Chapter 15: Have You Seen This Plant?

Chris asked again,

"How are things in civilization? Is everything how it used to be a few years ago?"

"Yes, for now..."

"What do you mean, for now?"

Aldric thought for a moment before replying.

"There might be a war coming soon. Nothing is certain. Where are you from?"

"Hmm? I was originally from the White City in Dunestia. Why?"

"We are also from Dunestia. The reason I asked is because there might be a war soon between Dunestia and Beldoria."

Chris thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"I don’t really care, to be honest."

"You don’t? You don’t care about your country? What about your family?"

A complicated look appeared on Chris’s face.

"I have no family anymore..."

Aldric became silent for a moment.

"I’m sorry..."

"No need to be sorry. It’s nothing... Are there any interesting news from the country? Anything interesting happened?"

Chris didn’t care much about the country, but he was very lonely and bored recently. Until he found Azreon, he had been alone for a long time and had nobody to talk to. He was just interested, nothing else.

"Not really, no. Everything is going as always."

Chris nodded.

"And what about what I asked you earlier? Do you have a spare storage ring and bracelets to sell?"

Aldric nodded and opened his palm. A small ring and two bracelets appeared in his hand.

"Here, young man. You don’t need to pay for them. Consider it as thanks for saving our lives."

"Well, then... I won’t be polite."

Chris extended his hand and took the ring and the bracelets.

He placed one bracelet on his wrist and the other on one of Azreon’s horns. The bracelet changed its size by itself to fit the dragon, and it could also become invisible if the wearer wished. Most people simply left their bracelets visible on their hands, but Chris wasn’t one of them.

He preferred not to see it, so he made both his and Azreon’s bracelets invisible. Once they became strong enough, they wouldn’t need them anymore, as only people who were stronger than them or at a similar power level would be able to scan their information.

"Well... that’s everything I needed. I will take my leave now."

Chris stood up and was ready to leave. He could see that the two were still on guard around him, and he himself didn’t need anything else from them, so he decided to leave.

"Wait. You will leave just like that? The night has already fallen. It’s dangerous in the Wilds during the night!"

Serena yelled from behind him.

Chris turned around and shook his head.

"I’m used to it. I survived the Wilds for years, remember? I know this place much better than you two."

"That..."

Serena didn’t know what to say. She felt that she couldn’t understand Chris at all.

"Young man, please stay the night. We wouldn’t mind sharing this cave for the night, and I also have some questions for you, if you don’t mind."

Aldric could see that Chris was sensible and wanted to leave so as not to disturb them anymore. He also felt that Chris really didn’t want anything else from them. He was an experienced warrior and could see through people easily.

Chris thought for a moment, then nodded. He went back to the log and sat down again, and Azreon placed his head back on Chris’s lap.

"First thing I want to ask you."

Aldric took out a drawing and showed it to Chris.

"Did you ever see this plant?"

Chris looked at it and noticed that a strange-looking flower was drawn on the image. He remembered seeing a similar plant before.

He nodded.

"I did. But that plant is very poisonous. Why do you need it?"

Chris remembered that when he saw that plant, no other plants were growing in a wide area around it. He had tested the dry ground around the plant before approaching it and established that even the ground around it was highly poisonous, so the plant itself must have been poisonous as well.

Aldric’s eyes brightened instantly, and he stood up.

"You have seen it? Where? Can you show us, please?"

Chris thought for a moment and replied.

"I roughly know where to find it, but it’s not close. The journey would take at least a week and is filled with danger. I have other things to do, so I can’t help you."

Chris wasn’t interested in being their guide for a week. He needed to go farther north in order to find stronger beasts to hunt. Beasts as strong as those two bears from earlier were very rare in this part of the forest, and he needed many of them to increase his level.

"Don’t be so quick to refuse, young man. We can pay you handsomely. I will give you 10,000 gold if you help us. What do you think?"

Chris became interested when he heard this. 10,000 gold was a real fortune. One could buy a big mansion with it in his city. Chris thought about it for a moment, then still shook his head.

"I’m not interested. As you can see, I practically live in the Wilds. I’m not planning to go back to civilization for some time. What use would that gold be to me?"

"This... how about this!"

The man reached out with his hand and took out a vial from his storage ring.

Chris looked at the vial but couldn’t recognize it. The System also didn’t show any information.

"What is that?"

"This is an Experience-Boost Potion. Once you drink this potion, all the experience you gain within five hours will be doubled."

Chris’s eyes widened.

"What? There is such a thing?"

"Yes, this potion is extremely rare."

