Chapter 278: Sky Tower
Shauta lowered his head, aiming his sharp horns at Liam as he charged. Facing this kind of attack, Liam decided to meet it head-on. Since the Tauren was a guardian, it wouldn't be appropriate to kill him.
Thinking this, Liam gathered his Selfless Sword Aura into his right fist and slammed it down on the rapidly approaching Shauta's head. A sharp shockwave of sword qi exploded from Liam's fist, colliding directly with the Tauren's horns.
Shauta felt the world spin, and his entire six-meter-tall body was sent flying, tumbling through the air before crashing heavily to the ground, stars spinning in his eyes. He, a Tauren king, had been defeated in a contest of brute strength, his greatest asset. He lay on the ground gasping for several seconds before he could finally struggle back to his feet.
"Perhaps... this time... you humans can be trusted."
Having been thoroughly humbled, Shauta was now willing to listen to Seria's advice. He ordered his clan not to trouble Liam and Seria, and forbade them from leaving the forest to attack humans.
Afterward, the two of them arrived at Flame Grakqarak.
The forest here was already burning fiercely, but they could still see the figures of many monsters, like Flame Goblins, within the inferno. All of them were instantly slain by Liam as they blocked his path. After spending a little more time, the two of them finally met Pinochle.
She was a black-haired woman in a red robe. Her gaze swept over them. "Shauta didn't stop you?"
Compared to her sister, Pinochle was clearly in her right mind.
Liam observed the surrounding fire and realized that while it was burning, it wasn't spreading. Instead, it seemed to be forming a wall, as if to block or seal something in.
Seria stepped forward. "Pinochle, what happened? We will do everything we can to help you!"
"You can't help me! Go back to town. If you stay here, you'll just be devoured by the flames."
Liam stepped in front of Seria. "Is it that you think we're too weak, that even if you told us, it would be pointless? You're forgetting one thing: when the power gap between two people is too large, the weaker one cannot possibly see the true strength of the stronger."
Pinochle snorted. "Arrogant!"
She immediately gathered her magic and cast a spell. A flaming meteor, at least ten meters in diameter, descended from the sky, crashing down toward Liam.
Liam drew his blade. A razor-sharp sword qi shot up and struck the meteor. In the next instant, the massive rock was pulverized into dust by the attack.
As the dust settled, Pinochle let out a sigh of relief. "It seems... I can tell you what's happening. Someone has tampered with the Great Pentacle, and they're trying to recreate the tragedy of Lorien's Fire from ten years ago. I have to use my flames to hold back what's inside!"
Seria looked at Pinochle with determination. "Pinochle, please open a path in the flames. Just leave this matter to me to resolve. Mr. Liam, Pinochle, please wait for me out here."
Liam couldn't possibly agree to let Seria handle this alone. She might know some magic, but her combat ability was clearly poor. He would not let her walk into danger.
Thus, Liam and Seria passed through the other side of the fire wall and into the Dark Thundering Ruins. Here, the spirits of the dead had transformed into Withered Spirits. The environment was starkly different. Behind them was a raging inferno; before them was a gloomy forest, with Withered Spirits rising from the undergrowth and dead logs. These spirits looked like skeletons fused with dead trees, moving with stiff joints and emitting hissing sounds.
Seeing these grotesque creatures, Seria's face went pale. They were simply too terrifying.
Liam continued to stand in front of her, slaying all the nearby spirits. Besides the tree-skeletons, this area was also filled with Corpse Flowers and Goblins. Following Seria's guidance, they discovered the leader of these spirits: the Hungry Withered Spirit. It was a completely crimson entity that could launch ranged, dark-element magic attacks.
A wave of spirits rushed Liam, and he cut them all down.
Seria surveyed the fallen creatures and frowned at Liam. "Mr. Liam, I suspect all the abnormalities here are because the Great Pentacle in the center of the forest has been compromised."
Liam looked at her. "So, what is the Great Pentacle?"
He had played in the world of Arad for a long time, but his understanding of the plot was spotty at best. He was far more familiar with the playable classes and their skills.
"Mr. Liam, do you know of Marr, the Great Mage? He was a legendary archmage. To protect Arad, he set up Great Pentacles all over the world. It's thanks to him that Arad has such a rich natural environment..."
From Seria's explanation, Liam learned that the Empire had once destroyed the Great Pentacle in Grand Flores, causing the fire. Because of this, many monsters and humans lost their lives. The elves had later made a great sacrifice to repair it.
Liam and Seria continued forward. "It seems we'll only find out what's happening by investigating further."
Seria followed him. "Yes. Right now, we should go to the pentacle in the center of the forest to see what's wrong. If it's damaged, I can try to see if I can repair it."
So, Liam led Seria onward, slaying all the monsters that attacked them. Unlike in the DanMachi dungeon, the monsters here left corpses when they died. Seria was still uncomfortable seeing them, but she did her best not to bother Liam.
Before long, they saw a monster holding a staff.
"Is that a Tombstone Freak?"
