NOVEL NEXT Chapter 524: Quest 3
Eztein was amazed by how fast the regeneration ability of the parasite that was transplanted into his body was. It was surreal. If he didn't see it with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe that a human or demi could have an ability like this.
"You will be able to walk on your own a few minutes later," Souta said as he turned around and raised his hand.
[Gravitational Ball]!
Ten black balls formed above him, and it flew fifty meters above the surface.
He closed his palm, and the whole ground started to shake. The boulders that buried the hidden base began to float in mid-air one by one.
Since they were here, it's not that bad to gather some mana stones for themselves. Souta knew that they couldn't bring every stone from the hidden base, so he was going to take everything that he could with his group.
"Amanda, Yenxa, and Gragas, let's go and take some mana stones. Everything that you've taken out will be yours, so don't worry about it." He said he felt quite generous at the moment. After all, he completed Quest 2 of the Chain Quest after Eztein told him the truth.
'This is originally the property of the Witch Clan; I have the right, but since I've decided to pledge myself to this man, everything that I have belongs to him.' Amanda shook her head and smiled faintly. This was not bad for her. At least she knew that Souta wasn't lying to her when he said that he would help her achieve her goals.
"What about him?" Gragas pointed at Eztein.
"Don't worry about him. He couldn't betray me at this moment. The moment he accepted my proposal, he gave up his life to me. He couldn't revoke even if he wanted to." Souta simply waved his hand towards Gragas as he continued to walk forward.
Soon, the group arrived at the real entrance of the hidden base. It was the same gigantic and majestic door that they'd found when they came here for the first time. Everything in this place was in a mess, and even the two golems that were guarding it were gone.
The majestic door was slightly opened, and Souta knew that Gragas fought several A-rank experts in this place. This was the reason why the whole place looked like this.
But thanks to his gravity spell, the boulders were removed easily.
Most of the important things here were excavated by Union Peace years ago, and the only important thing here was the mining site on the lowest floor of the hidden base. So aside from mana stones, they couldn't get any valuable items here.
Hmm...
Souta opened the interface and looked at the system prompts that he received.
[Congratulations on completing Quest 2 of Amanda's Chain Quest!]
[You've received 7 skill points, 15 free attribute points, and 50,000 exp!]
He nodded with satisfaction. He understood why the title of Quest 2 was "False." The Witch Clan wasn't exterminated decades ago, and Amanda wasn't the sole survivor.
*Ding!*
[Quest 3 triggered!]
[Witch Clan] Quest 3: Find the Witch Clan and investigate Amanda's connection to her clan. Why was her memory different from the truth? What really happened to the Witch Clan decades ago?
Reward: Fixing Amanda's memory, 1 Level-up skill card, 1 Blank skill card, 10 skill points, 20 free attribute points, and 100,000 exp
Warning: Please proceed with extreme caution!
The reward of Quest 3 was enticing, but Souta's expression turned grim when he saw the warning. This warning means that the other side was hostile to him. It didn't have that in the quest when Ladros City was attacked because the hostility of those people wasn't directed at him. Even Leo and the Underground King didn't have hostile intent toward him, so the quest didn't notify him.
But now... When something appears like this, it means that the opposite side already has bad intentions for him.
But how? Oh, he recalled that he was Union Peace's enemy at this moment. Does this mean that the Witch Clan was in cahoots with Union Peace?
He thought that the battle decades ago revolved around these two, and the Witch Clan was defeated. That's why the Witch Clan gave up their hidden base to the Union Peace. It was then that they reached an agreement to stop the war.
But it seems that he was wrong...
The two groups were in alliance. It's getting pretty interesting. The Witch Clan of this high world was better than he imagined.
Enough with that. Souta glanced at his total skill points and free attribute points.
Skill point(s): 14
Free attribute point(s): 33
From the looks of it, it seems that his legion members in the Imperium have completed some of the good quests out there. If he completed Quest 3, he would have enough points to unseal one of the legacy's abilities in the system.
Sigh... It seems that he is going to be busy for a while.
'I need to prepare myself,' Souta said as his expression turned serious. This quest wasn't about A-rank or S-rank experts. Shackled realm experts would appear for sure, and he didn't doubt it.
It would be fine if it was just one or two broken shackles. Nonetheless, the danger was still too high.
Preparation is a must in this kind of situation.
His power could defeat S-rank now. He could probably fight an early-stage SS-rank for a few minutes before he got defeated. He would be fortunate if he lasted five minutes.
'Just give me one week, and I will make it longer,' Souta said inwardly. He then turned his head to Amanda and Yenxa.
Yenxa's combat power was still at the peak of C-rank, but her monster abilities could even affect an A-rank expert, two realms above her. Amanda was an A-rank expert. These two weren't enough if he wanted to secure his victory.
Then he had Eztein, a legitimate peak-level S-rank. He probably solidified 80% of his mana in his mana pool. At least with his help, the overall power of the group had increased dramatically.
'Oh, Witch Clan, just what are you planning? Don't force me to reveal my hands to you. I hope that I can complete the quest before the battle begins.'
Souta rubbed the bridge of his nose. Maybe he could use the reward "Fixing Amanda's Memory" to avoid the battle. He was sure that this reward would be needed. The quest didn't indicate that he had to fight anyone. It was different from subjugation, killing quests, or fighting quests when he fought Gregory before.
Still, he had the advantage in this situation. They don't know that he was coming to the Witch Clan's main territory.
Half an hour later, the group finished taking the highest quality of mana stones that could be found at this mining site. They couldn't bring everything, so they targeted the most precious stones.
"Let's return now."
Before they left, Souta made sure that he killed everyone from Union Peace except for Eztein. He also didn't forget to burn their bodies. After all, he didn't want the Union Peace to know that Eztein was still alive.
It would be bad if Eztein was under a curse or spell, but according to him, the Union Peace didn't have that procedure.
After two days, the group returned to Earthen Core City and entered using the secret passage of Eilish. They've safely arrived at her mansion, but it seems that there was a problem.
Eilish didn't have that smile on her face. Her expression was serious, and the aura around her was boiling. It gives off heavy pressure to anyone below B-rank.
"Don't leave this mansion or wander around the city for a while. The Union Peace is trying to find the culprit behind the incident at the hidden base. You know what I'm saying?" Eilish said to the group.
"The news traveled so fast. It seems that we can't enter another city at this moment." Souta said as he rubbed his chin.
"Yeah, they are infuriated this time. They wanted to capture you and your comrades. They even launched a frontal assault on the Monster Dungeon's monster army. It turned into a full-blown war." Eilish explained. She then turned her attention to Eztein. "Oh, it seems that there is a new face in your group."
"A lot of things happened." Souta simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Ah, this is too much. Do you think the war will reach us, Eilish?" Gragas asked with an annoyed expression. He wanted to study the soul weapon as soon as possible, but there was a possibility that the war would hinder him.
War is one of the most troublesome things in this world.
"Although the possibility is less than fifty percent, you should prepare yourself in case the war reaches this city," Eilish replied to him.
"I see..." Gragas nodded.
Eztein looked at Eilish. He was shocked inwardly. He didn't expect to meet an Extinction Realm master in this place. He also realized that Souta wasn't from Monster Dungeon. The one backing him wasn't a monster but instead a human.