Chương 95: Interlude - Lucien Illucis

Lucien stood in the clearing between the village and the forest. The first light of the day caressed his skin and shone over the dozens of monster corpses that lay in front of him. The stench of wrongness and rot filled the air. A single pair of footsteps came from behind him.

"Umm… are we safe, Sir?" a young boy asked. Lucien turned and smiled softly. The boy was around ten years old, with brown hair and green eyes, dressed in farm clothes that were too big for his small frame.

"Yes," Lucien said.

"It's safe." The boy's shaking hands clenched, and his eyes shone brightly.

"T-thank you!" Lucien gently squeezed the boy's shoulder.

"Go back inside. I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay," the boy said and started moving toward the village. Every few steps, he turned and looked back at Lucien, as if afraid he would leave them. Lucien kept his smile until the boy was back in the village, then turned to face the corrupted monsters. His sword was covered in crimson; with a flick of his wrist, the blood cleared from the blade. The plant life around the corpses had withered, while the strongest plants were already showing signs of corruption.

His mana had recovered just enough, so he focused inwardly and circulated it through his channels toward his sword arm. Pure, bright flames covered the sword's edge. With a slash, the monster corpses started burning, along with everything else the corruption had touched. The plants and trees that weren't corrupted remained unaffected by the pure flames. The blessing acknowledged the new Skill, but Lucien didn't pay any attention to it.

It was his third week in the new world, and ever since he'd arrived, he hadn't stopped fighting against the corruption that plagued the land. The incursions from the frontlines were coming almost daily now, instead of every few days like when he'd first woken up in the new world. The monsters were also becoming stronger. Lucien turned and walked back toward the village as he changed his breathing rhythm to a different technique.

As he completed the first cycle, another acknowledgment from the blessing followed, and with it, his level increased. He still wasn't sure what to think about the gift from the goddess—the blessing. It had allowed him to recover a portion of his strength in a very short time, and based on his estimates, it would take him just under two years to recover his full strength at the pace he was going.

From his short time in the new world, he'd learned that the goddess wasn't as bad as the gods in his old world, but he still wasn't sure if She could be trusted. Since he spent most of his time dealing with the corrupted monsters, he'd decided to leave that issue for the future, when the kids were somewhere safe and and he could focus on things other than growing stronger. The village walls were filled with holes and damaged sections, most of them beyond repair.

In front of the entrance, two young men stood with spears and shields in their hands. Their bodies shook as they watched the carnage behind him. Lucien entered the village, walking over the collapsed gate.

"Call for me if more of them show up," he said.

"Y-yes," one of the guards said.

"Luc!" a little girl shouted as she ran toward him.

"Breakfast is ready!" she said excitedly and started dragging him toward one of the houses that was still standing. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The girl dragged him inside, where the warm, nutty smell of porridge filled the air. The kids swarmed him in moments.

"Can you tell us another story?"

"No! I want to hear the story about the Radiant Mage again!" Lucien chuckled lightly and managed to take a seat at one of the tables.

"Out!" Magda shouted from the fireplace.

"Everyone out! Lucien needs to take a break and eat."

"But—""No buts! Everyone out!" In moments, the kids were gone, and Magda placed a bowl filled with porridge and berries in front of him.

"How are you holding up?" Magda asked.

"Fine," Lucien said. Magda didn't look like she believed him, but she didn't comment any further.

"Eat," she said. Lucien didn't want to get scolded again, so he took the wooden spoon and dug in. The porridge wasn't anything special, but it was warm, and it filled him. As soon as he was done with his food, Magda took a seat in front of him.

"When do we move?"

"In three days," Lucien said.

"Just after I clear the wave."

"The wagons?"

"Yeah. Richard promised the last one will be fixed by then, and it will be just enough to carry everyone." Magda nodded.

"I found what you were looking for. It's not too accurate, but it should help us find the right paths." She opened a parchment on the table. It was a map, drawn with crude lines and markings.

"It's quite old, but it should help us find our way toward the nearest city." Lucien nodded and studied the map. It showed the local region, with a dozen or so markings. Magda pointed toward an 'X' marked on the map.

"The village is here. We have two choices. We can head southeast through here." She pointed toward a badly marked path.

"Toward the frontlines and the fort city of Silver City. Or we can go north." She pointed toward another path.

"Toward the town of Gard." Both options were bad considering the number of people he had to bring with him. Silver City was much closer to the village, but it was also close to the frontline. He would have to deal with many more monster waves while also protecting the civilians. Gard, on the other hand, was a three-week journey away, and with the elderly and the kids, it was an awful option. The journey alone would be difficult for them.

Silver City sounded like a better option if he had a few more guards to help him out, but he didn't. The three-week journey to Gard would probably take twice as long with all the breaks they would be forced to take. Lucien frowned. Magda just nodded.

"We can also go here." She pointed toward another 'X'.

"It's another village to the north. It's a week's journey, and if the village is unaffected by the monster waves, we can recover there before heading toward Gard."

"That's much better than the alternatives," Lucien said.

"Even if the journey takes longer, at least we'll have a safe place to rest until everyone has recovered." The alternative was to camp outdoors along the way, which would only tire out the elderly and the kids even more. This way, they would have some time to recover indoors before they had to endure another week or two of travel. They spent an hour planning the evacuation of the village before Lucien retired to his room, exhausted. He'd been awake the whole night and had fought the monster wave alone.

He needed to be at his best before the next wave arrived. From his short time in the new world, he'd learned that he was in a village within the Vilum Dynasty. He'd woken up in the body of a local noble who had been traveling toward the frontlines and had taken refuge in the village for the night. Then the corrupted monster wave attacked, and most of his men died protecting the village, himself included. Most of the villagers had died as well.

Ever since, Lucien had been training most of the day to grow strong enough to protect the survivors and lead them to safety. To a place away from the monster waves. Lucien hadn't had the time to think about what had happened during the fight inside the Demon King's castle, nor about his party. Yet, there was a strong feeling in his heart that they would meet again sometime in the future, and that it would happen deep inside the territory of the corrupted.

Whenever he wondered why, the goddess was the first thing that came to mind. He didn't want to ruin his mood, so he focused on more important things. Before that happened, he needed to choose a Class, something he'd been avoiding for the last few days. The memories that the Class Selection brought back weren't pleasant, and he needed some time to process everything. The problem was that he didn't have the time, and he would be forced to choose soon.

He would have preferred more time before making his choice, but the attributes he was losing weren't helping him protect the villagers. He focused on the Class Selection. [Guardian (Uncommon)] [Failed Hero → Hero (Rare)] [Sword Saint (Unique)] [Radiant Blade (Unique)] He chuckled lightly. His time in the village had changed him. The choice was quite simple: [Sword Saint] or [Radiant Blade]. Both gave the highest attributes; the difference was the Skill each Class would give him.

At that moment, the choice became obvious. The world needed some light. [Class Selected: Radiant Blade] [New Class Skill: Purify]