Chương 67: Clan Relashra

Joe lay just inside the cave, next to a fire Veda had created for him. He was currently alone, staring up into the night sky. His body ached from overexertion, and he absentmindedly touched his left arm, the one with the void inside. It felt numb, like he was touching someone else's limb entirely. The arm was utterly empty of mana, and he couldn't use any of his skills with it.

He activated his sight skills and stared at the inner workings of the arm, watching the vines, what he decided to call them, gently pulsing as they snaked through his flesh. He didn't know what they were doing, but he could feel it: something was changing. He shuddered. The reason he lay alone at the edge of the cave was simple. When he entered after the battle, the elderly Voldura had been frightened by the sight of a stranger who wasn't Voldura. Joe was the first human they had ever seen.

They referred to him as human for simplicity's sake; it was easier than explaining the truth, and besides, Identify didn't work on him while he wore his crown. No need to confuse them further. Corel and Veda were inside the cave, explaining everything that had happened over the past six weeks. Strangely enough, they accepted Veda without hesitation. Joe was starting to suspect she had some kind of passive skill that affected how people reacted to her, even when she started talking out of nowhere.

"Joe." Joe sat up as an unfamiliar voice called his name. It was Varaiya, Corel's cousin.

"Hi," Joe waved as she approached and sat beside him.

"I wanted to thank you for your efforts today," she said, bowing her head.

"You saved our Clan."

"You're welcome," Joe replied with a smile.

"I was only doing what was right. Corel's family is important to her, so it's important to me." Varaiya gave him a curious look.

"Are you courting my cousin?" Joe let out a startled laugh, then quickly suppressed it.

"No, we do not have that kind of relationship. Has she said anything about me?" he asked, feeling a bit awkward. Varaiya shook her head.

"She only explained that you saved her and have helped her since."

"Consider me like a brother to her, then," Joe said.

"That's the best way to explain it." Varaiya looked sceptical.

"It is clearly more than that. But I won't pry. She will tell me eventually. I did want to thank you, though, sincerely." They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, the crackle of the fire the only sound between them.

"How are the rest of your clan?" Joe asked, breaking the silence when the awkwardness began to creep back in.

"They are much better now. That food you gave us was amazing. Did you cook it?"

"Yep, I like cooking. If you need more, I can make another batch."

"I would not turn you down. Thank you. But only if you don't mind."

"I don't at all. Here," Joe said, handing her a fruit, which she accepted happily.

"I'll cook up…" Joe suddenly shot to his feet. He heard a faint shout and peered out into the darkness below. Thanks to his sunglasses, he could see clearly, as if it were midday. He spotted faint movement a couple of miles away at the bottom of the mountain. He Space-Jumped, causing Varaiya to jump in surprise. [Be right back, I think I see someone in trouble.] - Joe. Joe Space-Jumped again, appearing above one of the Garo Gar that had fled the mountain.

He quickly decapitated it with his staff and looted the body as he landed on it. Looking down, he stared in shock and horror. Two dead bodies lay sprawled out, and between them sat a small boy clutching a bloody leg. The boy looked up at Joe with wide, fearful eyes. Joe slowly raised his hands, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. Are you okay?" he asked gently. The boy blinked at him, his body tense, then slowly shook his head.

"Here, take this pill. It will heal your leg." Joe said, holding out a healing pill. The boy hesitated for a moment, scrutinizing it before popping it into his mouth. Within seconds, the wound began to heal.

"I'm Joe, what's your name?"

"Alan," the boy murmured.

"Alan, nice to meet you." Joe glanced up, spotting two more Garo Gar racing toward them.

"Alan, close your eyes. I need to do something quickly." Alan nodded and squeezed his eyes shut. Joe Space-Jumped away, quickly dispatching four nearby Garo Gar, then returned to Alan's side.

"I'm back. You can open your eyes now." Alan peeked up at him, then looked around frantically.

"I took care of them all; you're safe now," Joe said, offering a small, reassuring smile. Alan nodded and curled up into a ball, trembling.

"Are you alone?" Joe asked as he sat down nearby, not sure how to approach the grim topic of the two bodies. After a few heavy moments, Alan spoke.

"Yes, my parents were the only ones with me," he said, his voice breaking. Joe's heart seized in his chest. He felt sick.

"What happened?" he asked quietly.

"They protected me from that big thing. It killed them both," Alan said, tears streaming down his face. Fuck. For the first time in a long while, Joe was speechless. He didn't know what to say. This was his fault; they had died because he hadn't finished clearing the last beasts. A tear formed in his eye as he sat silently beside the crying boy. Joe buried Alan's parents, using Nature's Paradise to mark their graves with a tree. Alan sat the whole time quietly, watching him.

