Chapter 47: Farewell to Akara (Part 2)

"That's true, the materials for the Identification Book are much easier to find. Otherwise, with so many blue items, there wouldn't be enough Identification Scrolls to identify them all."

I thought about it and agreed. If Identification Scrolls were as precious as portals, many people might not be able to afford to identify their blue items even if they had them.

"Does Lady Akara have Identification Scrolls for sale?"

"Yes, and plenty of them," Akara said with a smile.

An Identification Scroll costs 50 gold coins each. I bought 10 more from Akara. I originally had 3 in the book, but I used one to identify the belt, so I now have 12 in total (a book can hold a maximum of 20). 500 gold coins were spent, but it's fine. After all, the drop rate for monsters is high for me. In just one training session, I earned over 1,000 gold coins. Although it hurts a bit, I can afford it.

Just as I was about to say goodbye to Akara and leave, an unexpected person arrived.

It was a bald, white-bearded old man in a gray scholar's robe, leaning on a staff as tall as himself. He seemed to be taken aback when he saw me.

"This is our most distinguished scholar in the Rogue Encampment, Deckard Cain. Deckard, this is the young man I mentioned to you last time," Akara said with a chuckle, standing up.

Oh, I didn't expect this to be the legendary Deckard Cain, who knows everything. When I first started playing Diablo, I was a newbie and would run to him to identify items to save a few Identification Scrolls. So, I couldn't be more familiar with him.

"Lord Cain, hello."

I stood up and bowed to Cain. In the game, he's an old man that players need to rescue from a cage, but here, he is one of the elders of the Rogue Encampment, one of the actual rulers of the camp.

"Hello, may I call you Wu?"

Cain smiled slightly, his eyes filled with a wise and knowledgeable aura, giving off a sense of wisdom and erudition. His gentle and refined demeanor reminded me of an old professor who was invited to teach at my university.

"It would be my honor."

I replied respectfully.

Cain sat down with a chuckle and asked some friendly questions. His gentle and unhurried tone gradually put me at ease. He truly is one of the most knowledgeable scholars in the entire Diablo continent. Although he isn't skilled in combat, he is almost omniscient in other areas. After just a short conversation, I already felt I had learned a lot. If it weren't for my promise to Aunt Sally to return early, I would have loved to chat with him all day.

Akara had already divided my pile of fragments into two stacks and handed one to me. This stack should be the so-called crystal ore. Both stacks looked identical, and I had no idea how she managed to separate them.

I put away the crystal ore and said goodbye to Akara and Cain.

"Wait, Wu."

Just as I was about to leave, Cain suddenly called out to me.

"Wu, would you be willing to help this poor old man with a favor?" Cain's expression was a bit sad.

"I am willing to serve you," I said, half-serious and half-curious.

"Hehe, thank you very much."

Cain said happily.

It turns out that Cain's hometown, Tristram, a famous city of scholars, was one of the first places attacked by the forces of Hell. Fortunately, the Cain family, Deckard Cain's family, had already been forewarned and had moved to a safe place before the attack. However, Cain, who had fled from Tristram, had always been nostalgic for his hometown. Although he knew the result of the invasion by the forces of Hell, he still wanted to know the current state of his hometown, or at least how badly it had been destroyed.

"Although I have asked a few adventurers before, Tristram is too far away to walk. Fortunately, there is a teleportation point in the Stony Field, but this teleportation point... (The game's quest explains this, so I won't go into detail. Basically, you need to go to the Dark Forest to find the scroll.)"

Although Cain had asked many adventurers, none of them succeeded. The risk was too high, and the reward was too small. The 'Treehead Butcher' guarding the tree is a troublesome mini-boss, and his minions, the evolved beasts known as 'Beasts,' are also formidable. To be honest, few teams are willing to take on such a challenge.

Cain's reward was mainly gold and free identification of items. Gold isn't very appealing to adventurers, and free identification is a joke. The Identification Book isn't particularly expensive for adventurers. Anyone who finds an unidentified item is usually eager to identify it immediately, and few have the patience to bring it back for you to identify.

However, this is a good opportunity for me. It's a chance to ingratiate myself with this old man. After all, he is one of the elders of the Rogue Encampment. Akara definitely wouldn't keep my activities a secret from him. If I can gain his protection, I can use my abilities more freely in the future without worrying about suspicion.

After saying goodbye to the two elders, I hurried back to Lar's house. It was already around noon, so I was destined to eat leftovers.

Fortunately, the kind Aunt Sally didn't scold me. Lazy Pig Doug and the adorable Sara had just woken up, so we simply had lunch.

"Uncle Lar, I'm leaving."

All good things must come to an end. After lunch, I finally decided to continue my training.

As I was about to leave, the little girl Sara clung to my sleeve with tearful eyes, looking at me pitifully. Her sad, heartbroken, yet hopeful and expectant gaze almost made me promise to stay a few more days, but fortunately, my willpower held strong, and I resisted.

"Big brother, will you come back to see Sara?"

Sara, seeing that her plea had no effect, realized I might really be leaving. She lowered her head sadly, tears streaming down her face.

I lovingly stroked her little head. "Sara, you're so cute. How could I ever forget you? I promise, when I come back, I'll play with you right away."

"Really?"

Sara lifted her red, swollen eyes and gently raised her hands. I picked her up.

She kissed my cheek lightly. Her small lips, with their gentle breath, were so soft and warm, melting my cold heart instantly.

"Big brother, take care. Sara will miss you every day. When Dad left, he was just like you. Sara was so sad, waa~~~"

Sara couldn't hold back her tears and started crying. I was at a loss, but fortunately, Sally took her away.

"Good luck, Wu."

Lar walked up to me and gently straightened my clothes. This almost forgotten warmth of family, I had only experienced with my long-dead father.

"Of course, I'm the best."

I held back my emotions and said confidently.

Doug also came over and patted my shoulder heavily. This was their best way to bless me, though if he could use a bit less force...

"Goodbye, everyone." I waved to everyone and walked away without looking back. The blessings and Sara's heart-wrenching cries behind me were like an unbreakable rope, tugging at my heart. Don't blame us for being too dramatic, as if it were a life-and-death farewell. Because it might be. In this world, no one can be 100% sure that they will return safely from training, not even me. The shadow of death looms over every adventurer and those who care about them.

Without too many farewells, I left alone, continuing my solitary challenge. This was my destiny. My training was meant to be without companions. I hate this feeling because being alone is very lonely, but I also like it because only at such times can I fully let go of myself...

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