Chapter 299 - Entering the Valley (Patreon)

“I will ask the second question,” the Housekeeper puts her elbows on the table and uses her hands to support her chin, “You are powerful, but you don't seem to be one of the generation from before the war. So, what are you, or where are you from?”

“I can't answer that question,” I say simply.

“Thanks for being honest, then another one. What are you doing in the Bastion?”

“Honestly, nothing too interesting. I intend to find out a bit more about what happened before the war and what led to all of this. I want to explore the Bastion mostly because of my curiosity. I currently have no intention of causing trouble or fighting here.”

She gestures, and I ask, “What happened to the world, other than pairing, with the Veil.”

The Butler answers, “The Gardener knows more, but from what little we know, the Enchanter Guild created the Veil to give us an advantage during the Pairing. Something screwed up, and the Veil turned against us and the monsters.”

His answer is simple, mirroring my short answer. I would like to ask how old he and the Housekeeper are if they come from before the war. Why they are so sure that most of the strong people are from before the war? More about the guild. Who is the Gardener? There are so many questions I want to ask, but there is a reason why I offered only 3 questions as I am almost sure they wouldn't answer more so at least I got a three.

Unfortunately, even these answers are not enough to finish the side quest.

I have only one question left. I can try to ask about the sleeping Calamity and the Valley; those two things interest me the most.

In the end, I ask, “What do you know about the Valley?”

The woman glances at the mustache man, and he answers once again, “The Valley is the Valley, as the name says. It's a location where the mist constantly blocks the view, and immense mana radiation prevents examining it from afar. We sent expeditions there, but they rarely return, and if they do, it's at a big cost and mentioning the powerful monster that resides there. The cause is most likely a clash between two Champions during the war or the monster taking it as its territory. That or there is one of the bunkers where they worked on the Veil.”

Well, I should expect that answer. Everyone here seems to be satisfied with hiding in the city and doesn't seem too curious about their world.

“The last question is, how old are you?” the Housekeeper asks. She is smiling and examining me carefully. The same as asking the questions before, she gauges my reactions and is capable of determining if I'm lying, that I'm sure of.

Her question is tricky and smart, and it will allow her to get plenty of information on me.

“Twenty-one,” I answer, “no, scratch that. Twenty-two,” I correct myself. I entered the tutorial nearly a year ago, so I did “celebrate” my twenty-second birthday without even realizing it.

A silence that fills the room becomes somewhat uncomfortable, and her eyes seem to try to drill holes into me.

“Twenty-two,” she whispers. “He is not lying,” the Housekeeper says to the Butler.

Both of them look at me. While they do so, I notice Vega stealing some snacks, thinking the attention is somewhere else.

They see it too but pretend not to, and the Housekeeper even smiles gently towards my silly disciple.

The questions are over, and the food is eaten, and the mood changes. It comes slowly, almost unnoticeably, but the tension sneaks into the room, gradually building up until even Vega notices it. She doesn't even know why, but she moves closer to me, some fear climbing into her eyes even as she tries to keep an emotionless expression.

“So, what is the result of the conversation? Are we going to fight, or will you leave me to do my stuff?”

The Butler doesn't react, but the Housekeeper smiles, moving a lock of her wavy black hair off her face, her violet eyes giving me her full attention. I see her glance at the Voidsteel cutter on my waist. The woman either wants the weapon or wants to fight against me.

“What if we decided that you put the Bastion and its people at risk and we need to remove that risk? We have terrible experiences with travelers like you,” The Housekeeper smiles at Vega. The mana that until now lazily swirled around her body is pulled towards her until I can't sense even a speck of mana radiating from her. All taken and used to power her body that is ready to charge.

Even the Butler places a few anchor-like things all over the room and even far outside, most likely for his rift.

“Well, if you decide to be hostile, I will fight back, obviously,” I answer them.

My trait activates, a golden circle surrounding my pupils, and the energies I was generating with the thermokinetic heart swirl inside me. They threaten to be released, to explode and obliterate everyone and anything in their way.

The Butler says calmly, “Housekeeper, calm down, please.”

But she ignores him, her eyes wide open, muscles moving under her skin, “So what if we use that little girl to pressure you? You seem to care…”

She cuts off and lifts her arm to her face. That forearm blocks the kinetic energy from the anchor I placed near her head. Instead of her head exploding, the forearm takes the attack, purple mana shining at the place of impact.

