"What?!?! Is that true?!"
Bang became alert. If that was true, then he was being framed for the murder of Tab. Who would do such a thing? Why would they do that? Those were the questions that were going through Bang's head. Ligi just looked warily at the gate looking for any sign that the guards might comeback and arrest them.
"Yes! I have some reliable connections in the city. You have to go now!"
"Where do we go?"
"Follow that road until you see a sign saying 'to Bahan city' and take a sharp right turn. It should be a forest filled with red leaves. Continue in that direction until you see a river, by then follow the river that leads to a gorge until you see the Dreaded Valley. You'll notice it because it would be filled with rotten trees and leaves. Did you follow that?"
As soon as Andy told the directions, Bang got a notification in his mini map pointing in the directions that Andy told him. Bang didn't tarry any longer and sprinted into a different road than before. Ligi followed suit.
The danger of being caught by the powers that may be in Suno town for things he didn't commit terrified Bang. His adrenaline was so high that he forgot to ask an important question. Will they walk all the way there?
He realized it too late as Bang couldn't see Andy anymore. Andy probably put into the account of them walking to the estimated time of arrival in the Dreaded Valley. Hopefully.
Once they were far away enough so that Suno town was only an outline, Bang stopped jogging. He needed to conserve energy for the trip.
Once again, they were out here in the wild. Bang found it weird that he never got to settle in any one place. He was always pushed into some kind of situation that needed him elsewhere. Bang decided that he will try and stay in one place for a long time the next time he comes into a town. He needed to explore the things that were native only to this world and unthinkable on Earth.
Bang dreaded walking but thankfully, his body liked that. Ligi only had a determined face on him whenever they were away on a mission. Thankfully, there were clouds to buffer the heat of the sun.
After walking for what seems to be hours, Bang and Ligi finally saw the wooden sign that wrote 'To Bahan city'. True enough, adjacent to that sign was a forest filled with red leaves. It truly looked beautiful in the light of the sun. If it was back on Earth, it would have been a tourist attraction.
Following his mini map, he traversed the forest with increased curiosity at the sight. There really wasn't anything to do but walk through the forest. Bang noticed that there were flowers everywhere. Grass grew everywhere but didn't compete with the flowers. All in all, it looked like a plentiful forest.
Then out of the blue, they suddenly saw a lump of dirt in front of them turn into a big animal. To be exact, this animal probably hid in the soil. Alarmed at the sudden appearance, Ligi went in front of Bang and took out his shield. They braced for impact.
The expected outcome did not come at all. They looked at the buffalo who had spiral horns while the buffalo also looked at them. Bang was surprised that in the eyes of the buffalo, there was a sense of peace. It wasn't aggressive and angry but had eyes as clear as day.
After looking at them for a while, the buffalo finally left. Bang and Ligi felt relieved that there wasn't a confrontation. Well even if there was, Ligi would have deflected the attack. Speaking of the shield, Bang noticed something different on it.
The shield that was made up of barks, now grew moss and vines on it. There were also blades of grass growing out of the trunk. The shield was now mimicking the environment they were currently in.
Ligi just stared incredulously at his own shield. In all the time he had this shield, it had never exhibited this behavior. Was it because of the location? Or maybe some other factor, Ligi did not know.
Although it was weird, it wasn't enough to deter them from continuing on their journey. They had intermittent breaks throughout the whole journey in order to conserve energy and be in tip top shape when a crisis occurred. They would sit down near a tree and eat some jerky to fill their stomach.
They met some more docile animals in their journey in the red forest. They saw all kinds of animals that wouldn't have coexisted back on Earth. They saw cows, elks, deers, and there was even a horse. They could hear hummingbirds up in the trees enjoying life.
This was a complete antonym to the place they were going to for their mission. It had the word 'dreaded' on it. Bang thought that this may be the calm before the storm.
As the sun was setting, they decided to sleep off the night. Bang didn't get to buy some blankets or something to sleep on during an adventure. He would have really needed that right now. They only ate some more jerky and drank water from the jugs while Bang regretted.
As they were passing time watching the sun set, they some some little blobs of light. This wasn't like the ones in Suno town because Bang recognized it. It was a group of fireflies that danced around in the moonlight. Bang thought that was the only source of light in the forest but he was wrong.
As soon as night set in, the vines in the trees suddenly started glowing a blue hue. The dark where the blue light compliments the red leaves really left a huge impression on Bang and Ligi. This is what adventuring should be. Seeing and experiencing the unknown for himself. This whole trip would have been worthwhile by just looking at the scenery in the night.
Once they got sleepy, Bang closed his eyes. He finally spoke some words to Ligi.
"Let's take shifts. I'll sleep for now."
Ligi nodded. The peaceful night passed. Bang expected nothing to happen to him since the animals in here was so docile. True enough after taking shifts between them, there was no disturbance.
