(17) The Plan Has Been Laid Out

Knowing that he would be running away from low leveled soldiers, Owen was relieved.

He scanned the map and looked at the nearest cliff which connected to a river in the area around Wiunlen. And once he saw that it was very far away, that meant Riang had been drifting in the waters for an entire day!

Owen looked at her and praised her luck initially.

Once he did, he felt that odd sensation of being 'flawed'. It was like what he was just thinking of right now was incorrect.

Owen focused on the map once more. When he thought about Riang's story, it didn't make sense at all with the map's geography.

If the Ardlewan soldiers knew that she fell down the river, it would be easy to trace Riang to Wiunlen just by following the river's current. Why haven't they found her yet in those two years?

Also, if they were attacked by True Undead, that meant that Riang escaped when they were still in the Masgracia Mountains!

That place is way too far for her to reach Wiunlen. After all, it's in the middle of Silmoun and Eslahai's outer territories. So that means Riang didn't drift down the rivers near Wiunlen, but in the river from the Masgracia Mountains which poses another question…

How did she reach Wiunlen then?

The Piurma River is the closest body of water to the Masgracia Mountains. It is parallel to the Flor River that Owen had to cross to get to Wiunlen.

Intrigued, Owen wanted to know more about this.

He lifted his head towards her and asked with a questioning tone, "About your story, how did you drift off to here in Wiunlen? From what I can piece together in your story, you escaped here."

Owen pointed to a river with a cliff in the Masgracia Mountains.

"And after one day, you woke up here." Owen's finger hovered towards Wiunlen.

"You skipped a month's journey on foot in one day. How is that possible?"

Riang realized this and was visibly shocked.

"I- I haven't realized that before… All I knew was that it happened to be luck that I'm still alive.." Riang never found anything strange with her survival until Owen pointed it out.

It was clear that this didn't have any logical reasons for happening. That was unless you introduce soul energy into the mix.

This gave Owen some insight.

"Hey, did you happen to have anything related to soul energy when you fell down that cliff?" Owen knew of her blood specialty, but knowing its limitations told him that it couldn't have done something like that.

Riang leaned her head back to think as she touched her chin.

"No, I don't think I had anything at that moment." Her tone dismissed any upcoming questions that Owen had for her.

"Nothing? Any protective runes you may have as a child? It could be a necklace or a bracelet that you had at that time." Owen kept asking.

When Riang heard him say something about a necklace, she remembered her mother's locket.

"Hold on!" Her eyes widened in realization.

Riang quickly went to the drawer and pulled it open.

She took one look at the locket before taking it back to Owen. Although she felt that it was an ordinary locket, it might truly have some magical properties that she didn't know about.

"Here it is, this was a gift from my mother. I was wearing it during the time I was in the Masgracia Mountains." Riang held the eagle shaped ruby locket towards Owen.

Touching it with his fingers, Owen asked for permission to inspect it.

"Can I take a closer look at it?" He looked at her seriously.

"Sure." Riang placed the locket on Owen's palm.

The locket touched his hand. It was cool to the touch and it was very light. Owen only had a second to hold it until a panel appeared above the locket.

*Vhoom…*

==========

[Level-70, Beisena Eagle Spirit Necklace (Master) - An escape type magic equipment that summons a fierce eagle made of crimson crystals that will carry the wearer from harm's way. The eagle will be summoned despite lack of consciousness when it detects grave danger.

[See Summoned Creature Info:]

Remaining Charges: 0/1

Additional Effects: (Inactive) +20 Soul Vigor, +10% Soul Energy Regeneration

Note: Additional Effects will only be active whenever the equipment is fully charged.

Enchants: (Inactive) Ardlewan Military: Detection Rune

Durability: 568/570]

==========

[Summoned Creature Info:]

Level 70 - Crimson Soul Eagle

Abilities:

1.) [High Speed Flight] - The ability to cover enormous distances in hours.

2.) [Passive-Moderate Acterism Heal] - To expend its own soul energy to heal the user's body and soul from serious, non-fatal injuries.

3.) [Air Bullet Shield] - To protect the user during high speed flight.

4.) [Programmed Low Intellect] - Follows a set of orders over its instincts. However, the accuracy of its actions aren't refined.

