Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Back to the beginning

Eldi had verified that he couldn't sense the Exit Gate left in the spring in the beginner's area. It isn't that he wanted to go there, but he was curious.

Gjaki had already warned them of this. She believed that it was the barrier that covered the spring that isolated it, since the Gate worked perfectly inside the spring itself. It was useless, but it worked.

He opened a Gate to his beginner's village. His only reason for going there was to make a visit, to make sure everything was fine.

Nothing seemed to have changed. The same stillness. There, the crafting platforms were still waiting for someone to use them. The open buildings they were in were almost empty as always. An Oracle was sitting in front of the same table, looking at him. Everything was just as he had left it.

"The Oracle!?" he exclaimed, after looking at them a second time.

He had seen them and had ignored them for a moment, as another decoration. It had taken him a few seconds to realize that they were there.

"How did you get here?" he asked them.

The last time he had seen them, they were in the vampire's area. It hadn't been so long ago.

"How did you?" the Oracle answered.

Eldi didn't quite know what to answer, so he just let it be. He knew that if they hadn't given him a clear answer up front, they never would.

"I'm glad to see you," he greeted them.

The Oracle didn't respond. They stood looking at him impassively. He hadn't asked them anything, so it was the expected reaction. The expression they had under that mask was something the high human had always wondered about. In fact, he didn't know if there was even a face. Goldmi had speculated that it was some kind of remote-controlled puppet.

"Do you know anything new about the kingdom of Engenak?" he asked, although without much hope.

"Nothing I can reveal to you," the Oracle met expectations.

Eldi smiled. Unlike Gjaki, he didn't find them irritating. Even, for some reason, their presence made him feel comfortable. It was as if he had returned home.

Perhaps for that reason, he still stayed for a while asking them questions. It should be said that he didn't get any relevant information, but at least he didn't get bored while recovering the mana spent in the Gate.

"It seems like years have passed, and it has only been a few months," Eldi said to himself.

He had returned to the caves where in the past he had faced some bears. There, he had saved two siblings from those beasts. Those siblings had become his apprentices.

He wanted to go check on them, and contact his children. They had agreed that he would go there after regaining his power.

He climbed back down through the hole in the ceiling and into the cave, hoping not to encounter any setbacks. However, as in the past, there were a pair of bears that looked at him menacingly. They were about to attack whoever had dared to enter their den.

Eldi simply showed his power, and the bears instinctively fled in terror. In the past, level 30 beasts would have been a dangerous enemy. Now, he could split them in two with the axe. However, he preferred not to do it if it wasn't necessary.

The high human left the cave and looked around. He didn't remember exactly where the village was, but luckily, it was marked on his virtual map since last time. Therefore, he went in that direction, straight through the forest. As he didn't know what the situation was, it was best not to travel along the road, where he could be spotted.

Thanks to Rabbit Spirit, and the physical strength of a level 100, he covered the distance that separated him from the village in much less than half the time than in the past. Back then, he had had to keep pace with the siblings.

Bat's Hearing prevented any surprises, although it was a bit of excessive precaution. In that forest, there was no being that could pose a threat to him. Nonetheless, he was more worried about those that were on two legs.

It was coincidence. He wouldn't have seen him if he hadn't been walking through the forest following that path, and if Sharpening Senses hadn't been activated. It's not that he needed the skill, but he was training it when he had enough energy. It was already at 8.

In fact, he was also casting Frozen Prisons from time to time for the same reason. The others were too dangerous in the middle of the forest.

He approached slowly, while trying not to make noise. He was missing Gjaki. With her, it would have been easier.

A dry branch nearly broke under his foot, threatening to expose him. Luckily, he was especially attentive to those types of circumstances. If his prey discovered him because of that sound, and his companions found it out, he would have to put up with their jokes for days.

He arrived just a few meters away, hid behind a tree, and cast Soundproofing followed by Frozen Prison. His target was at level 42, so his preparations should be enough. No matter how much his prey could hide his level, it was almost impossible for him to be powerful enough to stand up to Eldi.

The man was hooded and watching the village, while hiding behind some bushes. Eldi didn't know his motivations, but at the very least, he was suspicious. He wasn't going to leave someone like that near his apprentice's village without making sure he wasn't a danger.

"I hope they're well," he said to himself, as he feared for them.

His thoughts didn't prevent him from bringing the tip of the spear to his opponent's neck. This had turned around, perplexed by the unexpected spell, and even unsheathed a dagger.

His hood had fallen over his shoulders, showing his green hair, his dark eyes, and his somewhat flattened nose. He looked confused at the newcomer, whose face was still hidden behind his own hood.

"Who're you? What do you want?" the man asked scared, although not terrified.

Despite the fear, there was firmness in his voice, or defiance, even though the situation he had found himself in was nothing short of desperate. The man could feel the power of that ice cage, a power that he couldn't face. Not to mention the metal spike that threatened to pierce his neck.

"What're you doing hidden here? Who're you?" Eldi asked, without answering the questions.

"You're not going to get anything out of me! Kill me if you want! Fuck you and your kings, dukes and counts!" he shouted defiantly.

Luckily, Soundproofing prevented the villagers from hearing him. They weren't that far from the village, and those shouts could have attracted unwanted attention.

Eldi looked at him somewhat surprised. If he wasn't lying, that man hated the nobility. Although that didn't explain what he was doing there, it did give him information that he needed to corroborate.

"The gold and the black, the true lord, hope."