Chapter 64: 64. The Village within the Village

An awakening area?

Dallion stepped back. The chief was still standing in front of him, eyes glaring with hatred. The village itself, though, had changed. The crumbling structures had not only miraculously repaired themselves, but had grown to the size of towers, drifting apart from one another.

 

You are in the land of DHERMA VILLAGE

Defeat the guardian to change the land’s destiny

The realm of the village? Dallion wondered.

He suspected that there might be an awakened area that encompassed the entire village, but he didn’t expect it to be like this. In many aspects the realm resembled the world. If Dallion didn’t know better, he’d think he was in some neighbouring province of the world. There were vast fields, forests, mountains, even a large lake visible. Interestingly, there also were a number of massive structures, ranging from small stone and wooden forts, to what could only be described as a palace several miles in the distance.

“You think you have the guts to challenge me?” the village chief asked. He had also changed slightly. A scabbard with a large sword was hanging from his waist, and—to Dallion’s horror—a double sized buckler was visible on his left arm. “It’s your funeral. I only wanted for you to know your place,” the man continued through clenched teeth. “All you had to do was to accept my authority and do as I asked, and you would have kept your powers. I would have even let you marry into the family, but no, you had to make a scene.”

“Marry into your family?” Dallion frowned. “Like my mother did?”

“She could have if she knew what was best.” Aspion narrowed his eyes. “But no, she had to be selfish to the end. Just like you. That’s the problem with your family—selfish every last one of you. And selfish people need to learn that the good of the many outweighs the good of the few.”

“Wow, that’s rich coming from you.” Dallion wanted to take out his dartbow and shoot the village chief on the spot, but managed to keep his calm. There would be time for that later. For the moment there was no point in showing his trump card until he saw what the old man had up his sleeve.

“Your grandfather said that once and look at him now. Do you see this?” The village chief opened his arms, as if showing the realm around him. “This is the village. My village.”

“Looks a little run down, if you ask me.”

As if on cue, a guttural roaring sound came from the nearby structure. Thanks to his perception, Dallion managed to catch a glance of a group of ink-like creatures hidden inside. The creatures were very much different from the beings that were in items, or even in the well. They looked more sophisticated, even if barely, equipped with rough loincloths and crude weapons. It was almost as if Dallion had stumbled on a lair of real-life goblins hiding in an abandoned building.

“It takes dedication to keep the village from crumbling,” Aspion ignored the creatures altogether. “Something you would have noticed if you had looked. Do you think that buildings remain upright on their own? Have you seen anyone repairing them?”

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Actually, I have, Dallion thought.

There had been several instances when his father had to repair the roof on his own, after a particularly fierce storm. There had been no assistance from the elders or the Luor family, no awakening magic, just a lot of effort and elbow grease. Of course, as a result, part of the roof still leaked to this very day.

“I’m the one who maintains everything! I’m the one who keeps you all safe! I’m the one you should be thankful to.”

“Getting a bit upset there, old man,” Dallion smirked. Normally, he was against such behavior, but the village chief deserved it. “The only reason you’ve remained in power is thanks to your echoes. Without them and your family, you’re nothing.”

“Oh?” A wicked smile reappeared on Aspion’s face.

The moment he saw it, Dallion knew he was in trouble. He had tried to be too cool for his own good, and now there would be consequences. He could only hope that he would be stronger than them.

“You’re just a child.” Aspion laughed. “For a moment I was worried that you might actually cause trouble, but now I just realized. You know nothing!” He took a step back, then drew his sword. “You’ve no idea how I got to control the village, do you? You think the title was passed down just like that?”

The ground began to rumble, slightly at first, but with every moment it became more and more noticeable, as if an invisible giant was making his way towards Dallion.

“A village realm is different from a building realm. Yes, you’ve destroyed my echo, improved the well, and even gone up a level or two. You’re not in control of a realm, though. And do you know why?”

Dallion didn’t like the sound of that. Tense, he kept looking around for the source of the rumbling. His senses screamed that it had to be nearby, yet he still was unable to see it.

“In order to improve the wider realm, you must defeat all guardians in the area.” As Aspion spoke, the ground behind him began to rise. “The village has five guardians in total, each corresponding to a vital part. To gain control of the realm, though more is required. You need sacrifice, dedication, and the commitment that you’ll be here when the realm needs you.”

A few steps away, the ground had changed into a small hill. Massive arms of dirt emerged from both sides, giving the hill humanoid features.

Being an avid gamer, Dallion had heard that the hills have eyes, but in this realm, they also had arms, legs, and a massive spiked club as well.

“But most important of all.” The chief’s expression lost any trace of humor. From here on, he was about to take Dallion’s challenge seriously. “To gain control of a realm, you must defeat the key guardian and make him accept you as his master.”

Combat Initiated

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