Chương 27: Chapter 24 - Same Direction

When the caravan eventually left the Orc Tribe, silence returned to the land once again. There were no vendors shouting about their prices, no bickering orcs over goods, and no hoofbeats of cattle moving enormous carts through the settlement anymore. After days of constant activity, the quiet made the forest feel more peaceful than he remembered. It was time for Dendron to examine the situation.

Seizing the moment, he checked his status, and he hadn't paid it any attention in weeks, and the familiar panel appeared before him. [Points: 98] Looking at the number, Dendron paused for a moment. Ninety-eight. Only two points until he hit one hundred and earned another shot at upgrading his skills. That idea hadn't occupied his mind in a while. Once, that goal had been what drove him: chasing every opportunity to grow stronger. Each point had mattered, and each skill had been a matter of life and death.

But times had changed. Since the events at the castle, Dendron's concerns had shifted. There had been the castle itself. The dolls. That name, and his unusual reaction to it, but none of it was clear to Dendron yet. That could be one of the reasons why he had stopped pursuing his points with such intensity, and for some time, he was interested only in survival. He did not need to be powerful for any greater purpose, just enough power to live. His gaze drifted further down the panel.

[Soul Parasitism (2/2)] His gaze lingered on the number. Two slots. That was the maximum. Luan. Torou. Two lives that he'd taken without asking, two individuals who now coexisted alongside him—not quite separate from him, nor wholly his. Their thoughts were his, yet they had lost none of themselves in the process. An invisible connection held them both to him, and nothing could ever truly sever it. Dendron considered the skill a few moments longer before deciding to draw one. The familiar prompt appeared again.

[Draw a random skill (50% success chance): 50 points] The numbers remained the same: fifty points, a fifty percent chance. One part luck, one part risk. Dendron stared at it.

"Risk," he murmured, his eyes remaining fixed on the panel.

"I don't gamble anymore." The statement came out automatically. But still, deep down, Dendron knew that wasn't quite true. He gambled constantly. He wagered, every day, on Luan's loyalty. He bet on Torou remaining quiet. He placed a bet on the Brown Wolf Tribe accepting his project, and he gambled on his shop being built properly. He even gambled on his ability to create something that would last when he walked away. None of those bets relied on luck alone, though.

He had control over them—he could prepare, he could plan ahead, and this particular risk, however, required a very different gamble. It meant handing fifty points to the system and trusting the gamble would pay off. Dendron dismissed the panel.

"Guess I'll keep the points and upgrade at some point." There was little else he could do right now. Dendron had learned this much in his new world: power was important, but sometimes so was restraint.... Seven days passed before the caravan finally arrived at the Brown Wolf Tribe's settlement. This, of course, caused no particular surprise. The brown wolves were accustomed to caravans, and the merchants knew the settlement perfectly well.

The wagons entered the gates, and the workers and traders began to unload the cargo. Luan, on the other hand, had a goal of his own. He walked around the edge of the caravan, searching for whoever handled passenger transport.

"Excuse me, sir." The creature turned its head.

"Yes?"

"I'd like to buy a ticket." The creature looked at him.

"Where do you wish to go?"

"To the Free Trade City of Beasts." The creature nodded and named the price, and after receiving the payment, he began writing out a ticket.

"We depart in two days. Same as always, so don't be late." Luan nodded.

"Okay." He took the ticket from the creature and stepped back. After leaving the caravan, Luan felt a sudden pang of fear, because he had never traveled this far alone before. Of course, he used to go to different places, but this was something new—he wouldn't be traveling with the Brown Wolf Tribe this time. There wouldn't be anyone he knew there. He would go alone. But it was his own decision.

He was going to the Free Trade City of Beasts to introduce their new shop to the world, and if their company was to expand, then someone should tell people about it, and Luan had decided he would be the one to do it. Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. On one hand, he wanted to do something for Dendron. On the other, there was some selfish interest in this trip as well.

He had spent nearly his whole life as a herb gatherer, his whole world limited to forest, tribe, and the herbs he picked every day. Now, for the very first time, he had a chance to step outside those boundaries, and he wanted to see where he could go, to accomplish things he couldn't even have dreamed of before. Luan looked at the ticket in his paw.

"I'll just pack whatever I need," he sighed quietly.

"Fortunately, now we can earn money. We'll be able to sell our spiritual fruit through the caravan's merchants." He watched the caravan go. The fruit Dendron grew had started bringing in some income. Not much, not yet, but it was a start, and every journey had to start somewhere.... Luan went home to see his family and let them know he'd be leaving for the city in a few days.

"Mother, I'm home. I brought some cooked monster meat." His mother looked him over for a moment, something thoughtful crossing her face.

"Welcome home, Luan. You seem different than usual—I don't know, maybe you're just carrying yourself more confidently these days?"

"Mother, you're probably just imagining that."

"I don't think so," she said simply.

"By the way, where are Len and Ron?"

"Those two are probably still outside somewhere. Go tell them to come home so we can all eat together."

"Okay, mother." Luan boarded the caravan two days later. The passenger compartment was situated behind the merchant's cargo hold. He entered and looked around. A few passengers were already seated, some asleep, others speaking in low voices, and Luan went further into the carriage, then stopped. An unusual sensation flooded his body, somehow familiar—almost too familiar. It was the same kind of strange sensation that always accompanied him when he was aware of the presence of Dendron. He then lifted his head.

In the passenger section, a young black ape sat, his eyes locked with Luan's, something in his expression sharing that same odd sensation. The black ape's face changed.