“Heh, I guess my joke was too…” Her body gets thrown to the side, explosion from another anchor placed nearby.

A purple mana shines around her body, and there is no damage at all.

“Okay, okay, I get it…” another explosion, this time much stronger, throws her even further away, messing her clothes. Yet she doesn't fall and lands elegantly on her feet and stands up swiftly.

“Message received.”

“You kind of deserved that,” the Butler sighs and then turns to me, “She likes awkward jokes like this, so please forgive her, Mister Gwyn. We will obviously not hurt your disciple if not given a reason.

“Come on, Butler, even given a reason, I wouldn't hurt such a cutie. Just look at her!” The Housekeeper sits on the chair as if nothing happened and points at Vega, who looks between me and the woman.

I wonder if it's normal for all these people to be such weirdos. Is it because of the levels or long age that people become like that, or is it the tutorial making these floors more spicy for all of us?

“Well, I guess the dinner is done, so we will be leaving,” I tell them, expecting anything.

I have noticed the barrier around this place that would give them an advantage in case of a fight. I have also noticed more guards not that far off and one more person at a level similar to the two of them. But I'm not worried.

My mana rumbles just under my skin, a Mana Reservoir long time not used. Thermal and kinetic energy roar inside two orbs I created and pushed inside of my body before coming into the city. Even Vega can be sent away through [Tether] to an anchor I placed in the city, as the barrier around it doesn't allow me to connect outside.

Partially, I might even want them to do so. I want to lower the effects of [Focus] and fight to forget about the Veil Guardian.

Just a little step, just an attack aimed at Vega or me, and it will all start.

When it does not come, I'm almost disappointed. The Butler only nods and then stands up, hands behind his back, and leads me towards the exit.

The Housekeeper stays behind, her eyes on my back the entire time as we are leaving.

Just before we get back on the normal streets, the Butler tells me, “Mister Gwyn, the next time, please refrain from acting so threateningly. We all like to act with class and in a non-aggressive manner, but we do not run away from a challenge. Please count today as a show of our goodwill.”

He bows and then, as slowly as always, walks back towards where we left the Housekeeper.

Yup, before this floor ends, I will pay these guys one more visit. A very eventful visit where I will show them what I think of their “show of goodwill.”

“Master?”

“Yes?”

“They are even bigger assholes than you, I think.”

Oh, kids, they grow up so fast. Anyway, that's why usually let others deal with people.

“Why do you think that, Vega?” As I ask her, she smiles so widely that her eyes create a thin line. Oh my, does she like being called Vega so much?

“The woman was nicer, but the man… I don't like him. I don't know why.”

Walking through nearly empty streets, I slow my steps to her level, “It's because she hid her feelings less, meanwhile the man kept controlling himself. It's usually better to know what you're against, even if it's something bad, meanwhile, you can't be sure with people like Mr. Moustache.”

“I see! Will master beat them up later?”

“Yes, but first we will leave the Bastion and head to the Valley. They keep watching us, and even the barrier around the city is changing a bit so maybe they want to trap us here. Remember, no matter how nice people act they often are just a step away from stabbing your back. So for a while, we will leave and come back later.”

The barrier that surrounds the fallen sky bastion makes me nervous. Even with my eyes and [Resonance], I'm not sure if I could do anything about it while taking care of Vega.

So we spend a few hours moving between shops. Even being late afternoon, plenty of them are open.

As we pass through more and more of them, I start to realize one thing. The items there are not of very high rarity, no matter how high-end the shop or blacksmith we visit. Some of them even refuse to deal with us when they notice that we're not “citizens” as they call it and only have a 3-day entrance token.

The control the leadership of this place has over its facilities is impressive. Blacksmiths, clothes shops, food shops, a small guild for explorers, expedition planners, and more. Everything is deeply controlled, and we need to be considered someone allied to use their services to the fullest.

***

Looking at the Bastion far behind us, I finish off one more monster that surrounded us.

[You have defeated Poisoneater- lvl 123]

[Lvl 218 > Lvl 219]

I watch as Vega deals with one of a much lower level. She saw me dealing with stronger ones, so she knows what sort of attacks to expect and dodges them.

