Chapter 50

Unaware of the gaze behind him, as he walked out of the monastery, Rody almost immediately cleared his mind of the emotions related to Sally, like a machine devoid of feelings. A few minutes later, his mind was left only with plans for his future career.

He habitually glanced at the quest bar, which showed that the "Neridas' Fall" quest chain had been activated, with the prompt "Try to find clues at the place where you picked up the ring."

Rody casually closed it, not intending to continue the quest—because the quest chain had a huge level span, requiring only level 1 to start, but level 10 to complete the third step, level 20 for a 10-person team for the seventh step, and finally, level 30 for the last step after advancing to a higher class. Although the rewards were extremely abundant, even enough to boost his reputation with the "Rosicrucian" temple to "Revered," the quests were only useful for "Priest" class characters, so he had no interest in such unprofitable tasks.

He checked his character status and found that, due to the high final level of the quest, he had received a significant amount of experience points even at the starting step, giving him 4000 experience points.

Including the "Rescue the Duke's Daughter Sally" quest, Rody realized he had enough experience to jump two levels. Without hesitation, he selected the level-up button, advancing to level 5 and saving the experience needed to reach level 6 as a safety net. He then took out the box given to him by Bishop Benjamin and opened it with a "click."

Inside the box was a simple necklace with a pendant, the most commonly used symbol of the "Rosicrucian" sect—the Holy Triangle.

Elegant Holy Triangle Pendant

Excellent Necklace

Slot: Neck

+2 Strength

Equipped: "Rosicrucian Temple" reputation increased to "Friendly."

"God's gaze always watches over the people."

A necklace that was better than nothing, Rody thought and decided to replace the "Mysterious Necklace" he was wearing. The reputation boost to "Friendly" was a pleasant surprise for Rody, as the "Rosicrucian" temple had abundant resources but did not sell them to the public. Only those with a reputation of "Friendly" or higher could buy practical and high-quality items from the temple's armory. Rody needed to replace his equipment, and this necklace gave him a better option.

"Frances Armory. This way."

He looked up to confirm the direction and started walking towards the equipment selling location in the "Temple" that he remembered. However, just as he was about to close the equipment menu, he suddenly noticed the ring on his finger, which he had found in the Chimera beast cave. Because he had reached level 5, the ring's attributes had been activated.

However, due to the significant boost from the Hunter's Set, the ring's attribute bonuses were now insufficient. Still, he instinctively glanced at the task prompt that had been unlocked due to his level:

"You gently wiped the ring and found a line of pale gold text: 'Hlukji'smier.'"

This simple sentence made Rody raise an eyebrow. As a tech enthusiast, he not only mastered the human language of Brinca but also had knowledge of other languages, which was crucial for mastering the game, especially for quickly finding clues in quests. Now, it was time for Rody to put this knowledge to use.

He couldn't confirm the meaning of the text, but he could tell it was in the Elvish language. Elves were divided into Wood Elves, Dark Elves, High Elves, and others. From the spelling, he could see that it was in the Wood Elvish language, and he recognized one word as meaning "light."

Light? Wood Elves worshipped a half-human, half-deer primitive deity, which had some connection to the "Druid" sect. Wood Elves were a small race with few clerics and mages, but there was a type of priest that seemed to be related to "light"—a class that players couldn't choose: "Guardian of Light."

Rody had only heard of this class, which seemed to be responsible for fighting demons and the undead, similar to the Paladins in human religions but existing much earlier. They had almost disappeared, leaving only a few NPCs in the world, and few had seen them.

"Huh... The elves and the undead must have a deep-seated grudge."

Rody sighed, but he also noticed something odd about the ring. Normally, any quest should have a verbal prompt in the "Quest Content," such as the "Neridas' Fall" quest, which would tell you where to continue looking for clues. However, this ring had no such description. Rody thought for a moment, glanced around, and slipped into an empty alley. He raised his fist, pointing the ring forward, and said, "Hlukji'smier!"

Nothing happened.

"It doesn't seem to be a magic item."

Rody muttered, lowering his hand and preparing to leave. However, after a few steps, he felt something was off. The reflection on the walls seemed to have a slight change. Rody, with his high alertness, thought for a moment and slowly raised his hand, moving it a few times before realizing the problem.

The ring was emitting light.