"Unknown?" Luan froze. The black ape stood up and stepped toward him.

"You... who are you?" Luan hesitated, remaining silent for a moment. There was something incredibly familiar about him—not in appearance, not in the voice, but in something else, something that could not be explained.

"I am Luan," he answered.

"A herb gatherer of the Brown Wolf Tribe." He paused, his tone carefully polite.

"If I may ask, who are you?"

"I am Torou. A warrior of the Black Ape Tribe," the black ape answered immediately. Luan widened his eyes a bit. Torou—so this was the other person Dendron had parasitized, the other soul he was bonded with. Torou paused, then asked, "Do you know Mr. Unknown?" Luan smiled somewhat hesitantly.

"In a way." Then he added, "Didn't you already know who he was?"

"No," Torou answered, shaking his head.

"I do not know who he is. I would not be asking otherwise." Luan stole a glance at Torou again, something warm loosening in his chest at the thought. Until then, he had been under the illusion that he was the only one parasitized by Mr. Unknown—the only one who'd been chosen. Now, there was someone else, and someone who had the same special connection. But there was one fact that had piqued Luan's interest as well. Why him? Why did Dendron reveal his identity to him but not to Torou? How did he differ from others?

Why did Dendron pick him? He didn't know the answers to those questions. For now, he decided to put them aside. He would deal with them later. Luan lowered his voice and asked, "Did a worm go inside your body?" Torou nodded.

"Yes." Unable to resist, Luan smiled slightly.

"Then we're on the same side." Torou studied him for a moment, then asked, "Do you also intend to find a person in the city who can help you cure your possession?" At this question, Luan's expression changed instantly.

"Ah..." He scratched the back of his head.

"No. Actually, I'm going there to advertise our business."

"Our?" Luan nodded.

"Mr. Unknown's business." Torou stared at him.

"And don't seek a cure," Luan continued. Torou's expression hardened.

"Why?"

"Because you're putting your life at stake." Luan lowered his voice even more.

"And you're putting Mr. Unknown's identity at stake." Torou said nothing. The silence stretched on. Luan gave him a kind smile.

"Moreover, it isn't too bad." He had gotten used to the link by now, and familiarity came with its own kind of comfort.

"Hm..." Luan thought about it for a moment, then said, "How about this instead? Instead of trying to find a cure, why don't you join us and help promote our business?" Torou raised his eyebrow.

"Advertisement?"

"Yes." The smile on Luan's face widened.

"There are definite advantages to being with him." He hesitated.

"And you are a part of him." Torou frowned at him and shook his head.

"No." Luan met his eyes.

"We are him." Torou regarded him in disbelief.

"And him too." His words resonated with Torou. He remembered hearing something like it before, but now that Luan had spoken the words himself, they seemed to carry a different meaning. He still didn't understand what Luan meant—maybe even Luan didn't fully understand it himself—but something in his voice left Torou unsettled and reassured in equal measure. For several minutes, Torou was silent. Finally, he sighed.

"Alright." He looked into Luan's eyes.

"Tell me everything you know about him." He stopped for a moment.

"And what can I truly gain from this?" Luan nodded. Without hesitation, he reached out to Dendron. Sir, Torou wants to know what he stands to gain by joining you.

"Let me think. Well, there are quite a few." Luan listened attentively.

"You'll get access to an almost unlimited supply of spiritual fruit for cultivation. On top of that, we can earn money by selling what we don't use ourselves. That's the first benefit." Luan's tail began to wag.

"The second is that with my help, you'll grow stronger far more easily," Dendron continued.

"The rest of the benefits will reveal themselves in time." There was a slight pause.

"The road won't always be smooth. We're bound to run into difficulties. But they'll be easy enough to overcome." The words reached them across the distance easily enough. His roots, meanwhile, hadn't moved an inch since the caravan first pulled away from his forest. Luan repeated everything to Torou, and at some point, his own enthusiasm crept into the retelling, adding more than Dendron had actually said. He sounded confident, proud of what was to come.

"As I said before, there's an almost unlimited supply of spiritual fruit for cultivation. We can earn money by selling it. You'll grow stronger more easily with Mr. Unknown." He smiled.

"And this is just a start." Torou listened attentively. Surely, the benefits were great—just the promise of an unlimited supply of spiritual fruit was enough to draw plenty of cultivators. But what attracted Torou much more was Luan himself: his confidence, his certainty, the strange pride in the way he spoke about Mr. Unknown, almost as if Luan wasn't simply serving him, but actually believed in him. Torou had never seen anything like it before. Luan stopped talking.

"All right." Torou crossed his hands.

"I'm in, for now." He shrugged.

"Perhaps you can alter my views entirely in the future." He paused.

"Or perhaps you cannot." It was not total trust, but it was a start. Luan smiled and extended his hand.

"Of course." Torou looked at the offered hand before shaking it.

"You won't be let down. In fact, you'll probably end up thanking me for this." Luan smiled.

"It's good to have company." He shook Torou's hand firmly.

"We shall work hard together." Torou nodded.

"All right then." The two finally went back to their respective seats. Their conversation was over, and silence reigned in the passenger compartment once again. Outside, the caravan rumbled on down the road. The wheels turned steadily against the soil, and the cattle plodded on, their steps heavy and slow. Within the carriage, two beings who shared the same enigmatic existence sat side by side for the very first time. They didn't know what waited for them at journey's end.

But for the moment, they were going in the same direction.