Health: 5,880

Soul Energy: 550

Energy: 5,880

- Attributes -

[Strength - 1]

[Speed - 32]

[Defense - 10]

[Intelligence - 7]

[Fortitude - 16]

[Detection - 10]

[Luck - 1]

==========

If Owen could laugh right now, he would've. It just made so much sense, so much sense!

It just didn't fit the moment at all so he refrained from bursting out laughing.

He finally knew why it was so hard for the Ardlewan idiots to find Riang. It was because of the inactive [Detection Rune] in the locket.

And that also explains how Riang died in the original story.

He could now piece it together.

From what he could tell that could have happened in the original story of the game was that Oslan and Riang discussed her plan to return home as well, just like this moment. Oslan probably pointed out the peculiarity of her reappearing from Masgracia Mountains to Wiunlen in one day.

And because of that, Oslan told her that it must've been because of the locket that Riang previously treated as a keepsake from her mother that she held onto because it has sentimental value. She didn't know that it had special properties.

Owen could tell that the way to charge this thing was by using soul energy. So, Riang probably recharged it and inadvertently reactivated the rune and caused her position to be unknowingly exposed.

'That cleared out so many details... No wonder.' Owen was grateful that he had the game interface that gave him hidden information like these.

Riang saw Owen's unchanging expression. She anxiously tapped his hand.

"Well? Anything?"

As if he wasn't just super focused earlier, Owen replied naturally, "This thing is magical. To think that it can summon the spirit of a crimson eagle to bring you to safety is beyond my expectations."

Riang's eyes widened upon hearing that.

She didn't doubt Owen's judgement at all because in her eyes, she saw that he can use advanced storage magic, so this would be easy for him to deduce if he had experience dealing with similar objects in the past.

"So you're saying..?" Riang looked at the locket ever so gently.

"Mhm." Owen confirmed her thoughts. "Your mother probably gave this to you to protect you if you were ever in harm's way. When you fell down that river and almost drowned, the summoned spirit definitely brought you here."

Riang took the locket from his hand and opened it, revealing her and Thelem's face inside.

With her thumb, she touched her mother's portrait with a tear escaping her left eye as she smiled lovingly.

While holding it closely, she tried to use her soul energy to feel it even further. When she did, she could sense an empty space inside. Or more accurately, a lack of soul energy.

"I feel like this locket lost its luster… Maybe I should try infusing my soul energy inside." Riang decided to give it a try.

Owen's heart jumped hearing that.

"No, no, no, no!" Before Riang could even attempt in doing so, Owen slapped it off her palm.

*Pak!*

Riang quickly turned her head to Owen with her eyebrows furrowed. She felt confused and mad at Owen for treating something she cared about so rashly.

"What's wrong with you? You better hope this didn't break.." Riang grunted and picked up the locket.

"Sorry, I had to stop you from giving that thing any amount of soul energy." Owen relaxed as he leaned on the wooden wall.

"Why?" Riang stared at the locket and when she confirmed that there wasn't any damage, she sighed in relief.

"That thing has a detection rune. If you turn that thing on, whoever's looking for you will be able to find you easily." Owen revealed the piece of information to Riang.

Riang flinched. She stared at the locket and was in disbelief. Well, rightfully so.

"B- But that's impossible! This is something a few people could come in contact with. How would they be able to place a rune without my mother knowing?"

"That means whoever is after you planned this long ago. From what I know, Thelem is a powerful warrior who can utilize soul energy very well in combat. Not only that, she's an amazing commander who has an important position."

"Although what I know is merely superficial, you don't see her often as a kid, right?" Owen was certain with what he was thinking about.

"Yes, and what about it? She's busy and I understand that." Riang had been shocked again and again by Owen's sharp thinking. She began to feel like he knew more than what meets the eye.

"What I'm saying is that it's clear that they are after your blood. They couldn't go for the powerful mother, so they had to settle for the weak daughter." Said Owen in a very uncaring manner.

"Hey…" Riang felt a sting from what he said.

Paying no heed to her qualms, Owen continued. "Not only that, Silmoun Kingdom is very hard to infiltrate because unlike other kingdoms…"

He then whispered quickly under his breath. "... Especially Evaiercastle and their sh*tty corruption issues."

Riang gave out a stifled snort. "Agreeable."

"And because that is the case for Silmoun, it is also the reason why it's more difficult to plan out a scheme to capture you." Owen rolled along after his backhanded remark.

