his words ended, a portal opened up next to the man, and a woman poked her head out: “Are you done, teacher?”

The man placed one hand on the girl’s forehead and pushed her head back into the portal. He was about to follow her when he stopped and turned back to look at Edward.

“How impolite of me. I almost forgot to give you a gift as well. Take care of it.” A two inches gray sphere appeared in the man’s hand, which he threw towards Edward before walking into the portal.

The portal disappeared and Edward remained to stare at it like an idiot, not even reacting after the sphere hit him in the head.

“Fenrir, what the hell was that?”

[Someone from outside Yggdrasil. The amount of chaos energy in his body was even more than I had before getting my body destroyed.]

“Are you saying he’s a God?”

[Indeed. Stop acting like an idiot and pick that core from the ground. I can feel a large amount of chaos energy inside it. There’s another energy keeping the chaos energy in place, but I can’t figure out what it is.]

Edward picked the core in his hand but felt nothing special about it. After throwing it and poking it with his finger, he asked: “Do I eat this?”

[Let’s not for now. Take it inside your soul space. I want to study it first.]

“Can I do that?”

[Not with usual objects, but where do you think that man took it out from? His ass?]

“Okay, okay. But how do I do that?”

[The same way you do with the status tablet.]

Edward closed his eyes, and the small core disappeared from his hand, just like the spirit tablet always did. Looking up at the rays of light shining through the foliage of the trees, he sighed and stood up.

“I can’t believe I spent the entire night listening to you two speak. Since it’s morning already, I’ll go let Violet know I’m back and maybe even try to find some information about her mother.”

[Alright. it will probably take me a while, but I’ll analyze the core with Azure’s help. A gift from a God can’t be something simple.]

Edward nodded and said a few parting words to Minx before making his way toward the City of Ashes.

————

In an unknown place, atop a tall mountain.

The same man walked out of a portal and said stretched his body. There were twelve other young people there, sitting around a campfire.

“Teacher, how long will we stay here? This place is so boring.” Asked a young man while roasting what looked like beast meat atop the fire.

“Don’t worry, we’re leaving. There’s nothing left for us to do here.”, said the man with an indifferent expression.

“No, teacher, let’s stay some more. There is much water energy here.” Said one girl while pouting towards the guy who said the place was boring.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure there are more places rich in water energy. Leiea, open up a portal. We’re leaving.”

Some of them had downcast looks on their faces while others were grinning from ear to ear, but everyone stood up and walked into the portal without a word of protest.

Everyone was soon gone from the top of the mounting. The only proof of them ever being there was the still burning campfire.

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