Chapter 1524: A Meeting

"It’s not that easy," Norma said. "Especially because you just arrived in this settlement. People here will still be scrutinizing you for a while."

Erend nodded. He had already expected as much. "I’ll figure it out. So how do I start gaining their trust enough to get inside that building?"

Norma remained silent for a while. Her expression became thoughtful as she considered the question. After several seconds, she finally spoke.

"Maybe I can recommend you to someone. I have a friend who is part of the group governing this settlement. He can’t give you direct access to the building immediately, but he might be able to give you some kind of task. If you complete it successfully, getting inside after should become much easier."

"That’s good. That’s exactly what I need right now. Can you arrange a meeting with him?"

"Of course. But there’s something you should know. The task he gives you will probably be very difficult, especially if he wants to give you access to the building this quickly."

"It’s fine. I think I can handle it."

Erend said it so casually that Norma almost found herself wondering whether he had actually understood what she meant by difficult.

She knew what the people of this settlement considered dangerous. Some of the wasteland outside could kill an ordinary person within minutes. But Erend had descended from the sky and killed a Ratclaw with a single attack without even looking particularly tired afterward.

Perhaps this task really would not be a problem for him.

"Alright." Norma nodded. "I’ll ask him to meet you soon."

—

Erend waited outside the house they had been using since the previous night.

The morning had already progressed, Aesa and Eccar had left with the groups they had joined near the settlement’s main gate.

Sylven was nowhere to be seen either. He was probably somewhere outside investigating the vegetation. Erend did not feel the need to worry about him.

He let out a long sigh and looked toward the sky.

The sun was barely visible behind the enormous layers of brown dust covering the atmosphere. The clouds of dust were so thick that Erend could hardly imagine someone from his world breathing this air for more than a few minutes without suffering serious problems.

Yet the people of Valthoria lived in it every day.

After thousands of years, their bodies had probably adapted to the environment to some degree. Otherwise, humanity could never have survived here for so long.

Erend continued waiting until he finally noticed Norma approaching from the other side of the street.

She was accompanied by a tall, broad-shouldered middle-aged man with dark skin. His body was heavily built and his worn clothes suggested that he had spent much of his life dealing with the harsh conditions of Valthoria.

As they came closer, Erend noticed the man’s expression. He was scowling. His eyes fixed on Erend with obvious suspicion.

"Erend," Norma said as she approached. She gestured toward the man beside her. "This is Darius."

The large man gave Erend a brief look.

"And this is Erend."

"Nice to meet you," Erend said with a friendly smile.

Darius did not return the smile. "Norma said you’re pretty capable."

"I am," Erend replied. "I’m capable of doing most things. My friends and I have lived as nomads for a long time. Our lives taught us how to fight, survive, and keep moving when things become difficult."

Most of what Erend said was technically true.

Darius grunted. "Then perhaps you’ll survive this."

The man’s expression became more serious.

"There is an old water-processing facility several hours from here. It was abandoned decades ago after the surrounding area became too dangerous. Recently, one of our scavenging teams reported seeing something unusual there. They found signs that someone had entered the facility recently."

Erend listened without interrupting.

"We need someone to investigate it," Darius continued. "You will go there alone. I want you to determine who entered the facility, whether the place is still usable, and whether there are any resources we can recover."

"That sounds simple enough," Erend said.

Darius’s expression hardened.

"It’s not." He reached into a container attached to his belt and pulled out a folded map. "The facility sits beyond the eastern wasteland. There are several monster territories along the route. The closer you get to the facility, the worse it becomes. The last scavenging team that went there lost three people."

He handed the map to Erend.

"There is also a creature living inside the facility. We don’t know exactly what it is. The survivors described it as large, fast, and strong enough to tear through reinforced metal."

Erend glanced at the map.

Darius continued explaining the task. He would provide Erend with basic survival equipment, a map of the surrounding region, and several supplies needed for the journey.

However, Erend would have to go alone. The settlement could not spare another team for an investigation that might end with everyone getting killed. But him? he could spare.

"Find out what’s there," Darius said. "If you can recover anything useful, bring it back. If you find the facility too dangerous to explore, at least return with information about what you saw there."

Erend studied the map for several seconds before folding it again. "Alright. I’ll do it."

Darius raised an eyebrow.

He had expected hesitation. Perhaps questions about the dangers or complaints about having to go alone.

Instead, Erend had accepted almost immediately.

Darius looked toward Norma. She also did not appear worried. That caught his attention.

Norma knew exactly how dangerous the mission was. She also knew that the last group sent there had suffered too many casualties. Yet she stood beside Erend without showing any sign of concern.

Darius slowly began to think that perhaps Norma already knew something about this man that he did not. Maybe this Erend really was as capable as she had claimed.

"What’s the reward?" Erend asked.

Darius looked back at him. "If you complete the task, I’ll arrange for you to enter the central building."

Erend nodded, but his expression remained thoughtful. "And I want information."

Darius frowned slightly. "Information?"

"Anything you can give me. Ancient ruins, unexplored regions, strange discoveries, old records, expeditions. Anything that might help me find what I’m looking for."

Darius stared at Erend for several seconds.

The request seemed strange, but he had already realized that there was something unusual about this newcomer.

"If you complete the task," Darius finally said, "I’ll try to give you whatever information I can access."

Erend smiled. "That’s good enough."

Darius gave a short grunt before turning toward Norma. "Then I’ll prepare the equipment. He can leave once everything is ready."

Erend looked down at the map again.

A dangerous facility in the middle of the wasteland. A powerful monster. A mission that had already killed other scavengers.

For an ordinary survivor it would probably have been close to a death sentence. But for Erend it was simply another task.

—