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/Shock…/
Although everyone was agape to hear this piece of news, Tina continued without paying it any heed:
"Why the shocked faces? It's not that unusual."
"Karkavan have an extremely fast metabolism due to their rough living conditions."
"So despite being similar in appearance to us, they become adults in about Six to Seven years, and they live until their fifties, forties in most cases."
"By the time they are one year old, they're already about as tall as a man and as muscular as Misgurd, that's when they start their training."
"Muddan being 14 is equivalent to a 42-year-old grown man, so you don't need to feel so down Dale." She said with a small smile
"..."
'Was it that obvious?'
'But that doesn't change much, even if they naturally grow like this, unless all Karkavan can become like this as they age, they still need to experience to fight well.'
'And in that regard, Muddan completely dwarfed me being much better at fighting.'
'I won due to the difference in our basic abilities, not proficiency.'
"Regardless, we have to talk about why he's here." Tina said as she looked at Muddan
"Grr?... !"
As if understanding her gaze, Muddan grabbed a small leather bag from the side of his waist, and from inside, he took a small rolled parchment smaller than his fingers, but still pretty long to them, putting it on the table.
"This is?..." Edimund asked as he grabbed it
'Someone wrote this?... Urg...'
But upon opening it and reading he barely understood what was written in it.
"The text is written in Classic, so it's normal to not understand what's in it." Tina replied as she looked at Edimund
"Sigh, then what's in it?" He asked as he put the parchment down
"... A request for help." She replied plainly
"What?"
"It's exactly as I said, the letter is a request for help from the Karkavan that live deep in the forest."
"They sent us a guide, being this guy over here, and they wish to cooperate with us in solving, you guessed it, our very problem."
"Doesn't it make sense for a tribe living deep in the forest to be as troubled as us?... No, they're definitely in a worse situation."
"If that's so, then why even hesitate, just go with him." Adamante said with a shrug
"Given the current circumstances, if this big guy is here, then they won't be able to deal with the trouble on their own, and once they fail, we're likely next."
"If not now, eventually..."
'Perhaps whatever caused this commotion won't even need to move as its mere presence destabilize the forest, and that will eventually collapse on us.'
"Wait, we can't be hasty about this." Edimund interrupted as he tapped on the table
"Think about it, you're following a stranger into his own territory to deal with a problem we still barely understand."
"Can we really trust them? They may cooperate at first, but what about later?"
"To that… I can say that won't be a problem." Testros replied as he crossed his arms
"The Corps and the Tribe maintained a close relationship for centuries with little to no issues sprouting over the years."
"The Karkavan have always been very welcoming of outsiders, and throughout all books I've read, little to no confrontations have been recorded."
"Unless something severe really happened over the last century, they wouldn't have changed their customs and way of being, besides, there's no reason for them to attack us."
"But there is a chance." Edimund said as his eyes sharpened
"... We won't go anywhere doubting each other." Ophelia replied with a slight smile
"But we…"
"Stop it, enough of this Edimund, I understand your worries, but this problem is bigger than us." Tina intervened as she looked at the Village head
"Testros is right, the Karkavan have a very strict culture, they wouldn't attack us without a clear cause."
"From what I managed to understand from this guy, and pardon my lack of understanding, it's been decades since I last spoke Karkavan, his appearance here was a gamble."
"The Karkavan said that it had been decades ever since they met with others of our species, and even longer since any of them left the forest."
"They have always been a rather secluded bunch, only interacting with the Corps that operated near their home grounds."
"Huh?... Wait a minute, how come they talked with Humans a few decades ago but it has been longer since they left the forest?" Testros asked as his eyes opened wide
"Isn't it obvious?" Tina teased with a smile
"There are survivors... Or at least, there were at one point…"
"Muddan couldn't tell me if they were still around though, whatever's been happening in the forest forced them to completely seclude themselves for protection."
"If they were forced to do so, the probability the survivors are still alive isn't large..."
"..."
Testros' expression changed completely.
"But not zero." Testros continued as he looked at Edimund
'To think... To think someone would live...'
