In Grayland, it is said the city was built upon the ruins of an ancient one whose people vanished centuries ago—people who, according to legend, wandered into the Mazeweald, never to return.
They believe the inhabitants of this city made their way into the Mazeweald, the dangerous region Rhen was currently in, and that was where they disappeared.
For years, Rhen's parents and the Union, who had taken over, had hoped to find relics.
But now, Rhen had stumbled upon something far more valuable than ancient relics—the lost civilization itself.
He had a lot of questions for these people, but he and Jiro had come to an agreement that they would wait until they reached a safer place to discuss.
Two of them could move on their own, while the third was in Jiro's care.
As they left the battlefield, Rhen felt a sharp pang of regret.
Leaving behind the valuable carcass was painful but necessary; it was too large for his inventory, and carrying it would slow them down.
The foreigners, too, abandoned the corpses of their own, choosing speed over sentiment—and Rhen had no desire to look desperate.
With this in mind, the group of six, with Zena returning to a semi-corporeal state, ran through the forest.
Rhen could feel a foreign influence pressing on his mind, his sense of direction slowly warping.
But due to his new physiology, and Zena and Jiro's guidance, they found their way to the underground cavern.
As they reached the cavern, Rhen let them in, and entered last, closing the hole behind him.
The cavern was still lit by some of the lamps Zena provided, highlighting the frozen ground while they shivered slightly from the cold air.
All of this was merely an aftereffect of his ritual, so for warriors like them, it was easy to handle.
However, this reminded the foreign group about the strength of this young man.
They all found corners to stay with Rhen seated closer to the hole, believing that if worse came to worst, he could escape., he could escape.
His father taught him to trust people, but he had learnt that blindly trusting people wasn't the way.
'I should help them. It will make them owe me one in the future.'
Rhen pondered for a second. He didn't want to fully heal them all, as it would reduce his upper hand.
He looked at the lady with purple hair plaited into long twin braids and black eyes, her black veins protruding and her skin deep green in color.
They tried to use their weird parchment to heal her, but the problem was the poison.
[Is there a potion in the shop that won't heal her completely?] he asked Zena telepathically.
[A mid-level anti-poison potion.]
[Let's give it to them.]
Zena followed his words and bought from his inventory after he gave her access while Rhen calmly watched their actions.
After the potion was delivered in his inventory, he dipped his hands in his pocket under the subtle watch of the foreigners.
Rhen slipped a yellow potion from his inventory. "Anti-poison," he said. "It won't fully cure her, but it should help."
Jiro's eyes lit with hope as he vanished from his spot, reappearing before Rhen to snatch the bottle.
"It's better than nothing!"
His voice echoed as he had returned to where his group was seated.
'A talent?' Rhen silently wondered.
He saw as Jiro returned, receiving slight scolding from the other active two, but he turned deaf ears as he poured the potion into the lady's mouth.
After a few seconds, they all saw less of the veins while the abnormal color on her skin was fading.
Jiro smiled visibly, while the other two, who hadn't held much hope, also sighed in relief.
Immediately after laying her on the ground, Jiro turned to him and exclaimed, "Thank you, savior!"
The other two finally decided to step forward and said, bending their heads slightly forward, "Thank you for helping us!"
With a smile, Rhen said, "It is no problem. I am curious though, what were you doing there and where did you come from? I only got a brief answer earlier."
The man that looked to be in his early 30s, with light brown hair and brown eyes, took the lead.
"I am August, this is Dean—and I believe you already know Jiro.
"We came from deep in the forest, where a community and its people, the Nerakais, are isolated from spatial defects lies."
Rhen was visibly interested as he sat upright and listened carefully.
"For years, my people have been trying to escape this forest as we're constantly pressured by a lack of resources.
"But we've been unsuccessful due to the fact that we couldn't bypass the defective space which is especially worse there.
"That was until today when we felt a high concentration of energy."
As the story began, Rhen had suspected that this was the case but it was still surprising to realize he had caused this.
Oblivious to his thoughts, August continued.
"Immediately after locating the energy source where the defective space seemed to be less, we used it to pinpoint a destination and immediately formed a party of ten that headed to it."
'Ten?'
A cold shiver ran down his spine. Six dead—for a burst of energy he hadn't meant to release.
Seeing him, August smiled, "You need not worry, they would be glad to know that our town has finally made progress after years of stagnation."
"I see…" Rhen shook the worry and stayed air-headed. "What do you guys want to do now?"
He had a few ideas, but chose not to speak for them.
"Make connections to the outside world and seek resources that will help us," August said. "That is our priority."
"And how will you take it to your town?"
August hesitated for a bit, before he eventually replied, "Spatial Travel. The main purpose of us reaching here was to mount a gate that would allow travel between here and our town."
Although unfamiliar to the concept of Spatial Travel, Rhen understood. 'It's like the anchors that I use to travel between Talia and Enma.'
[Considering Jiro got here first, leaving the others behind, I assume they have successfully mounted the gate.] Zena stated telepathically.
After understanding them, Rhen asked, "How do you plan to make contact with the outside world?"
"Initially, that was something we decided to create after successfully mounting the portals, but now…"
August took a brief moment to glance at Dean, who wore a calm look, and received a nod from his companion.
August sighed, then met Rhen's gaze.
"Would you be willing to help our town—not just with survival, but with changing its fate? We will pay you as best as we can."
'It was this easy?'
Rhen smiled and nodded. "Oh, yes! I would be glad to help you."
August's calm demeanor wavered as he looked genuinely surprised.
"Really? I'm grateful!"
Rhen chuckled lightly. His gaze turned towards the entrance, as if looking at the city in the distance.
Feeling the strength brimming within his body, he said:
"Let's keep this aside for a while though. I have important matters to attend to back home."