Chapter Fifty-Eight: Stranger
2014-11-28
Author: Floating Tower
Any high-level professionist can understand what it means to be superhuman. Those with a profession level above 10 generally possess one or two supernatural abilities. For example, the druid just now had cast some kind of spell on herself, allowing her to leap and move through the giant trees. Soren was not overly curious to chase after her; it’s quite normal to encounter strangers in the wilderness. Some may exchange a few words, but more often than not, they simply pass by each other. As long as there is no malice from either side, they will at most nod at each other.
Druids do not like to interact with ordinary people, and they are even less fond of professionists.
They have solitary personalities and their own pursuits, most of them holding firm beliefs, and their behaviors tend to lean towards neutrality, sometimes attacking anyone who disrupts their balance.
To them, balance is deemed more important than good and evil because they believe that the concepts of good and evil are relative.
They resemble a group that venerates the Taoist principle of ‘wu wei’ (non-action), but their aggression is not weak at all. Many who excessively damage the forest’s nature are executed ruthlessly by them!
There was a time when human alchemical research flourished, primarily due to the discovery of a relic from the Arcane Empire era. Many wizards uncovered advanced alchemical knowledge from it, even developing a construction mechanized factory at one point. However, the pollution generated by magical alchemy destroyed water sources, contaminated the land, killed animals, and obliterated forests. This ultimately led to the outrage of the entire druid community across the world; terrifying storms and lightning enveloped the newly formed alchemical city, and everything turned to ashes! Records of that battle are scarce.
It is only known that the druids defeated the iron golem legion, with more than ten legendary druids joining forces, including the immensely powerful Lord of Storms.
The wizards suffered severe losses in that battle, with one legendary wizard killed and two forced to transform into liches.
Research on magical alchemy became taboo.
To appease these enraged druids, the human world’s church began to impose stricter limits on magical alchemy because the river where the alchemical city was established still flows with black pollutants, rendering the nearby land uninhabitable for humans, and the water causes metal poisoning when consumed. The druids stubbornly believe that this evil alchemical research will ultimately destroy nature, causing irreversible damage to the environment and bringing disaster to the entire world!
Therefore.
Even dwarves and gnomes continue some alchemical research secretly.
Most wizards do not get along well with druids because many of their academic studies are opposed or rejected by druids. Even now, there are still druids hidden in the shadows monitoring the actions of wizards, guarding against their potentially catastrophic experiments that could lead to large-scale natural disasters. Sometimes they also intervene with the plagues and diseases spread by the fallen…
Soren walked back down the road.
Soon, he saw the village he had first encountered, with torches lit around it and a faint view of the arrow tower’s defenses.
“Who goes there?” a burly man shouted from below.
Soren stepped out of the darkness, raising both hands to indicate he was unarmed, and said, “Human. A traveling adventurer.”
“I just encountered a group of goblins and sustained some minor injuries. I hope to rest here for the night.”
Upon seeing Soren’s appearance, the man in the watchtower relaxed a little. He shouted down, and soon a man in leather armor appeared, looking like the militia captain. He was a bearded man in his thirties or forties, and he frowned as he examined Soren, asking, “Just you?”
“It’s not suitable for just one person to wander the wilderness…”
He was a former adventurer and clearly had considerable experience. Although he recognized Soren’s profession, he remained cautious.
“Just me.” Soren lowered his hands and replied, “I hope to cultivate my abilities and seek further possibilities.”
“So I’m wandering alone in the wilderness.”
The militia captain hesitated for a moment before waving for others to open the gate, saying, “You can rest here for the night, but I hope you don’t cause us any trouble.”
“There won’t be any trouble.” Soren smiled and said in a deep voice, “I’ll be leaving tomorrow to hunt nearby monsters.”
“If possible, I hope you can tell me about the distribution of the nearby monsters.”
Creatures in the wilderness don’t just stay in one place; only the local inhabitants know their activity ranges, so gathering information while adventuring in the wild is essential and can often reduce many troubles. The heavy gate slowly opened, and five or six adult men stood nearby with weapons, their eyes still watching Soren cautiously. After observing his non-threatening behavior upon entering, they relaxed slightly.
The militia captain climbed down from the watchtower. He looked Soren up and down, his gaze landing on the bandaged wound before saying, “It’s rare to see an adventurer like you traveling alone; I didn’t expect a wanderer to train alone like a monk.”
Soren smiled but did not respond to that question.
The militia captain waved to a companion beside him, then pointed to the side, saying, “Stranger, we can’t fully trust you yet. So no one will take you in for the night. Over there is a shed for storing straw. If you don’t mind, you can spend the night there, and I will have someone bring you some hot soup and food.”
Soren nodded gently and slightly bowed, saying, “Thank you very much. I just need a place where I can sleep peacefully. After all, it’s easy to be ambushed by those monsters in the wilderness.”
The militia captain nodded and called a young man to lead him over.
After Soren left, an adult man nearby said, “Captain? Is he okay? After all, he is a stranger.”
“There shouldn’t be any issues.” The militia captain glanced back and whispered, “I will go and test him later to see if he really did take down a group of goblins. It’s becoming increasingly unsafe around here, and if someone can clear out some monsters, our pressure will be much less.”
The wilderness is very dangerous.
While they established the village here to avoid many taxes, they also have to face numerous troubles.
Soon.
The militia captain came back with two others.
Soren rested on the soft straw, re-wrapping and changing the bandages on his leg wound, which had mostly healed. He should have no issues by tomorrow, and it wouldn’t affect his upcoming battles. The armed power of this village was not weak; Soren noticed several warriors at the second tier level, suggesting that experienced adventurers had likely emerged from among them. They brought him hot soup, some dry bread, and a little pickled vegetable.
The delivery was made by a slightly plump girl, freckled and curiously sizing up Soren. Upon seeing his handsome appearance, she blushed slightly and seemed to be a simple country girl. She appeared eager to stay and listen, but after being glared at by the militia captain, she obediently went back to sleep, glancing back at Soren before leaving. Adventurers always spark curiosity in young people like her.
Soren thanked her quietly, then took a sip of the hot soup, which had mushrooms and vegetables, and let the bread soak in it.
Eating too much dry food was naturally uncomfortable.
As he ate, he answered questions clearly probing and testing from those around him, which was to be expected since he was a stranger.
“You mean to say you took down a whole horde of goblins?”
A young man beside him showed a skeptical expression, seemingly doubting Soren’s capabilities.
Soren wasn’t interested in explaining, so he drew his curved blade and swung it; a nearby piece of wood was instantly sliced into four equal pieces. The young man finally fell silent, and his eyes held a hint of respect. Soren had used up a fair amount of energy; he finished the thick soup and bread, chewing on a bit of jerky before standing up and saying, “I want to know about the distribution of nearby monsters. Can you provide me with some information?”
The militia captain felt reassured and nodded, saying, “No problem.”
“There are quite a few monsters running around nearby, and we’ve been hoping someone would deal with them. You can come here anytime to rest; I will have someone prepare food and sleeping arrangements for you.”
“Uh.”
“It’s getting late. If you don’t mind, you can sleep at my place for the night. I’ll arrange a room for you in a couple of days.”
Soren smiled and shook his head, patting the pile of grass, saying, “No need. This place is fine. I’m already used to it.”
“Now tell me about the distribution of monsters.”