Because the sunlight was strong, Rody hadn't noticed any changes until he walked into the shade, where the ring's uniqueness became apparent.

"Lighting ring? What's this?"

He shook the "flashlight" in his hand, feeling a bit helpless, and repeated the Elvish phrase on the ring, causing the light to disappear. He was puzzled by the ring's function but had no immediate clue, so he continued thinking as he walked out of the alley and headed towards the Frances Armory.

Rody planned to buy enough supplies and leave the main city, as the orcs at the border were still his primary source of experience. With new equipment, weapons, and a higher level, Rody was determined to make those orc bastards understand what true "harassment tactics" were.

...

In April of the year 588 of the Elron Calendar, it could be considered a turning point in the history of the Carren Kingdom.

Francis' operation to surround and kill Sally ended in complete failure this month. His well-laid plans were completely disrupted, and the impact not only made the Earl feel defeated but also made the witch doctor Salota, who had a secret connection with him, extremely frustrated.

Shifting the view from the remote village of Noland to the northwest, flying over the vast grasslands and crossing hundreds of kilometers... when the view revealed a cluster of tents like mushrooms after the rain, it meant entering the territory of the Orc Kingdom.

Sheep and cattle grazed on the meadows, and the orcs occasionally sang rough songs while herding. Due to poverty, they mostly wore simple animal skins, with rough skin and troubled faces—this was a reflection of the entire Orc Kingdom.

Nomadic tribes were not entirely "poor." If their cattle and sheep were converted into gold coins of the human kingdom, each household would likely live better than the farmers of Carren Kingdom. However, reality was harsh... the hostility with the human kingdom and the isolation from the southern Tasman undead left the nomads with no options, like guarding a mountain of gold and silver but having nowhere to spend it. The high-priced cattle and sheep could only be kept for winter.

The kingdom, composed of nine-tenths grassland and one-tenth desert, had much harsher living conditions than the Carren Kingdom.

The ruling structure was loose, with the kingdom composed of tribes ruled by a dozen major chieftains, far from any sense of "unity." Among them, "Rohar's Hammer" was considered a mid-level tribe in the entire Orc Kingdom.

At this moment, in a village of Rohar's Hammer, a large tent was emitting groans of pain.

The air was filled with a blue-white mist, and a strange medicinal scent could be detected. The injured orc lay on a bed covered with animal skins, gritting his teeth in pain. Without anesthesia, he couldn't help but groan at times.

The orc's body was as strong as a bear, one of the largest in the tribe, but his usual imposing appearance was now extremely weak. Large sweat drops dripped from his forehead, and his green face was contorted in pain.

A diagonal wound on his back was exposed to the air, deep to the bone. It seemed to have been neglected for too long, with signs of festering and pus. However, most of the rotten flesh had been cleaned with a small knife, and herbs were applied, followed by bandages.

Rough linen bandages were valuable items in the Orc Kingdom, indicating that he was highly valued.

"Alright, Kosa."

A calm and powerful voice sounded beside him.

Kosa immediately ignored the pain, knelt on the ground, and said in a low voice, "Thank you, Lord Salota. Kosa will follow you to the death!"

Such words might seem flattering or artificial in the human kingdom, but they carried great weight in the orc's mouth.

Salota, the "Chief Witch Doctor" of the tribe, extended his hand to help Kosa up, seating him on a wooden chair nearby. He continued in his calm tone, "So... Kosa, tell me in detail what happened."

"Yes, Lord Salota, we..."

The orc, sitting upright, took a deep breath and began to narrate his encounter in a low voice.

Kosa, who had been injured on his back, returned to the village yesterday. He had collapsed at the village entrance, his wound severely infected, and he was almost dead. He had spent nearly a month crossing the grasslands, eventually returning to the village on foot, eating almost everything he could—grass, rabbits, dead rats, and so on. He had crossed hundreds of kilometers of grasslands to deliver a bad message to the witch doctor—

The intention to establish a forward base in the Carren Kingdom had been discovered by humans.

And the forward base where Kosa was stationed had suffered unprecedented damage!

Combining this with the recent news of the loss of ten wolf riders in the raiding force, the highly respected witch doctor of Rohar's Hammer, after hearing Kosa's report, clenched the bone dice in his hand and narrowed his eyes, muttering to himself:

"Blood debts must be repaid in blood..."

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