The next morning, Bang and Ligi went on their way. Bang once again followed his mini map, that way he won't ever be lost.
Following the path, he heard the splashing of water. A little ways down from where they were standing was a deep river that ran horizontally. They have reached the river that Andy pointed out. Bang looked left and right to see where the river would go.
On his right, the river went on for a little while but curved upwards and from then on, Bang couldn't see it from where he was standing. The left side of the river led to a small mountain in the distance. This must be the right place. Andy said that they should follow the river where it would lead to a gorge.
Bang decided to climb the small mountain and follow the river from there. Up here, he could see the direction to where he was going much easier. The gorge continued on for miles and miles until the sun set once again.
Bang went down the mountain and into the refuge of the red forest. The red forest was proven to be safe from last night and as a bonus, the scenery was to die for.
Bang thought it would be awkward traveling with someone while not speaking but in truth, it was easier than he thought. Because they weren't speaking, they were more focused on the journey ahead. The luminous vines once again lit up the whole forest. Bang felt it was a shame he didn't get to see the fireflies this time.
Taking shifts, the night passed without any accident. They ate some jerky, refilled their water jugs, and went on their way. As they traveled through the gorge, Bang noticed that the previous red forest became more and more darker. There were less grass and moss around the trees and the ground. The transition wasn't sudden but a gradual change.
The weather suddenly changed from being sunny, to being cloudy. Smoke started to fill their surroundings, but not enough to obscure their vision. Bang couldn't see any more animals in the forest.
Then, the forest suddenly stopped. Up in the distance was a dark and swampy place in the middle of two mountains. There was only small plain that buffered the two borders. The mini map pointed in that direction. That must be the Dreaded Valley.
Preparing himself, he suddenly heard a noise. This was the rustling of leaves and footsteps in the forest. Bang could hear that it was just adjacent to them. As he observed more, he saw a group of people walking towards the Dreaded Valley. Ligi readied himself to take out his shield.
Bang took a step and he also broke a branch. The sound reached the group and they stopped. Some of them decided to check it out and went towards Bang and Ligi.
Bang froze. He couldn't think of anything to do and the system just stayed silent. He let the group of people approach him.
As they got closer, Bang recognized a face. It was Lobo.
Lobo? It was the guy from the sword group guarding the caravan. The Defending Tip. They were unexpectedly here at the same place and time as Bang and Ligi. What a weird coincidence.
"Ban? Bang? Oh Bang!"
Bang and Ligi both had a confused face staring at Lobo. Bang was thinking to himself the chances of them meeting again. He thought maybe this was the work of the system. Ligi on the other hand only looked at Lobo with a cautious eye. They may have been following them the entire time and set up a trap. It was his job to know these kinds of things and the dangers it possesses.
"Lobo? What are you also doing here?"
Lobo looked at his comrades and assed what he could say. He also looked in the direction of the valley and went back to Bang.
"Oh you know, just some stuff."
Yeah, just some stuff. It's not like they were on the precipice of entering the Dreaded Valley. No big deal.
"Yeah, us too....just looking around."
At that remark, some of Lobo's crew mates started snickering. They looked at Bang and could not decide if he was joking or not. Lobo then turned around and gave them a sharp look as if saying to shut up.
"Sorry about that, are you sure you're just looking around?"
Lobo gave a squint as he said that. Bang didn't understand the subtle actions of Lobo and just answered honestly.
"Yeah, is there something wrong with that?"
Lobo just stayed silent at Bang's answer. He then decided something without the approval of his crew mates.
"Why don't you just join us for now? It's dangerous out here alone. Let me introduce you to our leader."
This immediately warranted some reactions at Lobo's side. He ignored them and just stared at Bang waiting for his answer. Bang thought about the pros and cons of the proposal.
'Our job is just to survey the valley, having numbers will definitely lower the danger. I see no cons here, the system's staying silent too.'
"Yeah, sure. Why not."
At the confirmation, Lobo smiled. It seemed like Lobo did a good thing by recruiting Bang, which is the opposite of what his fellow crew members thought. But they never saw the power Ligi had.
Bang and Ligi followed Lobo back to the main group of the Defending Tip. They all wore leather vests with leather shoulder guards. In their waists were bottles of liquid that had different colors. Bang guessed that these were what they oiled their swords with.
The main group was not a small group. They had at least 50 people just standing by and caressing their swords. They all looked at Bang and Ligi curiously and looked at their leader for instructions.
Lobo walked past people and directly went into the center of the group. Their leader was a middle aged man with short hair that was neither messy nor orderly. You could see he had some years behind him but he had a clean shaven chin. As soon as Bang and Ligi was noticed, the man looked at them as if studying them intensely.
"Leader, these were the two I was talking about before."
Bang looked curiously at the leader of the Defending Tip. They looked at each other and neither party spoke. Feeling it was awkward, Lobo decided to introduce them to each other.
