The One Branch of The Tree

Morning came too quickly or maybe I was just chronically sleep deprived after leaving the guild last night, I rented a cheap room at an inn near the adventurer's district. 

Cheap in a way: the bed is hard enough to be considered an interrogation device but at least it has a roof and no monsters, a massive improvement. 

I stood in front of the small mirror in the room checking the condition of the scars starting to fade, mana recovered about seventy percent and the body felt much better thanks to the savage vitality. 

Honestly the passive ability is problematic, I wore a simple dark robe I bought this morning it was more practical and also helped a bit to hide the fact that my sword looked like a villain protagonist artifact.

I went downstairs to a fairly crowded inn, where I had a breakfast of hard bread and a thin soup made by champions. After eating, I headed straight for the city's north gate. 

The city of Lumeria in the morning is much livelier, merchants start opening their shops, carriages pass by, knights patrol, adventurers set off on quests. 

The fantasy city atmosphere was completely felt, and I enjoyed it for about three minutes. Until a familiar voice rang out.

“Cancer.”

I stopped and turned around—of course, it was Mira, because it seemed the universe wasn't done testing my patience yet. She walked over, wearing white armor and a healer's robe, neater than yesterday, but still looking like someone harboring too much unresolved guilt. I stared at her.

"What is it?"

Let's get straight to the point, Mira looked a little nervous but still went ahead.

“I heard you took the northern investigation quest.”

News spread fast or maybe the gossip within the guild was just unstoppable.

“And?” I asked.

“I’m coming,” he said.

…

Not at all, I immediately shook my head.

"No."

Mira blinked.

“Why?”

I stared at him blankly.

“List the reasons why you want the short or premium version?”

Some of the guards near the gate held back a sideways comedic smile, Mira sighed.

"I'm serious."

“Me too,” I replied.

He looked at me sternly.

“The quest is dangerous.”

“That's usually the reason I leave,” I said.

Unhelpful yet accurate, Mira stepped closer.

“The root of the anomaly is likely related to your class.”

Oho, interesting card he continued talking.

“The White House is also investigating the area.”

Now that's more interesting, I squinted.

“How do you know?”

Mira answered quickly.

“Our group received instructions.”

While it's true that the protagonist's party connections are incredibly useful, I briefly thought bringing Mira along sounded like a terrible idea. It was terrible, but inside information could potentially be very useful. Annoying compromise, I sighed.

"Good."

Mira looked a little relieved too quickly that was a mistake, I raised a finger.

“With conditions.”

He nodded quickly.

"Whatever."

A dangerous phrase.

“First, you come along as a temporary supporter.”

“Not a partner.”

Her expression changed slightly as expected.

“There is no authority.”

“No drama.”

“And if things get worse, I won't save you.”

Half-truth perhaps, Mira was silent for a few seconds then nodded.

"Agree."

Interesting, he was so eager to join in for some suspicious motives, I stared at him for a few seconds Predator Sense detected no hostility no hidden attacking intent, fine then.

“For now,” I said.

We left town heading north for about two hours, the main road slowly turning into a rocky dirt track, the trees getting thicker, the air getting colder, the atmosphere was too quiet, a classic atmosphere of danger. 

Mira walked a few steps behind me, keeping a professional distance. It was nice, a little more awkward, but after a long moment of silence, she finally spoke.

“Why did you still let me come along?”

I didn't look back.

“Because of the information.”

Mira's refreshing honesty fell silent, fair enough. I added,

“And healers are useful.”

A little rough he sounded almost chuckling, almost, maybe character development after some time, 

We arrived at the northern ruins a vast area full of the remains of old stone buildings, collapsed pillars, broken statues, black roots growing everywhere. 

The mana aura felt strangely familiar, I stopped Minor Mana Sense automatically activated my heart beat a little faster, the World Thorn sword reacted the green veins on its blade glowed faintly. Interesting, very interesting Mira noticed.

“It reacted?”

I nodded slowly.

“Yes.”

And I don't like what it means.

A notification appears.

Area discovered:

Forgotten Shrine Ruins

Special condition:

Fragment resonance detected

I froze. Fragment resources? Okay, there you go, no further ado, I smiled a little.

“Yep.”

“We are definitely in the right place.”

We stepped deeper into the black roots that filled the floor like giant veins, each step felt like entering territory that shouldn't be touched. 

Predator Sense started to activate there was danger very close but didn't move just watched, I gripped the sword tighter.

“Mira.”

“Ready to heal?”

He nodded his staff glowing faintly. 

Good we went down the cracked stone stairs to the underground area a large open room in front of it was dark, an ancient altar circle in the center and someone was already standing there. 

Long white robes, blonde hair, small wings of light floating behind her, I froze. Oh come on, it's not her again. 

Seraphiel slowly turned her golden eyes to meet mine, her expression remaining blank as if we had just happened to meet at the supermarket.

"Ah." he said calmly.

“Faster than predicted.”

I looked at him and took a deep breath.

“Why did I even pretend to hope that today would be normal?”

Mira, behind me, froze completely, an aura of fear immediately surged, but it was understandable. Seraphiel raised one hand, and a golden magic circle reappeared, not the original one.

“Hand over the fragment,” he said.

I raised my sword with a faint smile appearing.

"Good."

“Second round, then.”

[END CHAPTER 23]