Crimson Servant

Chapter 13 Ready to go
  "Set off in the morning glow and come back before the sunset. Every arakkoa who leaves home will wear a calendar stone, which represents hometown and our sun." Lightning brushed aside the black feathers swelling on his chest and said to John Showing off the necklace hidden under her chest hair, the pendant is a round stone the size of a pigeon egg.

The color of the arakkoa's calendar stone is bright yellow, getting brighter toward the center. The center part is as beautiful as glowing gold, like a golden eye. John immediately believed that Lightning was telling the truth, because this particular gem gave John the same positive energy that he hated, like the midsummer sun.

The brilliance of the calendar stone also attracted another person.

Paladin Carl.

He was holding a four-foot-long kite-shaped shield in his hand, and was wiping maintenance oil on the shield with a linen cloth. He stood quietly behind Lightning, his eyes fixed on the stone on his chest, his expression serious.

"This should be a sacred object belonging to the Sun God. How much can I pay to get it? Lightning."

The arakkoa felt offended, and Lightning let go of his hand to spread the chest hair. The feathers on his sides were like the black sea that had merged again and submerged the gem. Lightning covered his chest with one hand warily and said angrily, "It represents my hometown, Karl!"

"I understand." Karl wiped the edge of the shield and added, "Then how much does your hometown cost?"

"I won't sell it. Just give up, Karl. Go back and pray to your Sun God, and pray that He will give you exactly the same one!"

Karl shook his head decisively.

"Don't covet the gifts of Mithras. Don't ask for what doesn't belong to you. But, Lightning, if I protect your life during the exploration of the dungeon, can you give me that stone as a gift?" Thank you for saving your life.”

"Then I would rather be killed by a monster..."

Karl shrugged and stuck out his lower lip, "Well, you were unfortunately killed, and I can get it from your body."

Lightning turned back to look at John, his eyes widened, and he put on an expression that said "he actually said such a thing", John sighed in his heart, you feel betrayed too, Lightning.

"He was just describing a possibility, lightning. Even God is not omnipotent, and your death is one of the worse situations. Don't worry, according to the contract, Karl will still do his best to protect your safety. Just talk. Talking about it doesn’t count as betrayal, does it?”

"But he said he never lies!" Lightning seemed to be about to cry.

John patted his shoulder in amusement and walked towards Jurgen's alchemy table.

"Then remember to be cautious when exploring. If you die, there will really be nothing left."

No longer paying attention to the excited screams of birds behind him, John used his hands to remove the plants blocking his way.

Jurgen Mercer was preparing a potion. He crushed three unknown plant tissues placed on the table into powder, poured in the solvent, and poured them directly into the medicine bottle and shook them vigorously. John noticed the filter screen placed in the corner of the alchemy table. It was as clean as a new one.

"Oh, you want to use the alchemy table too, John."

The sound behind him made Jurgen look back. He jumped off his small wooden stool to make way for his position, still shaking the medicine bottle in his hand.

"Well, I want to prepare some alchemical flames and other elemental reactants. Maybe we will use them..." John put the backpack on the table, picked up the flask skillfully, started the equipment on the table and made the Magic Circle, "Is the potion quota sufficient? I brought some materials and I can prepare some healing potions."

"It's always better to be more prepared." The dwarf laughed loudly. He stuffed the prepared medicine into his waist pocket, picked up the long oak stick, and tapped the container containing the materials with the bulging tip. The plant materials were here. There was a crisp sound after being touched, and the air-dried powder once again exuded a strong fragrance that did not belong to it at this time.

"Thank you."

John continued to cook the solution, and at the same time used the alchemy array to refine the elemental properties in the ore powder, turning it into a single fire element. The smell of sulfur was much stronger.

"The mugwort should be broken rather than chopped. The remaining iron on the blade will reduce its effectiveness." Jurgen did not leave, but stood on the small bench again. He observed John's alchemical process with great interest. , he will ask a few questions about novel things, and will remind John when he sees his imperfect handling.

"Been taught a lesson."

"What I just made is an antidote. Keeping the filter residue will make the taste worse. The clumped particles are conducive to absorbing toxins, and can also promote digestion and speed up the elimination of toxins."

John once again realized that this dwarf druid was far more thoughtful than he appeared.

"Why did you go to the fourth underground floor?"

"……Find someone."

"..."

Jurgen's long stick poked the ground, and John saw him holding the stick diagonally with both hands, calmly regaining his balance.    “That's your friend?”

"My adoptive mother."

"..."

Once again, the dwarf fell silent.

"She is a female shapeshifter who is petite, loves to laugh, and loves to tease people."

"Sounds like an amplified goblin... It's really not easy to worry about when a mother is still running around in the dungeon."

John smiled.

"I am not everything to her. She has her own life, a cunning mind, an optimistic nature, and a talent for causing trouble."

"I will keep an eye out for you. Her character is the type I hate the most. She must be very conspicuous in my eyes."

"Thank you."

John noticed that Jurgen had relaxed, and he also promptly asked Jurgen about the purpose of exploring the dungeon.

Before the dwarf could answer, his voice was interrupted.

"Hey guys, you should come see this!"

Lightning stood at the gate, raising his arms high and shouting loudly inside, as if he would not shut up even if he ignored him. The three of them came to him and noticed that he was holding an oval copper plate with Lightning's name engraved on it and a string of words that looked like place names.

"dog tag?"

Carl recognized that thing immediately.

"It's an adventurer dog tag. It costs 10 gold coins. I bought it from the Merchant Alliance store. They promise to make all the adventurers who buy the dog tag return to their roots, along with their belongings." Lightning's eyes sparkled, and it was obvious that this was what he had in mind to deal with the Saint. Knight Carl's Countermeasures.

"You were tricked, silly bird."

"Ah?" The Crow Man opened his mouth, looked at the dog tag in his hand, and then at Karl, "Are you lying to me?"

"I never lie." Karl pointed to the dog tags. "Haven't you ever thought about how this so-called Fallen Leaves Return to Roots works? The Merchant Alliance will purchase dog tags from adventurers. A bronze medal is 5 gold. Wait until the adventurer collects it. After your body is taken away from you and your belongings, your dog tag will also be taken away. In this way, the merchant alliance will learn about your death and take the news of your death back to your hometown and notify your family. This is the dog tag. The only function of the card, other functions, the people of the Merchant Alliance will not personally promise this, it must be the rumors you heard from the adventurers."

Paladin Carl takes advantage of the victory to pursue.

"You might as well entrust me, at least I will take your body back to your hometown."

Lightning's expression was not obvious beneath the arakkoa's appearance, but he was clearly speaking harshly.

"Even if it's just to notify of death, it's very useful. At least my family won't worry. I think you all should buy one."

Karl crossed his arms, "No need, I won't die here."

Jurgen shook his head, "I'm a bad old man, there's no need to disturb others."

John said calmly: "The news of my death cannot reach my home."

Carl and Jurgen looked at John, and Lightning also looked at him with apologetic pity. John understood that they had misinterpreted their meaning.

They thought John was subtly expressing his miserable situation of being homeless, having no home for a long time.

The actual situation is that no matter how brave the Merchant Alliance's messenger is, he will never deliver a message to Dark City.

(End of this chapter)