Chapter 88: Who Are Heroes 2

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Who Are Heroes 2

"Arene," Arin voiced to the only other person he felt he could trust, "do you have anything else to say on the matter?"

"I believe I did say most everything I can," Arene replied. "That said, I don’t see why you feel the need to read anything else."

"Maybe you can give me an answer I need," Arin replied.

"Till that day, unfortunately, I cannot," the young woman said. "The records make no statement on the old elf, save declarations of his intent, and while those declarations may point to one conclusion I cannot confirm it."

Arin massaged his temples and wished he knew Arene better. Her increasing habit of wording every response to remind him she wasn’t all-powerful was becoming less than pleasant, and he was rather fond of Arene.

"Then perhaps we need more records," Arin said.

"Indeed," Eldran agreed. "The eastern archive holds some records we pored over, myself included, but I highly doubt they will contain any information on the True Hero. As I mentioned, some of those records were heavily damaged prior to my tenure as chief."

"But only if it doesn’t require leaving this morning," Arin finished.

"If we are to continue, it is best we begin at once," Ayn said.

"You’re forgetting how I felt yesterday," Arin reminded him. "And how I fainted after punching that one piece of furniture of yours."

"You should have been out of commission."

"I was and apparently I don’t know when to stop," Arin said as he turned to glare at the man. "You’ve watched me closely these past few weeks, don’t pretend you don’t know the dangers I put myself through."

"Now that you mention it," Ayn said, ignoring the glare, "actually I don’t think I do know when you’re well enough to stop."

"That’s nice of you to acknowledge," Arin lied through a forced smile

"Now, now, you’re not enjoying this as much as the others," Arene teased.

"Don’t be dramatic," Arin said. "Not everything has to be a contest or a spectacle."

"But everything still revolves around you." She said with mock concern.

"Not everything!" Her words struck an old nerve. Everything did seem to revolve around him, and Arin hated that this was the first thought that came to him when presented with that thought.

Caelan watched him during the duel against the Chimera, but hadn’t fought. He had arrived after he felled the ten Authorities and seemed almost impressed with him before vanishing.

There was something happening then that Caelan had been doing, and Arin wished he knew what.

Just the thought of a fight brought Arin out of his stupor. Yesterday he had felt helpless as he battled the ten Authorities; stronger than ever, yet not strong enough. That was a sensation he was growing very tired of, and it was one that he hoped never happened again. It was the same feeling that plagued him the second after he woke from the nightmare in which the world ended and Caelan watched.

His teeth ground together in irritation

"Actually," Arin said. "Something else occurred to me. During the Chimera attack, Caelan appeared at the forest’s edge. While he seemed uninterested in fighting the monsters, it almost appeared that he was pulling from within the chaos."

Ayan raised an eyebrow.

"He did and I don’t entirely understand what that means," Arin admitted. "Could it possibly be related to the Authority we sensed this morning?"

"It may very well be," Ayn said. "Unfortunately, we have nothing resembling hard evidence."

"I appreciate my ignorance on the matter, but not in this instance. I want to understand what we are facing rather than keep wondering blindly without warning."

Eldran considered Arin’s words. "In that regard, we may need to find out more about the creatures that attacked you. Zarl recognized the research that went into their creation, but he claims he neither originated the project nor had control of them. If he’s being truthful, which he probably isn’t, then there are others capable of doing the same."

"I’m inclined to agree," Saira said. "Zarl wasn’t lying when he said he recognized them. I don’t care for the man, but he was genuinely frightened when he saw what they were."

"That he was not," Arin replied. "It doesn’t make him guilty, just reckless. We should be careful accusing people of things we aren’t entirely sure of."

Mira said, "So, what are we going to do?"

Arin had been wondering the same thing ever since the previous night.

They searched for him relentlessly through the night, and when they found him, he evoked the abilities of an Authority. While Arin would do it again, he knew he needed more power if he wanted to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves.

"Arene, show me the quests," Arin said.

The System interface appeared before his eyes.

[Available Quests]

[Forest Cleanup]

[Objective: Eliminate the remaining monsters threatening the northern forest and ensure the area is safe of monsters.]

[Reward: Elemental Manipulation]

[Monster Threat]

[Objective: Eliminate the monster responsible for attacks in the western forest.]

[Reward: Monster Creation and Control]

[Corrupted Territory]

[Objective: Investigate signs of corruption in the southern forest and remove the source]

[Reward: Lesser Corruption Resistance]

Arin scanned the three listed missions. The rewards looked nice, but none of them promised a quick resolution.

The second quest was the most intriguing as a Dungeon Master, but he had no idea what percent of the unlocked but inaccessible feature he was getting with the reward. He would have to complete it before he learned what he received.

"Aren’t you going to take one?" Arene asked.

"Eventually. I can’t waste my time on Caelan. I need to get stronger, and these quests will give me the opportunity to do so,"

Arin said. "Not to mention you’re always preaching about wasting time and I don’t feel inclined to listen to another lecture."

"You’re not wrong, but I prefer my audiences to be properly entertained," Arene mused.

The System’s light faded as Arin turned to face the others.

"I’m investigating the western forest," Arin declared. "Something is causing men to attack there, and eliminating it will strengthen me greatly while determining if it is a threat to the village or not.

Ayan immediately stood. "I’ll accompany you,"

"Same here," Saira added.

Adnan pushed off the bookshelf. "Likewise. We may require some competent scouting from men who don’t suffer crippling pauses to use a Dungeon skill."

"Don’t remind me," Arin groaned

"It was only yesterday, you were perfectly healthy."

"I learned my lesson," he sighed heavily, and for once, he meant it.

"Excellent news. That means I needn’t worry about keeping you alive."

Mira chuckled as she watched Ayan stare daggers at Adnan.

Eldran offered guards to accompany his party while they investigated the western forest and he searched for more records pertaining to Caelan and the True Hero. The meeting ended with no conclusion, but Arin knew what he had to do. He would stop trying to figure everything out and he would be prepared for anything else Caelan could throw at him.

As Arin turned to leave, Arin stopped inside the doorway. He was certain he had seen something strange when the old elf appeared.

"Arene, during the old elf’s visit another quest appeared and vanished before I could read it. You said you saw it as well."

"Correct. Unfortunately, I cannot access or read the mission due to circumstances outside my control,"

"It has something to do with the old elf, doesn’t it?"

"You will have to be more specific. There was no shortage of odd things surrounding the old elf’s appearance."

"The fourth mission," Arin said. Back when he accessed the System, a fourth mission had vanished once he viewed it. "I don’t recall much about the content, but you said you became aware of him through it as well."

"Correct," Arene said, "but that doesn’t help us much now, does it?"

The old books, the sealed records, Caelan and the True Hero - it was like a series of puzzles created by forces unknown with the answers being conveniently inaccessible.

"Keep an eye out for it," Arin requested.

"I always do," Arene replied. With that, Arin left the room and joined the others.