Although Riang did not understand what Owen meant by relating a suitcase of some sorts to Silmoun, she did not speak.

Seeing this, Owen began to explain.

"For this plan to work, they need Thelem to be far away and your location to be available to them at all times. Hence the detection rune."

"But for that detection rune to be engraved in your locket, that would only mean that whoever did it can get close enough to you in order to do so. I'm already suspecting your maidservants because of that." Owen intentionally told her the last part because it should be true if that part of the game's story hadn't changed.

With so little information from the plot and details like this, Owen could only make out this much.

Riang's little heart began to thump. To think that her abduction had this much planning behind it.

She was a bit unsettled now.

"Also, people around Wiunlen know who you are. Aren't you afraid that people would hear your name and come find you?" Owen made sure to point it out.

Riang stroked her hair to ease her nerves. She replied to Owen's question, saying,

"At first I thought that there's no point lying because that way maybe I'd find my way home faster. But as time went by, no one found me so I kept using my real name, but I never revealed my last name. The name Riang isn't that uncommon in Eslahai, unlike the name Owen." Riang didn't seem particularly worried about anyone hearing her name.

"So what do we do? How do I get back home?" She stared into Owen's eyes, looking for an answer.

"Relax, I have a plan. Just don't activate that locket and that plan will work." Owen revealed his signature smile.

He added, "Didn't I say that I found 57 problems with your plan? I'm here to solve them. Leave it to me."

"Okay." Riang was more attentive this time around.

"Since we wouldn't be found unless we activate this necklace of yours, we are practically invisible in their eyes. This gives us a chance to further develop our strength before venturing. That's why going to Mysteriea City is a must." Owen's discovery of the rune was the reason why he dared to propose this plan.

"Why are you so insistent on going to Mysteriea? I'm starting to think that I'm not your goal here…" Riang began to suspect his objectives.

"It's because you aren't." Owen made it clear.

"You are not originally a part of my plan. I was just going to go to Mysteriea, intending to resupply and go back to Silmoun Kingdom by myself. But since a fellow citizen of Silmoun is here, wouldn't it be better if we helped each other? Plus, it saves costs for me." Owen chuckled.

"I suppose that's true…" Riang found it reasonable that Owen was just someone who happened to stumble upon her.

Since they went off topic for a bit, Owen continued, "Now, once we reach Mysteriea, we only have to give ourselves good enough equipment, armor and some weapons… And food. We cannot forget food."

'And when I meant 'We' I meant you.' Owen whispered inwardly.

"Understood. That seems like the best course of action." Riang didn't have any disagreements with Owen's plan.

Reaching his hand out, Owen took the map away from Riang's lap. "The plan isn't yet complete."

"I have to fix the route that we have to take." The moment Owen saw the path that Riang was going to take, he was immediately going to avoid it at all costs.

Although the map is different from what he remembered, the key parts were still there. That includes the areas with high enemy spawn rates and the quickest route with less natural hindrances.

"Go ahead, you seem to know more than me." Riang watched closely without any plans of interfering.

"Mm.. The new route that we'll be taking will go around the Undbok Forest and to the Undbok Plains."

"No way we're doing that… Do you have any idea how much time we're going to waste by doing that?" Riang immediately stopped Owen. Although she told herself that she wouldn't interfere, this was too long of a delay for her to accept.

Going around the forest would take four weeks instead of just one week and five days if they were to go straight forward.

Owen's face contorted slightly in annoyance.

"If you would've let me finish what my thought process was, I was going to say that because of the abundance of buffalos in the Undbok Plains, they make for good mounts and a steady food source… That way, we wouldn't have to endure the fate of constantly moving just to avoid those stupid rock crabs."

"Ah.." Riang finally made sense of what Owen was planning.

"As I was saying, after we pass the Undbok region, we have to cross the Piurma River. But unlike your plan to go through the thinnest part of the river, it would be wiser to go to the area where it's filled by stone spikes. This will make crossing the river easier and prevent us from getting swept away as long as you don't stab yourself."

He then recalled those times when he got swept by the river when he was still a beginner in Garden of the Gods.

"After the Piurma River, there's the Masgracia Mountains. All we need to do is use soul energy concealment methods and move under the cloak of darkness and we're good. Fortunately, I know many ways to achieve that."

Owen paused upon seeing the Ruins Of Tarmat.

