Sir Owain

"Father!" Levi held him in his arms.

Reactively, his father sprung up, swinging his hammer. "I wouldn't let you bandits take anything," he said weakly.

"I'm not here to rob you," Levi replied as he handed him the bread.

Sir Owain cautiously collected it, examining it for a few seconds. "Is it poisoned?" Sir Owain asked.

"Of course not, just eat," Levi responded.

"I've never had a robber feed me before… just know whatever you're planning, it's not going to work," he said, continuing to chew the bread.

"If this is the game, why'd they have to do this? Why do they have to make people suffer so much?" Levi wondered."

[Believe it or not, everything happens for a reason. The Super AI 'eternal blue' was instructed to make the NPCs as real as possible so that includes recreating events like this.]

"Who are you?" Sir Owain asked

'He doesn't recognize me, how do I explain that I'm his son, that I've returned after getting killed… well it's worth a shot' 

Levi took his time to explain everything that had happened to him up until now, including the fact that this world was a game.

"Now I see why you gave me bread, you are crazy" Sir Owain concluded

"No! it's the tru-" Levi couldn't finish his statement and was interrupted by sir Owain 

"There's no way I'll believe such a story… my Cian ran away to pursue his dream of being a warrior and I know he'll return" Sir Owain attested with the expression of a proud father

[Your father currently does not possess the mental capabilities to understand you]

'oh well, I tried… at least he's handling my death pretty well'

"Crazy warrior, I must thank you for the bread. For your kindness I'll let you choose any item from this shop"

"No sir, please you don't have to" Levi replied

'Anything I collect from here is probably going to be more of a burden'

"I insist, all this items were created by me, a Master craftsman… let me show you all the good ones" he began running around the shop presenting different weapons and items

'Like there's something in this shop with any value…' Levi thought 

'observation skill used; Curse energy detected'

'I didn't even activate the skill…'

After the mental message he could see a dark aura around his father. It was like he was covered by a black flame

"Curse energy? Blue, what is this thing I'm seeing?" Levi asked

[I can't see what you are seeing, but I know curse energy is the residual effect of a curse]

He thought for a while before considering using his inspect skill, maybe it could give him a better idea.

"INSPECT" 

____

NAME: Owain Branwen

JOB: Craftsman 

STATUS: Cursed

Info: A sorcerer placed a curse on the Branwen descendants that restricted his generation from ever accessing mana, therefore there is no magic in their beautiful creation.

*No more info

____

"What the…." 

Levi was confused, his father has been cursed to not use any mana.

'Could it be all this years he has actually been a Master Craftsman and he just couldn't use magic in his creation because of this curse' Levi wondered

If it was true he definitely had to find a way to lift the curse

"Blue, how can I lift the curse?" He asked his AI

[It's not an easy feat, you'll have to travel into the badlands and find a Rune Stone]

"Can't you just do it the way you did for the Alchemists box?" 

[Without that stone as access it'll basically be impossible for me except you want me to force my way through, risking the exposure of my existence]

"If there's no other way then we'll just have to go to the Badlands"

[The Badlands is a very dangerous place, all the beast there are B-rank and above]

"I know I've also heard stories, but don't tell me you're scared of a few stories?" 

[ I never get scared, I'm just reminding you that it's not going to be an easy feat]

"Of course, but I have to find a way… if I can help him just a little bit then I would"

Levi left the remainder of the food on the table and headed for the door

"Where are you going, crazy warrior? You haven't collected your reward" Sir Owain called out

"I have to go somewhere right now, why don't you make me something really special when I come back" Levi replied as he stept out the door.

He was surprised to see the old coach man waiting across the street with his horse and wagon

"You didn't leave yet?" He asked

"In my experience warriors like yourself don't stay long in villages like this, and why would I pass on another gold coin" the old man replied, his greedy grin stretched across his face.

'At least his greed was good for something' Levi thought 

"Would those dark and gloomy mountains of the Badlands have a Pathway?"

[Most villagers don't know this but there are certain tribal settlements at the bottom of the mountain they let the players use their pathways and in return the players protect them from the beasts]

Levi sighed "okay, let's return to Ladiel". And got on the wagon

They began their journey back to Ladiel but as he was about to leave the village a young villager that was visibly in a better condition than the rest jumped before the wagon bringing it to a halt

"Please warrior save our land" the man shouted with his head bowed to the ground

Levi recognized the young man as Aiden.

He was the only son of the village head, and a very close friend of Elsa. Levi didn't know him too well but from what he had heard he was nice and faithful to the villagers so Everyone liked him.

[I believe this villager offers a S-grade quest]

Levi was taken aback by Blue's words 'An S-grade quest? What's something like that doing in a small village like this?' he wondered.

"What can I help you with" Levi asked 

"I know I'm only a villager, but I believe I know how to end the drought but please I'll need your help"

______

Quest: SAVE THE LOWLANDS BY ENDING THE DROUGHT

info: A witch has placed a curse on the land because of her personal interest. Simply travel to the Badlands and find the White sapphire Rune Stone and dispel the curse.

Grade: S

Reward: *the title hero of the Lowlands*

-possible connected quest-

Failure: Death

Accept (✓) or Reject (×)

______

"It really is an S-grade quest! but what is it doing here and why hasn't any other player accepted it?" Levi wondered

[It can only be gotten by interacting with this particular Villager, and if you fail, you die so most warriors try to avoid quests like that]

Even if it was a quest to save the Lowlands, Levi knew an S-grade quest would be above his current capabilities. He cared about the people but he didn't see himself as a hero, plus he wouldn't want to die and restart. He couldn't risk that.

"Blue, do you think we should accept the quest?"

[That is up to you master, but before you do anything, you should know the White Sapphire rune Stone is the only way to lift your father's curse]

"That means we were already heading on an S-grade quest!?"

[I told you it wouldn't be an easy feat]

This made things different for Levi, he had no plans to stop his journey to save his father, and since he's already headed there he'll rather just accept the quest.

"I'll help you" Levi called out from the wagon 

"Thank you warrior, to end the drought we need to go to the Badlands" Aiden explained

"Then get on and let's go" Levi replied 

"That would be another gold coin" the old man said with an even wider grin as Aiden hopped into the wagon

Levi was more shocked than pissed "Like hell I'll pay you two gold coins" 

"I have a wife and kids, can't you also help out this poor old man" he said in a slightly mocking tone

"I'd rather walk all the way back to Ladiel than give your greedy self anymore money" Levi replied, pissed.

The old man didn't bulge and just continued riding "Oh well, you can't blame a man for trying" he sighed