Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Dyne’s Fake Past (2)

The Drake Continent had a long winding river that sprang from Drake Castle and moved all the way to the sea, which was just west of Rim Elm. This isolated Rim Elm from most parts of the Drake Continent and may have been the reason they were safe from the Mist's full forces and terrors.

Dyne had long known this, but in his lies, there was a significant problem. The Drake Continent had a huge dam that controlled the flow of the river. It was necessary to open the dam after saving Drake Kingdom for the player to continue in the game and head over towards the next town.

Dyne had requested that Strafe give him the Water Key, which could be used to open and close the dam, as his goals were to get to Biron Monastery and the surrounding areas. The town was situated beyond the river.

Since the game starts with the dam opened, creating the wide and strong river, and it would have been difficult to explain how Dyne reached the plains of Rim Elm. And so, he used the lie that he was possessed with the Seru he wore and lost all memories to leave his appearance on this side of Drake Continent up to the Hunters' imagination.

“What do you mean?” Dyne asked with a ‘confused’ look.

“It’s like this. There is a river that divides the place you came from to where we are right now. When you arrived here, that river's dam must have been closed and allowed you to cross over to this place. But the river suddenly appeared during the Mist. We don’t know exactly why it was opened. Perhaps King Drake decided to protect himself and us from the Mist.” The Elder explained.

“Oh... I didn’t know. Anyway, it was only recently when Bertugo found me. He lured me into the beach area as he risked his life, and I awoke at the seashore just beyond the mountain.”

“What a brave Gobu Gobu. No wonder he’s so strong.” Tetsu commented.

“Master Tetsu? He is that strong?” Juno was surprised.

“Yes. His strength should be like the Gobu Gobu captains on the mountains.” Tetsu smiled.

The expressions of the hunter became even more amazed as they gazed at Dyne.

Dyne was silent but didn’t know what Gobu Gobu captains were or their existence.

“Erm... Forgive me. I was living with my dad, so I am not familiar with the lifestyles Gobu Gobu have in the wild.” Dyne felt strange when he said that. It was like he was talking about a pet tiger that he owned.

“Gobu Gobu captains are the leaders of a Gobu Gobu tribe. Each Gobu Gobu tribe would have a Gomboo as their leader.” Juno explained.

Dyne was surprised at the explanation. He knew of the Gomboo in the game. They could be fought near Biron Monastery and were stronger than a Gobu Gobu. To think that that was the next level in the life cycle of a Gobu Gobu!

“Thankfully, the only enemies we have around here are Gobu Gobu and the Gomboo tribe leader who would rarely show themselves near this village. Otherwise, we’d lose more men in our hunts.” The Elder explained.

Dyne made a mental note and thought of ways to turn his Gobu Gobu into a Gomboo.

“How was it that the Gobu Gobu saved you after all these years?” Ixis's father asked with suspicion. 

“What’s up with this hunter?” Dyne complained. He didn’t answer that because he had been lying, and this person would ask such a crucial question!

“I don’t know. I never asked him. I didn’t know there would be a river...” Dyne’s voice trailed off.

“Relax, Ipkus.” Juno laughed.

“Remember the drought two years ago? The Gobu Gobu must have been separated from him and couldn’t find Dyne until the drought happened. He must have spent the last two years looking for a way to save Dyne!” Juno explained.

Dyne’s heart warmed. At that moment, Dyne decided to make sure that Juno won’t die.

"I'll save you, dear Uncle Juno!" Dyne vowed in his heart.

“That must be it! Still... I want to help. I can’t believe that I survived. I don’t know what happened to my hometown, so I want to make sure to go there! But I know I’m powerless. If the Mist is here, then the Conkram Royals who did this must be here as well! For now, I’d like to help in any way that I could.” Dyne explained.

The Elder nodded.

“With your strength, this will be greatly helpful. Since you awoke at the beach, did you travel through the Mist?”

“No. Bertugo told me not to,” Dyne answered. He knew that in the game, people avoided the Mist like the plague. Only those with Ra-Seru or Ra-Seru eggs could travel through the Mist.