'No, that may have been the obvious result.'
'Considering the scale of the wall, a few isolated groups definitely lasted days if not weeks, I always knew that.'
'I never believed to have been the sole one.'
'But as the years passed, my hopes slowly vanished, and I started to believe that, at some moment, I had become the sole survivor.'
'Yet... In a stroke of fate... If a group truly survived... Hidden away in a corner of this accursed forest...'
"Looks like someone is motivated…" Barme mumbled as he shook his head with a smile
"Sigh… From the looks of it, we now have a reason to be there…" Edimund said as he scratched the top of his head
'Great, the forest, barbarians, and now even survivors... Things keep pilling up on top of everything else that's been happening.'
"Just… Promise me one thing, if you see that something's wrong, ditch them out immediately."
"Your safety is everything that matters, I don't care much about how it used to be 100 years ago, but if these people changed from how they used to be, the first thing I want you all to do is to leave them behind."
"Besides, if they are so desperate as to gamble on something they couldn't even confirm for decades, then their situation is likely extremely critical."
"You may not even be able to get any help from them, on the contrary, they may end up as burdens…"
"That's a bit pessimistic of you, look how strong he is." Tina said with a smile as she looked at Muddan
"Gr?"
Muddan touched his head in confusion.
"Honestly, if a tribe full of big guys like him were pushed into the edge, I can't help but imagine the scope of the problems they're facing..." Barme pointed out as he shook his head
""...""
Everyone seemed to silently agree.
"... Anyway, it's settled." Tina replied as she gripped the parchment tight
"Tomorrow morning we depart with this big guy, until then… Get ready, and rest well." Tina said as she got up from her seat
She then tapped on Muddan's shoulder.
"For now, I need to ask this guy some more questions, he may know something that could help us on our journey…"
ƥandasnovel·ƈom "Wait a bit, let me go with you." Testros added as he got up from his seat
"..."
Tina looked at him for a moment, turning her head to the side as she said "Fine, I'm not his mother to pull him around." as she left the room.
Muddan and Testros soon left right after, and with that, the other Elders.
In the end, only Misgurd and Dale were left, but not for long.
/Pat…/
"Be careful out there kid, this time, you won't be going to the edges like last time."
"I never went that deep into the forest so I can't help you much in that regard."
"Just... Don't rely too much on those two as if worse comes to worst, you need to at least have the ability to run on your own, so be mindful of that."
"They can definitely pull their own weight, and I feel terrible for saying this but... You know how it is."
"Yeah... I'll try to not be too much of a burden." Dale replied with an awkward smile
"Good, don't feel too bad, one day, we'll be the burdens to you, Bwahahaha!"
"We'll be waiting for you all to return, so don't screw things up, there are still many Ranks for you to climb." He said with a smile as he passed by Dale, leaving him in the room alone
"..."
'I had no intention of dying nor losing anyone anyway.'
'An excursion to the forest… At least I should be happy we have a Guide.'
'Though a Karkavan… That could be interesting.'
'A Village... A Hidden Village.'
'Perhaps there might be some development... Trading?...'
'I'm thinking too far ahead, first, I need to remove a certain Devil that's causing trouble.'
Dale checked the time, it was still rather early in the day.
'I still have quite some time so might as well go and talk with the Merchants before leaving.'
'Or perhaps… Should I rush to the Yellow Desert Field and farm a little?'
'If I find a Dungeon I might be able to farm one to two levels before departure… Especially if I solely hunt strong mobs…'
'But it would be strange for Dale the Villager to go there and start hunting like the other players.'
"... Sigh."
'I'll get experience in the forest anyway so that won't be the problem.'
'Might as well try to get as many Quests as possible before leaving.'
'Buy provisions, potions, and so on...'
'Maybe I can stack up on Illia's food before diving in.'
'It would be wise to empty out my inventory this time, who knows what I'll be able to find in there.'
'And even with my increased Stats, it can still be filled up eventually.'
"That sounds good enough..."
Dale turned around with nod, closing the door behind him.
An adventure awaited him.
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Notes
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