The daring half-demon even purposefully lets a few physical attacks hit to test her class skill. A bit of that kinetic energy gets rippled across the barrier the skill offers her, and another part gets stored in her Kinetic storage passive.

It's still way too early for her to use her heart with the skills, but she will get there.

Name: Nathaniel Gwyn

Difficulty: Hell

Floor: 5 - Mentorship

Time left until forced return: 4y 27d 16h 2m 6s

Traits (2/3): Mana Circuit 1/3, Mana Wavelength Iris 0/3

I check the timer, and a week remains for my time with Vega and 27 days until the tournament. That's it if there isn't something else. The time feels way too short for people that can´t fly or arent as strong as me. The floor may continue even after the disciple will return to their word?

It's hard to describe, but even though I decided to put more emphasis on my growth, I enjoy the time spent with my disciple. And as always, I put off the test to see if she is just a fake or from the real world. I will do it just before the end of the quest.

But now, let's check the Valley.

“Vega, come here,” I gesture, and she quickly comes rushing after killing the monster.

Out of my pocket, I take one of the most valuable mana stones and hand it to her, “This is a failsafe and will protect you in case we get separated.”

Her eyes expand, and she takes it and quickly starts examining it.

How similar to me, indeed.

The mana stone I gave her contains one of the most complex inscriptions I made so far. Unlike my botched attempts at whatever I did in the Sanctuary, I can work with inscribing much better. The stone is upper rare and just a tiny step away from an epic item.

Its function is simple. It will protect her against high ambient mana so it doesn't fry her brain. Of course, I will keep her near me and constantly protect her myself, but this is just in case.

I have spent plenty of time working on it and learned a lot. It works by attracting the mana towards it like a vortex and then pushing it away - an effect similar to black mana dominating surrounding mana that I tried to copy.

After a few tests, I consider it working well, and the quality of the stone helps a lot.

“Thank you, master, I will make sure to protect it!”

“Sure, sure,” I tell her, as she lifts her arms up, and as many times before, I lift her against my chest.

I shift bags on my back and then create a barrier around us that is ready to activate at full power anytime.

Part of my mana goes into [Resonance], and I start heading towards the Valley. Moving through the air, we quickly shorten the distance, and with every passed stretch, the mana that fills the air becomes heavier.

Up in the air, I see the entire Valley stretching down there, covered in mist and mana that is almost possible to see with normal eyes. Surrounded by tall mountains and hills, it almost looks like they were placed to block whatever is there from getting outside.

I notice that Vega has trouble breathing and compress my mana a bit more and radiate more of it to power my skills. Her breathing turns to normal, and I fly closer.

The Valley, even as far as it is, is eerily quiet, nestled down there.

Flying becomes more difficult, surrounding mana disrupting my concentration. Logically it shouldn't affect me or my kinetic energy at all, yet it does, and I'm forced to land.

I almost make a mistake and activate my trait, and only stop myself at the last second, realizing how big a mistake it could be. The trait allows me to see mana waves and collect more information on everything mana-based. Just the sheer amount of mana and information would most likely tear my brain apart if I used it here.

Instead, I strengthen the barrier around us even more.

Every step is harder to take than before, and only then do we reach the entrance into the valley. The wall of mist seems to separate whatever is inside from the outer world. That's what it is, looking like a literal smooth wall.

Just a few steps and we will enter.

I check the amount of kinetic and thermal energy I collected. I examine my full Mana Reservoir. I test my skills, and all of them are working. Voidsteel slicer is on my waist. Even all the mana stones I inscribed and prepared for just in case are in my pockets, ready to be used. There are circuits drawn with mana conductive paints on my arms and legs, and even some worse lines on my chest.

As ready as I can be, I take a step with Vega in my arms.

The moment we pass through the wall of mist, the view in front of us clears up. The Valley is now much bigger than from outside and still surrounded by mist and mountains that seem to be touching the sky high up.

In front of us is, as far as I can see, a forest, some hills, and a few lakes, and there, far in the distance, a being sleeps. A being that is much bigger than anything I saw up until now. It has a snake-like body, long and slim, covered in beautiful light green scales. The monster has six legs too, each of them slim and nimble-looking.

The head lays on the ground, eyes closed, and each breath shakes the trees below. Rearing up, the monster would be as tall as skyscrapers.

[Gaiathra - lvl ???]

I guess I won't have to look for the sleeping Calamity anymore.

***

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