Chapter 34

We rode out toward the edge of the village, past the temporary market stalls and rows of new housing. The road was still muddy in places, but flattened enough from weeks of foot traffic and wheelbarrows hauling supplies. A few children ran barefoot alongside us, waving, their cheeks red from the morning chill. I noticed one little girl carrying a loaf of bread, wrapped carefully in cloth. A gift from the soup tents, no doubt.

The sick woman lived in one of the older houses—a crumbling wooden cottage near the forest line, left untouched by the recent construction efforts. Moss had overtaken the roof, and one shutter hung crooked, rattling with every gust of wind.

"She lives alone?" I asked as we dismounted.

Kael shook his head. "She has a son, around seven or eight. He's been caring for her."

Sylphy added, "The villagers said she refused to leave this home. She helped clear the land a year ago but preferred to stay close to the woods."

I stepped inside.

The air was thick with the scent of damp cloth, herbs, and something acrid—blood, faint but present. The single-room cottage was dim, lit only by a few flickering candles and a soft fire. On the bed, the woman lay curled under a pile of blankets. Her face was pale, lips cracked, and her breathing shallow. A bowl of untouched broth sat on the side table, long gone cold. A boy sat on a small stool beside her, trying to dampen a cloth with a bucket of nearly frozen water. His eyes met mine, wide with fear.

"Young boy," I said gently, kneeling beside him. "You've done well taking care of her."

He nodded silently, then whispered, "My mom won't wake up anymore. She just... shivers."

I placed a hand on the woman's forehead. Burning hot. Her veins pulsed unnaturally along her arms, darker than they should be.

"This isn't a fever from labour or exposure," I murmured. "This feels... wrong." I silently summoned the Guardian screen for any quest or something that could give me clues, but the system had been quiet for a few days now.

Sylphy moved closer, her expression troubled. "My lord, I've seen this before. A travelling elf passed through my village once with something similar. It was traced back to tainted mana. Wild magic."

Kael crossed his arms. "You think it's something in the forest?"

"Maybe. Or something that came from the forest," she replied. "We're close to the old leyline ruins. There's still magic there... raw and unpredictable."

I frowned. "So either she stumbled into a cursed place or something followed her home."

The woman stirred suddenly, her fingers twitching. She mumbled something under her breath—too soft to catch.

I leaned closer.

"Root... red root... don't let it... touch..." Her voice cracked before falling silent again.

"Red root?" I looked up. "That's not one of our crops. Do any of the healers use it?"

Sylphy's face paled. "Red root isn't used. It's avoided. It's a parasitic plant that sometimes grows near corrupted mana. If she harvested it..."

"She might have brought the corruption here," Kael finished grimly.

I looked at the boy. "Did your mother go into the forest recently?"

He nodded. "She said she found a strange flower... with red veins. She thought it was useful. She planted it near the back."

Kael immediately moved to the back window and cursed. "It's still there. It's grown fast."

"We'll need to burn it," Sylphy said. "But that won't help her unless we draw out the corruption."

I stood and unfastened the pouch on my belt. Inside, among my own gathered Earth relics, was a charm made from the Divine Tree's bark—blessed, according to the Guardian Screen, to cleanse low-level corruption. Actually, it was just a simple small leaf that I made into a bracelet I'd picked up from the divine tree.

I looked down at the charm, then to the boy. "This might help. But it'll cost me a favour from the Tree."

Maybe, but with this maybe I can spread the importance of the Divine Tree, right? And maybe finish the quest soon?

Whatever.

"Will it save her?" he asked, voice trembling.

I knelt beside him again. "I'll do everything I can." I wasn't lying. But I'm not sure about this small charm.

I pulled the Divine Tree charm from the pouch, feeling its pulse in my hand—an ancient, steady thrum, like the heartbeat of the world itself. Maybe I'm doing this right. I could feel something, tingling to my core. It was magical, alright.

The charm was green with silver threading and faintly warm to the touch, and as I knelt by the woman's bedside, it began to glow softly, casting a pale green light across the room.

