Chapter 379 Your Information is Too Outdated
After the Gaim: the Sky Horizon and the Players’ turf was finished, Xi Wei had also set up several weird, experimental facilities.
One of them was the bulletin board which was separate from the Players’ quest page, posted with quests that Xi Wei was counting on the Players to accomplish.
And at the moment, one of the more rewarding quests was the investigation of the ancient Mecha Giant’s origins.
After all, that thing’s weight had been out there for all to see: it was not difficult to trace its footsteps when it was leaving a crater every few hundred meters.
In comparison, the quest to investigate the origins of the undead high elf was less popular even though the reward was equally generous.
That was also the reason why once a clue was found and the quest to investigate the undead high elf was accomplished, the Player who took the quest would be able to claim all the rewards.
That was why Terry and Jom eventually decided on that quest after talking about it.
Leonginet was a small town in the Tegrono Federation, beyond the borders of the Valla Empire.
After rescuing the adventurer named Caius sheerly by chance, the older adventurer decided to put his journey to the Valla Empire on hold, leading his two saviors (and one dog) to the border town.
Caius had a.s.sumed that Terry and Jom had come after hearing about the rumors regarding the Valla Empire. However, he did not think that they would be uninterested in the Valla Empire, and instead asked about any rumors of weird undead creatures recently.
“I’m sorry, but there was no word on such incidents recently… even the Valley of the Tragic Dead which usually sees much undead activity has been very quiet this year…”
The adventurer who managed to escape his life told the two youths earnestly in a tavern within Leonginet.
He carefully studied the two youths who had clearly grew past their teenage years recently, and could not help adding, “It has been years since there was a plague of undead. Many nations had even withdrawn their policies that reward hunting undead, and there would not be much profit even if you bet your life to destroy some of the stronger ones. According to what I know, some of the famous undead hunters had even changed jobs to become bounty hunters!”
When he saw the thoughtful looks on his two saviors’ faces, Caius tried even harder and continued, “Compare to that, it is better if you pin your hopes on Valla!”
Terry, who had been gnawing at a chicken’s leg looked up, but Jom stopped him with a look just when he was about to say that they had come from the Valla Empire.
“What’s with Valla?” Jom then asked nonchalantly.
“That’s what I’ve been telling you. There’s a great deal of things happening in Valla recently!”
Jom’s question appeared to have scratched Caius’s itch, and he began to speak with a lively tone, “First off, there’s that mysterious compet.i.tion called the Twin City Cup. It’s said that the victory could obtain the blessings of the G.o.ds, earning them power to match dragons!”
Jom looked puzzled.
He naturally knows about the Twin City Cup
-in fact, he had managed to reach the Third Round of the tourney.
That being said, although the rewards of the tourney had indeed been fantastic, it was an exaggeration to say that anything won there could match a dragon. As a matter of fact, Mufasa, the champion of the tourney had his b.u.t.t handed to him both against the tortoise colossus and the Mecha Giant…
There was certainly no telling how word of the Twin City Cup had become so distorted when it spreads to foreign soil.
“And then there are the wood elves who are making their return! They had not left Trinia for hundreds of years, but for them to come back to the humans’ realm with such timing… it has to be because of the wood elves’ greatest treasure!”
Caius had a look of utter admiration just then
— the average wood elf was far stronger than humans, and something that was a treasure to them would be even more precious to humans. “If anyone could find it, they wouldn’t have to worry about the latter half of their lives!”
“I see… do you know what the wood elves’ greatest treasure is, then?” Jom asked.
“Oh, how am I supposed to know that?” Caius answered matter-of-factly. “But since it is the greatest treasure, it must be something anyone would recognize when they see it, such as a sacred crystal that shines in rainbow colors, or some pure origin stone which had been cleansed of inner evils!”
Regrettably, your guess is completely wrong.
Having some insider information, Jom watched Caius without a word—this man would not recognize a thing even if the wood elves’ greatest treasure were to be placed right in front of him.
Moreover, the reason the wood elves would appear before humans was only because the Church of Games’ success in claiming control over the Elven Synchronized Intellect Nation’, in turn remolding it into Gaim, the Players’ turf.
And that in turn slowly changed the mindsets of the wood elves in spite of preexisting enmities.
Even though they would still look down on humans as usually, most of them now recognized that the Players are beings whom even the high elves acknowledge. They were certainly no longer upset when younger elves who thought well of Players would group up with them too.
“By the way, speaking of undead, it seems that there were rumors of an undead dragon in Valla. That said, it had been some time since the rumors circulated, and I believe that it was nothing but a hoax since there had been no continuation.”
Caius then continued on to other rumors, with Terry and Jom keeping a straight face as they let him talk-especially since they had personally experienced that particular event.
“Then, there is that giant machine that left the world shaking in its wake…”
…which had a large group of Players retracing its footsteps, and it wouldn’t mean a thing even if Jom and Terry joined them now…
“And a mysterious city above the clouds!”
We just got off that city…
Hence, Terry and Jom traded glances.
Could this man have no useful information aside from outdated details of the Church of Games’ recent events?
At that very thought, Jom’s interest waned, whereas Terry threw his chicken bone down to Pikes beneath their table out of boredom.
That was when the tavern door opened, and a lady wearing heavy armor stood appeared with several knights wearing the same armor in tow.
The style of those armors looked like it belonged to the Valla Empire instead of the Tegrono Federation.
Federation citizens in the tavern were certainly nervous for a group like this to show up at Leonginet, a town within the borders of Tegrono, fearful that the newly coronated emperor with a terrible temper was about to invade the federation.
Still, others such as Caius were quite calm.
He whispered to Terry and Jom then, “That lady’s name is Kristina. She’s a Scepter of the Temple of Glory, although her jurisdiction is in the Valla Empire and she usually wouldn’t come to these lands. It’s said that she is leading her group in their search for an extremely dangerous magical beast… but gossip had it that their target is no beast but a high elf!”
There was a glint in Jom’s eyes at those words.
Finally, a useful clue.