After they finished and spent an hour in silence at the graveside, Veda strolled up to them. Joe hadn't responded to the party chat, so she had come to find out what was happening. Seeing the scene, she instantly understood. She sat beside Alan, comforting him until he stopped crying and shakily stood. The boy climbed onto Joe's back, and as Joe wrapped him in barding, Alan fell into an exhausted sleep. Together, they began the slow walk back toward the mountain. [It's not your fault.] - Veda. [Of course it is. They would be alive if I had dealt with the stragglers on the mountain.] - Joe. [How were you to know they were out here? You are being too hard on yourself.] - Veda. Joe grimaced as he walked, his thoughts a tangle of regret and self-loathing. He should have done more. He failed this boy. An hour later, they arrived at the cave, setting up a small bed for Alan, who slept the entire way. Joe quietly left the cave and vanished, reappearing at the summit of the mountain.

There, he sat alone with his thoughts, not returning until the following morning. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. When he returned, Joe was greeted by smiling members of Clan Relashra, each one coming to thank him for saving them. They bowed deeply and even offered gifts, which he politely refused. He smiled in return, masking the storm inside him, and kept his words to a minimum.

After the last of the clan had expressed their gratitude, Joe finally faced the moment he had been dreading. Alan and Corel approached. Joe looked down at the boy, who now wore clean, slightly oversized clothes. His face had been scrubbed clean, and he looked a little less lost. Alan met Joe's eyes, his small voice steady.

"Thank you," he said. Joe almost broke, but somehow managed to compose himself.

"That's okay. I just wish I had gotten there sooner. I'm sorry I couldn't save them." Alan nodded, and Corel gently led him aside to sit and eat. Joe moved just outside the cave and began cooking more food for the Clan, trying to take his mind off things.

"Are you ready to stop being depressed?" Veda asked as she landed lightly on his shoulder.

"I think so," he replied uncertainly.

"Well, you better be. These Voldura still need you. They are looking to you for strength. Focus on those you can save, not those you can't." She was right. It was time to put it behind him. He took a deep breath and steeled himself, forcing his thoughts forward rather than back. As he cooked, his mind wandered. Veda's tail swung lazily near his arm, and in a moment of forgetfulness, he lightly touched her with his left hand. The reaction was immediate. His arm annihilated the mana in Veda's tail.

She yelped and leapt from his shoulder, hissing in shock before realizing what had happened. Her gaze snapped back to Joe's arm, anger flashing in her eyes. Corel and a few of the Relashra clan members looked on with worried expressions.

"Sorry!" Joe raised his hands quickly, trying to calm everyone down. Once it was clear nothing worse was happening, he turned to Veda. [Shit, did that hurt?] - Joe. [Yes… We need to stop that from happening. Why did nothing happen when I was across your shoulder?] - Veda. Joe thought about it for a while. It had only happened when he touched her directly… He pulled a pair of gloves from his storage and slipped them on. Extending a hand cautiously, he tested his theory. [It must require skin contact. I noticed it also triggered when I punched things.] - Joe. Veda tentatively brushed the gloved hand with the tip of her tail. She shuddered, but there was no jolt this time. Joe let out a long breath of relief. [I'll keep gloves on from now on.] - Joe. Veda gave his arm one last suspicious glance before returning to her spot on his shoulder. This time, her tail kept a cautious distance from his left hand.

Once Joe had finished cooking almost all the meat in his storage ring, he distributed several rings filled with food to the elders of Clan Relashra. With supplies secured, the group, now thirteen Voldura and two humans, began their trek down the mountain. Using the skyboat wasn't an option with so many in the group, so they agreed to descend on foot. The plan was simple: find a safe spot in the forest below, set up a temporary camp, and then make longer-term plans.

It took them just two hours to descend the mountain. Thanks to Joe's energy-revitalizing food, everyone managed the journey without incident. They soon found a secluded clearing where Joe and Corel combined their Nature's Paradise skills to create a small haven of safety. With food and water secured, Corel, Varaiya, Joe, Veda, and one of the elders, Torthin, gathered to discuss the clan's immediate future.

"Joining up with one of the humans' pillar cities is out of the question," Torthin and Varaiya said in unison.

"We mean no disrespect," Varaiya added quickly, "but we do not know you, humans. It would be best if we stay away for now, at least until the Clan stabilizes." Corel nodded in agreement and looked at Joe.

"I completely understand," he said, his brow furrowing thoughtfully.

"Honestly, I don't think my input's needed here. Your Clan is yours to do with as you see fit. I'll support whatever you decide." He gave Corel a meaningful look, and she nodded back in thanks.

"I do have one thing I wanted to check out, though," Joe added, looking east.

"On the way here, I spotted a pillar city not far. I want to go and scout it out, see whose hands it's in." This sparked a flood of questions from Varaiya and Torthin. Corel explained what little she knew about Pathfinder's control of six out of ten pillars.