Kael and Sylphy instinctively stepped back, giving me room.

I placed the charm gently on the woman's chest, right over her heart. The effect was immediate.

What the heck! It was really magical...

Damn! I've been here in this world for almost two years now, and yet magic still surprises the hell out of me.

The light from the charm flared, brighter and wilder, illuminating the entire cottage. The woman's body arched off the bed with a gasp, her eyes snapping open—bright, glowing green—and a wave of raw, crackling energy burst from her in every direction. Woah! She was possessed with an evil spirit, right? Do I have to exorcise her? Hopefully not.

Ding...

New Quest: Threw a protective barrier to shield your companion from the powerful magic.

I frowned. How on earth would I do that? How could I make a protective barrier?

Thinking about what to do next, I remember Igor's words from a month before when I practised my magic. He told me to concentrate and make my mind empty and picture the mana flowing from my veins.

I did what he told me and closed my eyes. Yeah, it was there; I could almost feel it. I could sense it. It was there...tingling inside my veins. Then I threw up a protective barrier just in time, shielding the boy and the others.

"Dirk!" Sylphy shouted over the sudden howling wind, her hair whipping around her face. "That's not just corruption leaving her! Something is awakening!"

What the hell?

Divina cried out, a sound between a sob and a scream, as the corrupted mana was torn from her body in thick, black strands—like smoke—writhing through the air before being pulled into the charm. But beneath that darkness, something else stirred.

The floorboards shook, and the candles were snuffed out.

Holy fuck!

A whisper began to rise, soft at first but growing louder: a voice that wasn't quite human nor entirely natural.

"Chosen... guardian... awakened..." it said, in a chorus of tones.

Chosen? Guardian?

Ding...

Quest Completed

Reward: Magical Watering Pail

My frown deepened.

The green light from the charm shot upward, piercing through the roof, forming a beacon that even the villagers outside could see.

I cursed under my breath. "So much for keeping things quiet."

Divina collapsed back onto the bed, breathing shallow but steady now. The charm burnt out in my hand, crumbling into fine silver dust. But the energy around her didn't dissipate.

Instead, a faint mark shimmered on her forehead—an ancient sigil shaped like a leaf entwined with a crescent moon.

Sylphy stepped closer, her voice awed. "That's an old druidic mark. It hasn't been seen in centuries."

Kael narrowed his eyes. "Why here? Why now?"

I didn't answer immediately. My mind raced.

The Divine Tree's relic hadn't just cleansed her; it had recognised her. It had awakened something sleeping inside her bloodline—something tied to the ancient magic of the leylines.

Slowly, the boy approached the bed. He touched his mother's hand and looked up at me with wide, tear-filled eyes. "You saved her, my lord."

I rested a hand on his shoulder. "She's strong. Stronger than any of us knew."

Who the hell was this woman anyway? Why did the divine tree recognise her?

Outside, I heard the growing murmur of voices—villagers gathering, drawn by the beacon. Word would spread fast. Too fast.

Ding...

Side Quest: Employ a keeper for the Divine Tree and the Magical Egg.

Oh, that's it...Divina was the chosen one to take care of the divine tree and my magical egg.

Sylphy shot me a sharp look. "What do we tell them, my lord?"

Kael added, "And more importantly, what if someone else saw that light? Someone less friendly?"

I exhaled slowly. "We'll tell them the truth—part of it. That she's been blessed by an ancient magic, something to protect the village. They'll rally behind her," I smirked.

I glanced down at the unconscious woman, the faint green glow still pulsing beneath her skin.

"But I can employ her as a gardener," I said quietly.

Kael raised his brow. "In the flower garden, my lord?"

"Yes, she seemed to be the chosen one" or whatever.

Another chimed...

Quest Completed.

Reward: Magical watering pail.

Location: Backpack.

I closed the screen and looked at the little boy and whispered that I would employ him and his mom as gardeners in the manor.