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“A wise choice. Even though a human can travel within the Mist, the Mist can drive a person insane. The eerie thoughts that can paralyze a human are just too much. When the Mist began to spread, the Serus in Drake castle would take the opportunity to travel and search for more monsters. It is a constant war between the mad Serus as well as the monsters around this region. So we always hunt to avoid the Mist if we get caught up by the crazy wars between monster and Serus. Not to mention, some of the Serus would try to possess us if not kill us!” Juno explained.

Dyne was silent. But hearing this explanation brought in several questions in his mind. It would be revealed later in the game that Vahn journeyed through the Mist alone was younger. Val went to get him and managed to bring Vahn back, but his leg was injured. But how was Val able to do so?

Dyne still hadn't figured it out.

“I’m sorry. In that regard, you are more experienced than me. I was using the Seru to run away from the Mist and got possessed. I haven’t tried to travel within the Mist.” 

“Only those with strong wills can rush through the Mist.” Tetsu gave Val a strange look.

“But for most of us, it will strike grief, fear, and often panic. This is why our hunters would face great trouble even when the Mist is around! Even a single Gobu Gobu could lead to death!”

“If you were to fight a Gobu Gobu inside the Mist, you’d surely die.” Ipkus, the father of Ixis, laughed.

Dyne laughed calmly, but his heart was fueled in rage.

“You wanna go, old man?!” He cursed silently.

“I still want to do my best and help. I know it’s impossible right now. I found this in the body of a deceased man. Can anyone tell me what this is?” Dyne then revealed the Water Key.

The Elder frowned.

“I don’t know what that key is. Perhaps it’s a key to the man's house.” The Elder replied with a confused expression. 

“The firmament!” Dyne cursed in his heart. He did his best to keep the frustration in his heart. The Water Key was necessary, and it would be suspicious if Dyne revealed that he could identify the Water Key. And yet, no one here could identify it!

“Wait! That looks familiar. I think I’ve seen that engraving before!” Val frowned.

“Yes. The reason why I asked is because this looks very familiar. It looked like one of the engravings in the dam near Drake Castle. But I’m not too sure. My memory is all fuzzy.” Dyne baited as he displayed an expression that was trying to remember something.

“That’s it! That’s the Water Key! It must be the key that can close the Water Gate!” Val recalled. He had searched for Vahn in Drake Castle and recalled the engraving on the walls.

“So, this will close the dam and help us go towards the other side?” Dyne asked.

“Yes. But I advised against doing that. If we close the dam, more monsters of the Mist will reach here.”

“We can close it just enough for some of us to go through it. On my way here, one of the merchants that accompanied me said that he was going towards Biron Monastery.” Dyne had learned of the details of Biron Monastery from the game. He knew that Biron Monastery managed to survive in the Mist because of the fan rooms it created at each area's entrance.

“Biron Monastery? That place ought to be full of the Mist. Why would you go there?” Ipkus asked again.

“I think people should be alive there. We passed through it during my time here. I noticed that the entrances of their mountains had these strange fans that blew strong wind."

“Strong winds?” Ipkus gave Dyne a laughable look.

“You think a little fan can stop the Mist?”

“I don’t know. But the merchant was confident that it could. I didn’t notice when we passed by. There was such a panic going on. Even women were there! I know Biron Monks don’t allow women, but that’s what I saw.” Dyne answered with uncertainty. Secretly, Dyne questioned how this Ipkus was amongst the head hunters.

“It is possible.” Tetsu, however, had a strange expression. 

“Those fans were developed to provide air within the mountain. You see, the monks used the inside of the mountains and made a monastery out of it. The fans they created from the inside were supposed to push the cave's winds to cool it. But it would also be possible to use the fans to push the Mist out of it! After all, the entrance is rather small!” Tetsu answered. There was a strange sense of anticipation and excitement from his voice.

“That’s great. I just wanted to let you guys know that there might be others out there who have survived the Mist!” Dyne sincerely explained.