"If it's Voldura-controlled, what should we do?" Joe asked once Corel finished. The three Voldura moved aside for a private discussion before returning to him.

"If it is under Voldura control, and Pathfinder is not there," Varaiya said cautiously, "we could try talking to them."

"Too risky," Veda chimed in for the first time.

"If Pathfinder knew what he was doing, he would have set up transportation arrays between the pillars he claimed. He could teleport into the city at any moment." Torthin and Varaiya exchanged a worried glance, clearly unsettled by the prospect of facing Pathfinder head-on.

"Don't look too disheartened. It might be a human city; we have no idea who controls it yet." Veda added. Joe nodded, deep in thought. He hoped it was either Kunlun or New Eden; that would be the best outcome at the moment. Still, there was no way to be sure yet.

"There is no rush to make any decisions on what to do until we know what city it is," Joe said.

"While you discuss it, I will go scout. Once we have more information, you can decide what you want to do moving forward." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Will you be okay alone?" Corel asked. Joe could see she didn't want to leave her family so soon after finding them again, so he decided going alone would be the best course of action. Plus, he knew he could move faster alone.

"I'll be fine. I can pretty much escape any pursuit," he said confidently. Corel nodded.

"I'll stay too and help keep this place safe," Veda said, hopping onto Corel's shoulder. She gave Joe a look.

"Don't do anything, too foolish," she added.

"I'm always responsible," Joe said with a grin. Both Corel and Veda rolled their eyes but said nothing. Joe set off into the forest at a steady run. Deciding it was better to avoid attracting attention and using this opportunity to expand his mini-map, he ran the whole way. It took him about an hour to reach the enclosed city. From a hidden spot in the trees surrounding it, he gazed at the glowing blue bubble surrounding the settlement.

It was only partially transparent; he could see the outline of a wall and just make out shadows moving inside, but it was impossible to tell whether they were Voldura or human. He circled the outskirts carefully, hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone entering or leaving the city. As he waited, Joe decided to finally sort out his status after the battle with the Garo Gar. He was now level eighty-five in both classes and had gained one more level in his profession.

This time, he chose to put all his free points into agility. His speed had always been a massive factor in his victories, and pushing it even higher was never a waste. He smiled as he saw his Intellect stat had now broken the three-thousand mark, sitting at a monstrous three thousand one hundred and twenty-eight, his first stat to cross that threshold. His system credits had also ballooned after completing the emergency quest, now resting at a respectable (140, 943, 210).

After four hours of waiting, Joe began to get restless. No one had entered or exited the city. He kept Veda and Corel updated through the party chat. Luckily, he was still in range. He was just about to head back when he finally spotted movement: a part of the bubble to the north peeled open. He quickly moved around the forest edge, keeping hidden, until he found a good vantage point. His eyes lit up when he saw three armed Voldura standing just outside the bubble. Bingo! This was a Voldura-controlled pillar.

He immediately sent a message over the party chat. [Great, come back now, and we will make a plan.] - Veda. [On my way.] - Joe. He was about to turn his back when he noticed a small vehicle approaching from the horizon. He crouched lower, deciding to stay and gather more information. What if Pathfinder were here? He wondered. If he had control, taking the city would be nearly impossible, and it was better to find that out now than later. The vehicle reached the three Voldura guards within five minutes.

Joe watched as two massive Voldura exited the vehicle and began speaking with them. He quietly activated Identify to learn more about them. Natural Identify: Desu Vor (Grade E), Voldura - 128, Bloodline - None. Gas do Ron (Grade E), Voldura - 117, Bloodline - None. Zen do Ron (Grade E), Voldura - 121, Bloodline - None. Hap do Ron (Grade E), Voldura - 120, Bloodline - None. Truthe do Ron (Grade E), Voldura - 109, Bloodline - None. Joe's eyes narrowed.

He recognized one of the names from the top ten list on his integration pillar. Is Pathfinder close? He wondered, muscles tensing. He continued to observe as Zen and Hap, the two massive Voldura, spoke briefly with the guards before returning to their vehicle. It rumbled forward, heading toward the city. Joe exhaled slowly, ready to turn away and report back. Then the wind shifted. A gust tugged at the tarp over the back of the vehicle. It flapped… and Joe caught a glimpse beneath. He froze. Babump!

His heartbeat thundered in his ears. Babump! A red haze flooded his vision. The world collapsed into a single point of rage. A flame erupted in his mind, devouring every rational thought. Joe opened his mouth and screamed. A raw, guttural roar that shook the forest and deafened anyone within earshot. The earth beneath him cracked. Trees bent and toppled. The ground splintered around his feet as waves of mana and killing intent exploded outward like a physical storm.

Before the echoes of his scream had even faded, he moved… Everything in his path was torn asunder.