Chris thought for a moment and nodded.

"In that case, I agree."

"Excellent! We have a deal."

Aldric became excited. Finally, he would be able to find the plant they had been searching for.

"Okay then. Let us rest and sleep for the night, and we will start our journey in the morning."

Chris nodded, and Aldric and Serena took out mattresses and blankets from their storage rings and laid them on the ground.

Chris opened his backpack, took out the deer hide he had been sleeping on recently, and lay down on it. He didn’t have any blanket. He placed his backpack and weapons into the storage ring and felt happy to finally have it.

Aldric and Serena looked at Chris, stunned.

"You... You sleep on that?"

Serena couldn’t believe it.

Chris laughed.

"Hahahaha... No need to worry about me. During my years in the Wilds, this is actually quite good already. I used to sleep on cold stone without anything. Sometimes I was almost naked and wounded because the beasts would tear my clothes."

Aldric and Serena looked at Chris deeply. They could tell that the young man wasn’t trying to gain any sympathy. He was only telling the truth, and he was even laughing about it.

"I have a spare mattress and a blanket with me."

"No need, old man. I am used to sleeping like this, and I don’t feel cold. Actually, I think I would feel weird if I suddenly slept on something soft and warm."

Aldric nodded upon hearing this. He remembered his military expeditions when he was young. He would often sleep on a hard surface while feeling cold. After those expeditions, he became used to it and wouldn’t be able to sleep on a soft bed for a long time.

"Okay then. I understand."

They all lay down and went to sleep.

...

The next morning, they woke up and started their journey.

They needed to travel south to reach the place where Chris had found the plant. Since the journey would take several days, there was no reason to rush, and they settled into a steady pace as they made their way through the forest.

Azreon wasn’t able to carry all three of them comfortably, so Chris decided not to fly on his back. Instead, he sent Azreon ahead to scout the area and instructed him to notify them if he found any dangerous beasts, while weaker beasts could simply be hunted along the way.

The dragon spread his enormous wings and took off, disappearing above the trees.

For several hours, they walked through the forest.

Chris kept his attention on the ground as they traveled, occasionally noticing tracks left behind by beasts. Whenever he found fresh tracks, he would stop, study them for a moment, and then point toward the direction they led.

Azreon was usually somewhere ahead in the sky, but whenever Chris gave him a direction, the dragon immediately understood what he wanted.

Not long after, a distant roar would echo through the forest.

Sometimes Chris would hear the sound of a struggle, while other times there would only be silence before Azreon returned and continued scouting ahead.

The beasts were mostly weak compared to them, so the experience they gained from killing them was very low.

[Received 20 XP.]

[Received 30 XP.]

The notifications appeared from time to time, but Chris didn’t mind. The experience might have been insignificant compared to what they could gain from stronger beasts, but it was still better than receiving nothing.

Serena walked beside Chris for most of the journey.

She occasionally glanced at him, watching the way he moved through the forest and how quickly he noticed things that she hadn’t even seen. Several times, she seemed as though she wanted to ask something, but she would remain quiet.

After walking for several hours, they passed a large rocky area where several boulders surrounded the entrance of a cave.

Chris glanced toward it but continued walking.

Azreon was far ahead of them in the sky, so he hadn’t noticed anything unusual around the cave.

They had just passed it when a loud roar suddenly erupted from behind them.

Serena turned around in surprise.

A massive bear burst out of the cave and charged toward them.

[Bear - Level 40 - B-Rank.]

Serena was caught completely off guard.

"Serena!"

Aldric immediately rushed toward her, intending to protect her from the approaching beast.

The bear raised its enormous paw.

Before it could reach them, Chris moved.

He stepped behind the bear and swung his sword.

The blade sliced cleanly through its neck, severing its head from its body in a single strike.

The massive bear collapsed onto the ground.

For a moment, Serena simply stared at the dead beast.

Chris calmly lowered his sword and looked toward them.

"Are you alright?"

Serena nodded slowly.

"Yes."

She looked at the dead Level 40 bear before turning back toward Chris.

"Thank you."

Chris nodded.

"You need to be more careful around caves. Azreon can’t see everything from the air."

Serena nodded again.

"I will."

She glanced toward the sky, where Azreon was still flying ahead of them, still a bit shaken by what had just happened.

Then she looked back at Chris.

She had already realized that there was much more to him than she had initially thought, but after watching him kill a Level 40 beast so easily, her curiosity only grew.

Still, she didn’t ask anything.

They continued their journey south, with Azreon scouting ahead and Chris keeping watch over the forest around them.