He shook his head and felt a headache. "This one is going to be the hardest part of the journey. The amount of criminals here is enough to make me think that safety isn't guaranteed."

"But, you have a way of dealing with this, right?" Riang was now starting to trust Owen's knowledge and capabilities. Her asking him a question is a sign of that.

"Of course… The only thing that brings action in that place is benefits. Trust is as good as superficial in the Ruins Of Tarmat." Owen smiled.

"That means, as long as we have something that they like, hiring a mercenary to protect us isn't out of the picture." Owen's figure of speech is foreign for Riang, but she could get the meaning by understanding the context.

"What kind of person are you hiring to help us? Do you know them?" Riang didn't know much about the outside world, so she could only ask about it.

"Yes and it would be Kejlar Yehedt…" An image flashed in Owen's mind.

It was a fairly tall man with a lean and muscular body riddled with scars. He had thin eyebrows, lazy eyes with no hope for the future and long disheveled black hair that looked like they weren't washed for a month. He always wore long black clothing that drifted off with the wind.

That man had a spear with three spearheads. Two of which were retractable spearheads that extended from the spear's body, making it look like a cross.

For the players of Garden of the Gods, he was called the 'Homeless Mercenary'.

Kejlar Yehedt is a man driven by profit and learning new skills. And not only that, despite being a lawless mercenary, he had credibility!

For a mercenary in Tarmat, that's already shocking.

However, if he said that he will only protect you for 24 hours, he will only protect you for 24 hours. The only plus side was that he wouldn't accept any other offers until that 24 hours were up. So in that sense, he is quite trustworthy.

Owen knew that it depended on the price of the payment that one was willing to give him for the amount of time he was willing to provide his services. The more valuable it is, the longer he'll work for you.

He was an NPC that can affect the story for the player, but that is if they can keep him alive. There are moments where his death would be guaranteed without intervention. And by saving his life repeatedly, he would become a permanent mercenary for the player if they were willing to invest the time for him.

Riang didn't know who Kejlar was, so she shelved any questions that she had about him.

"Since he is a mercenary, we need to pay him something good… He accepts combat techniques, so we may have to visit Jiun Vertesi during our stay in Mysteriea." Owen had just heard of him from Tiduer, but there's no harm in trying to get something from such a benevolent man.

"So we have to learn from the Combat Master Jiun?" Riang had also heard of his name before.

"Not necessarily…" Owen smiled and didn't bother explaining.

He then pointed to the Twin Rivers Of Nenda And Siena.

"This place is a free zone, with Kejlar's help, we can get past this place without worries." Owen clearly knew how strong Kejlar was, so this area was not placed in his eyes at all.

"Alright, that's the entire route." Owen dusted his hands off and leaned back.

"It's even better than mine…" Riang took the map back and looked at Owen with a flicker of amazement.

"Of course it is… I made it." Owen didn't hesitate flaunting himself.

"Narcissist." Riang muttered under her breath.

"Also, Oslan will be coming as well." Owen didn't forget to tell Riang of his involvement.

Riang paused the moment she heard that.

In fact, she was wondering if she heard that correctly in the first place.

"You're bringing Oslan with us??" Riang was horribly confused. What would Oslan even be able to do to help them?

"I know you told him about who I truly am as someone from Silmoun, but why are you bringing Oslan along as well?" She added.

Isn't that just increasing the difficulty of their journey even more?

Noticing Riang's change in expression, Owen explained, "Don't look at me like that… There's a reason why I'm bringing him over and that's because of his stamina and trustworthiness. Even if I have the ability to store items into a pocket dimension, it has its limitations. I wish you'd understand my reasons for doing this."

"But, couldn't you just bring someone else who's more reliable? I'm just afraid that he'd bring us down." Riang continued.

However, she didn't say that because she hated Oslan.

In fact, she found him quite easy to talk to. He even became her friend because of that.

She just didn't trust his capabilities because she knew it very well.

"Oslan is going with us no matter what. He will be part of the plan, and that's a decision that I've made." Owen made his stand clear for her to understand.

Riang scratched her head, ruffling her hair. "Ehh… if you say so."

Since there's no way to convince Owen otherwise, she didn't bother. Owen knew more about the world than she did, so she might as well trust Owen.

"And that should be all for the revisions.." Owen passed her the map.

