Suddenly the situation took an unexpected turn as Zayne and Rolf were puzzled by the appearance of the quest as Aron, Amelia, and Harald became very serious as if something equal to their lives depended on it.
"Elder... I could be wrong, but isn't it possible that we both killed one Black Wolf each?" Zayne asked rubbing the back of his head with a confused look. Zayne was able to kill the beast in one random attack, so he found it all too serious.
However, Aron thought quite differently as his gaze became menacing and his face deadly serious, "Young men, you are a Traveller so you don't know all the rules of our world yet. Now before we begin I'll tell you more about that, have a seat." Aron pointed to a chair next to the table while looking at Zayne.
'Hmm? Is this some sort of game mechanic? I've never heard of it, though if I were the developers I wouldn't reveal all the details either.' Zayne inwardly muttered before sitting down.
Harald and Amelia remained silent. Harald could be rude to the others, but he treated the Elder very differently which was evident by the respect in his eyes.
Aron began, "What you just saw we call Fate's Sight, that means that a solution must be found whatever it may be, in other words, Fate will not approve if we just split up now and not determine which one of you is a liar."
"Hmm? Fate...? What happens if we ignore Fate's Sight? I know I killed the Black Wolf, but I wonder what will happen." Rolf asked with a confident look as his eyes narrowed.
'Damn... even though I was a beta tester, they only gave each of us twelve hours to review the game and tell us our impressions... Apparently, they were convinced that their game had no technical problems... Shit, I didn't learn enough about the game because of that.' Rolf uttered to himself with a frowned look.
Aron was silent until he finally said, "If we do this, then a powerful curse will come upon our village and every one of us who witnessed Fate's Sight. It's different every time, but one thing is certain, there's no point in anyone rejecting fate."
"The Elder is right." Harald nodded with a serious expression as his gaze settled on the young man, "If you want to survive in this world, you better know the rules here."
Zayne shuddered as goosebumps ran down his body, 'Damn... Maybe you cured me, but hearing that from a doctor is actually kind of scary...'
There was silence for a moment. Aron stared intently at Rolf and Zayne, as though trying to learn the truth from their faces while Harald and Amelia awaited the Elder's next action.
"Let us proceed." Aron placed his folded hands on the table and said slowly, "How do we find out which one of you killed the Black Wolf? Do you have any ideas?"
Zayne was silent, in a confusion. He had originally just gone to the doctor to treat his wound on Jafa's advice, but he ended up here.
"I have an idea." Rolf said suddenly as a sly smirk appeared on his face.
"Talk." Aron spoke in a low voice.
Rolf put his palm to his chest as his other hand pointed at Zayne and said, "Look, one of us is definitely lying and we don't have enough evidence to determine that for sure, so I suggest we approach this problem from another angle."
"Hmm?" Aron raised an eyebrow giving him a questioning look.
"The Black Wolf was the only such monster around this village, and to kill it you'd have to be strong enough, like me. I doubt this frail guy could do it." Rolf glanced at Zayne as the corners of his mouth lifted upward forming a grin.
"What did you say?" Zayne frowned as his eyes narrowed.
'Hahaha, looks like someone got angry. I'm only telling the truth. Even if you met the Black Wolf, that dangerous beast would tear you apart." Rolf chuckled mockingly.
'Bastard! I was scared to death, but I was the one who killed the Black Wolf, I even got the Title for it!' Zayne inwardly exclaimed as his eyes suddenly went wide. He realized he could prove it if he showed his Title.
Zayne started looking for it, but after a few seconds, the light in his eyes went out, 'Damn... I don't even know if I can show them my Title, but there's no mention of the Black Wolf...'
"Don't get distracted. Get to the point." Aron's face became serious and he took a deep breath.
Rolf nodded confidently, "Sure. I don't want fate's curse to fall on your village, so I'll prove that I'm the one who killed the black wolf. I believe that in this situation, the most correct way would be to have a duel between me and this guy!"
Rolf jumped up, put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and looked down at Zayne as if he was already certain of his victory.
Aron and Harald looked at each other then Aron nodded meaningfully, "So be it. What you're saying actually makes sense, then we'll have a fight right now, in the central square of the village!"
Whooooooooooooosh.
Suddenly, their eyes were covered in blue flame again for a moment as a message appeared in front of Zayne.
[One of your quests has been changed!]
[Liar Who Tells the Truth
Your argument has reached its final phase! Now the liar will not be the one who really is, but the one who is weaker in the duel!
Isn't that fair? Yes, it is, as well as this world.]
'What the hell!' Zayne exclaimed inwardly, not understanding what was happening at all, 'Fighting with him? I've only fought a few times in my life and it was usually in dark alleys when I ended up getting beaten up!'
Zayne lived in one of the worst neighborhoods because he didn't have enough money for a better one, so it wasn't uncommon for unfriendly people to show up in such places.
"Fine, fate has also decided to say its word, in that case, let's not waste any time." Aron rose, headed for the exit, and opened the doors with his massive palms.
Harald and Amelia immediately followed him under the surprised looks of the people in line. No one yet understood why the Elder decided to leave.
"Hey, don't be too long. I'll try not to hurt you too much, I don't like bullying newbies." Rolf headed for the door, shaking his hand slowly as if to say goodbye to Zayne as the smirk on his face grew more evil.
Zayne was stunned as a shiver ran through his body. He had already imagined how much pain he would feel if a sharp sword plunged into his flesh and it actually scared him, after all, he was just a guy trying to save his sister and not a professional fighter or pro player.
At the same time, the sun had fully retreated into the sunset as the blue moon appeared over the horizon, its light passing across the mountaintops and reaching toward Zayne, illuminating half of his face with a faint glow.
'Fine. If that's what you want, I'll take out all the anger I've had for a long time.' Zayne's pupils narrowed as unnoticed the rune on his shoulder flashed again.