"Leader, this is Bang and Ligi. Bang, this is Gotang."
After the introduction, Gotang finally spoke. It was like he was waiting who would make the first move.
"Hello, nice to meet you."
"Hello to you too."
Bang reciprocated the formal greeting. He would be depending on them for his safety so being polite was probably the best bet.
After greeting Bang, Gotang turned to Ligi and greeted him with the same manner and respect.
"Hello, nice to meet you."
"........"
Ligi just stayed silent. There was something about this that Ligi did not like. He was wary of any movements they would make because being surrounded like this brought some memories to him. He could only defend Bang on one side. In his head, he was already thinking of an escape plan.
Gotang noticed the behavior of Ligi. He wasn't mad that his greeting wasn't reciprocated but instead was interested in it. In Gotang's eyes was a sense of familiarity. He saw something in Ligi that he saw from himself, and another close friend he had. He could even see his former self in Ligi. The caution, the perception, and reservedness was all the characteristics he had when he was younger. Of course, nobody knew this except for him.
Bang was kind of nervous to what kind of reaction Gotang would take because of Ligi's silence. His heart was beating loudly but the anger did not come. He was thankful that nothing happened.
The tension in the space was suddenly broken when a tree suddenly fell. The sound surprised everyone and they all instinctively took out their swords and went into position. They positioned themselves in a circle protecting Gotang with layers and layers of people. Ligi went near Bang and took out his shield.
They all looked at the direction where the tree fell and there was a figure there. For Bang and Ligi, this was an unknown person but for the Defending Tip, it was a sight for sore eyes.
The teen wore the same outfit and armor as the Defending Tip but it was deliberately cut in pieces allowing more freedom. In turn, this looked like it wouldn't work to protect from attacks as expected.
As soon as Bang saw him, a notification popped up.
'Potential crew member found. Advancing main quest.'
+++++++++++++++
QUEST
-Main Quest
•Self defense
*Travel to the Dreaded Valley
•Fighter crew member
*Follow the Defending Tip in the Dreaded Valley
-Side Quest
+++++++++++++++
'WHAT?!?!'
Bang stared at the teen who looked the same age as him and had curvy and flowy hair. The system told him this was another potential crew member. He couldn't judge the situation because he heard Lobo speak in a hushed voice.
"Resi, what are you doing!!!!!"
Lobo marched down into where Resi was standing with fumes coming out of his ear.
"Oops! Hehe."
The teen named Resi only gave a small chuckle as he escaped from Lobo's clutches. He smiled as if he liked messing with Lobo on a regular basis. And judging from the crew member's reaction, Bang would guess it was pretty often.
"I'm sorry about that. He's Resi, our resident trouble maker."
Looks like Bang's next member would be a troublesome one. Bang didn't know what to think of that. Then, Bang heard a deep and commanding tone from Gotang.
"Resi, come back here."
Resi reluctantly came running back to the center with a frown on his face.
"What did I tell you about behaving here in the Dreaded Valley?"
"......"
Resi only stayed quiet. He just turned away from Gotang and skulked. What's weird was that even though Resi was clearly unhappy, he still followed Gotang's words.
Feeling helpless, Gotang just sighed and thought to himself how to best remedy the behavior of Resi. Even though he loved Resi like his son, he wished sometimes Resi would be like himself.
'Maybe like Ligi. No, no.'
Gotang quickly corrected his thoughts. That would just bring up a whole lot of trouble. Then, a thought came up to his mind. He planned in his head wordlessly.
"So, are you guys ready to go to the Dreaded Valley?"
Bang heard Gotang speak to him and Ligi. There was certainly nothing more he could prepare. He just needs to get his mind in the game and just go for it.
Bang just gave a nod in affirmation. The members of the group all took out their swords and rubbed some liquid from their waists as preparation. Bang noticed that Gotang just used his hands and wiped his sword with it. Gotang's sword gleamed as if there was some kind of liquid surrounding it.
Bang didn't know what kind of powers they had but since they had a leader in this group, then it must be strong.
"Split according to your groups. Lobo come here."
"Yes, leader."
"I want you to form a group with Bang, Ligi, and Resi."
"What?!?!?!......Gota—Leader, are you sure?"
"Yes."
"I couldn't handle Resi alone, how could you add another wild card to that? Can't you put another member here?"
"No."
Gotang seemed adamant about his decision. Even though Lobo didn't like the idea, he would never disobey his leader. If his leader thought he could handle it, then he probably could, right?
"Resi, you hear that?"
Resi just turned away from Gotang as if he wasn't listening. He still skulked for some unknown reason.
"Are you guys okay with that?"
"Yeah, sure."
Looks like Gotang was helping Bang get another member. This trip is all in all beneficial for Bang so he wouldn't refuse the idea. Even though Resi looked hard to deal with, this gives him more time to know more about his future crew member. This is good, right?
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