Riang took it and tried to reconstruct the new plan in her mind.

"Amazing.." She praised.

Riang suddenly felt her stomach growling. She was about to get up, but she asked Owen first with a slightly awkward tone.

"Hey, I'm going out to buy some food. Do you want anything?"

"No, I already ate. Worry about yourself.." Owen shook his head.

"Hmmm… didn't you say that you found 57 mistakes in my plan? Why didn't you tell me all of them?" Riang was a bit interested in this matter.

"Do you seriously want me to ramble on and on about something like that? Just go and eat, I'm not going anywhere…" Owen had nothing to do at the moment, so he let Riang do her own thing.

"If it pleases you…" Riang opened her drawer, took her money and an object covered with cloth and left the room.

*Bam.*

The door closed, and Owen was left with nothing but himself.

At the moment, he indeed felt quite pleased with himself because of how smoothly everything was flowing according to his expectations.

It would only be a matter of time until he would truly benefit from this and acquire true battle strength.

Because right now, his abilities were nothing short of pitiful.

Owen sighed, "My growth rate is laughable at best… Right now, battle strength is what I need the most…"

He then smiled, "However, I happen to have a method to resolve that temporarily…"

There was a reason why Owen held the [Debuff Knight] class in such a high regard the moment he understood how it works. And that stems from its ability to allow anyone to never run out of stamina unless a buff is applied.

And that is very important when it comes to strength training.

In Garden of the Gods, a character can gain strength by leveling up, equipment, enchantments, runes, gemstones, passive effects, battling monsters and by training. Although it requires stamina and rest, players could patiently grind for strength points by training in safe zones, slowly increasing their character's power.

This made Garden of the Gods players who are willing to spend time to build up strength by making their character do exercises, train with powerful NPCs, and even watch their diet by feeding them high quality monster meat.

The training feature made sure that no matter how stuck you are in one part of the game, if you're patient to grow your character, you'll have the chance to become stronger. It's a trade-off for time spent and skill.

Those who are patient will still get through, and the skilled will get through stages faster.

Owen wanted to try it out, but looking at his situation that lacked helping hands, he decided against doing a push-up.

Owen immediately got into position and began to steady himself to do an elbow plank. He began to set his body up for a push up position, but the difference is that Owen pressed his forearms against the floor with his legs straight.

Since he didn't participate in physical related activities much, Owen's physique was subpar. He cannot exert himself without getting tired quickly.

So of course, his workout sessions would have to start slow.

Good thing though that Melvin was someone who shared plenty of advice and tips when it came to exercise. From what he saw from Melvin, he expected it to be hard.

It would be natural to see him sweating and panting hard after a long training session.

Knowing this, Owen braced himself.

"Phew… I can do this."

— 1 minute later…

It was only a short while until Owen began complaining to himself.

"Goddamn, my arms are on fire…." Owen showed a very uncomfortable expression. He didn't realize how hard it would be until he did it himself.

Right now, he regretted it a bit that he didn't take Melvin's invitations to workout together seriously.

But as his arms were about to give up, a familiar panel appeared.

*Vhoom…*

[Discomfort]

*Vhoom…*

[Muscle Strain]

==========

[Endurance Training Progress: 6/100]

[Strength Training Progress: 6/100]

==========

"…"

Suddenly, Owen felt a lot better.

"I was half expecting something like this to happen." Owen couldn't help but grin.

Turns out his guess was right.

This class allows him to keep training without negative consequences!

In short, an infinite strengthening method!

But it's also very slow!

The only resource being consumed in doing so is time. And time is what Owen had plenty at the moment.

"I just have to hold this position." Owen felt weird doing a plank that wasn't difficult at all. It was like he was cheating.

He remembered that one classmate that he had when he was still in elementary school. Whenever there was an exercise given by the physical education teacher like a push up, that kid's form was terrible and he was barely even touching the ground.

But then again, it's an advantage and Owen wouldn't be stupid enough to let it go.

Although unconventional, it works.

He kept this position for a while until the progress bars finally increased once more.

==========

[Endurance Training Progress: 7/100]

[Strength Training Progress: 7/100]

==========

Owen didn't wonder why he had already made progress. When he was still pulling wagons for Fritsen, these two panels appeared in front of him as well.

It was great that by doing so, he made his progress 6% faster. Negligible, but better than not having it.