Seria saw it busy at the Great Pentacle and instinctively felt that something was wrong. Just then, a light flashed, and the leaking magic from the pentacle formed a new magic circle around the creature. From that circle, hundreds upon hundreds of Withered Spirits materialized and charged toward Liam. And the magic circle was still summoning more.
"Mr. Liam, can you handle this?" Seria cried, her face filled with grim determination. "If you can't, then let me sacrifice myself to end this!"
She had the look of someone about to make the ultimate sacrifice, but Liam grabbed her again. "Hey, stop trying to do everything yourself!"
Looking at the tide of monsters flooding toward them, he swung his blade. A dense net of sword qi, blazing with fire and crackling with thunder, fell upon the horde. The army of Withered Spirits, numbering in the thousands, was effortlessly annihilated by his ranged attack. It was like a hot knife cutting through thin paper; the spirits were completely bisected the moment the attack touched them, their presence extinguished.
A final, blinding slash of sword qi flew out, cutting the Tombstone Freak at the waist. But just three seconds later, a light flashed on the creature's body, and its two halves rejoined. It muttered, "No matter the sacrifice... must repair the Great Pentacle."
Seria shouted to Liam. "Liam, I feel like... I think I can repair and purify that magic circle!"
"Got it! I'll keep you safe!"
Seeing Seria close her eyes and begin to chant, Liam stood beside her. He watched the Tombstone Freak revive, then launched another ranged sword qi, killing it again. But the creature just kept using the power of the Great Pentacle to create more Withered Spirits. Although Liam could kill all the summons, the fact that the freak kept reviving and summoning was extremely annoying.
Of course, since he was getting EXP for it, he could tolerate the situation. The turning point depended entirely on Seria's magic; he couldn't repair or purify the pentacle himself.
After Seria finally purified the magic circle, the Tombstone Freak vanished, leaving behind only an elven necklace on the ground.
"Is that an elven necklace?" Seria walked toward it, but Liam immediately pulled her back.
A black shadow erupted from the ground where the necklace lay, and several massive Withered Spirits emerged, lunging at them. But just as Liam was about to attack, a blazing meteor fell from the sky, and the earth-shaking figure of Shauta charged in. Pinochle and Shauta had arrived.
The meteor and Shauta's battle-axe destroyed the giant spirits. Pinochle then used her staff to incinerate the shadow on the ground. "It seems the forest's shadow is finally gone. This puddle on the ground... it's like a plague, one that can revive the dead. It's different from the forest's shadow, which was a Transfer phenomenon..."
Seria explained what had happened. Pinochle looked at her curiously. "Why can you purify a necklace created by elves?"
Seria just nodded, unsure.
Pinochle thought for a moment. "Seria... maybe you should go and check the other Great Pentacles. This might be something only you can do."
After Pinochle and Shauta left, Seria walked up to Liam. "I thought I would be happy after this was all over, but for some reason, I'm not. Is it because I have to part ways with you? But... you have your own adventure to go on. This time I spent with you... I was very happy."
Looking at Seria's smile, Liam sighed to himself. She truly was the quest-giver NPC. As long as he stayed with Seria, every day would be filled with missions. But that wasn't a bad thing. Adventuring in the world of Arad had a much higher ceiling and far more possibilities.
Liam and Seria returned to Elvengarde together. Linus picked up the elven necklace and examined it. "There's Elvish writing on this!"
Seria leaned in. "Gulyuxi... that's what the letters mean..."
Connecting this to their previous experience, Liam gradually understood everything. An elf named Gulyuxi had been resurrected by the transferred plague. Even after being revived, he remained steadfast in his final living mission: to repair the Great Pentacle. He just didn't know that he himself had been infected, and his actions were only corrupting the pentacle further...
The plagues of Arad were not common colds. The curse of the Demon Hand, Kazan Syndrome, was also a plague. Anything that could cause an irregularity and spread could be called one.
Seria then realized. "Huh? I can read Elvish. I just saw the words and suddenly... I knew what they meant."
Liam thought for a moment. "Maybe you have some connection to the elves."
Linus looked at Seria. "You're going to check the Great Pentacles floating in the sky? That's going to be incredibly difficult. Have you thought about how you're going to do it?"
Seria nodded. "I have to go to Sky Tower! Pinochle told me that Sky Tower just appeared off the West Coast of Hendon Myre..."
After their long adventure, Seria was exhausted. Once she had gone to rest, Linus stopped Liam.
"Liam, Seria will do anything to protect the bonds she cares about. I hope you will adventure with her. Just... please stay with her for as long as you can."
Liam nodded. If he was truly going to adventure in this world, Seria was indeed an excellent partner. In many situations, having her around would save him a lot of trouble. He possessed overwhelming force, but he had many weaknesses, and Seria could fill those gaps.
Liam patiently waited outside Seria's room, closing his eyes to rest. Soon, he sensed movement nearby. He opened his eyes just in time to see Seria sneaking out of her room.
"Let's go. I happen to want to see Sky Tower, too."
"Really? Yay!" Seria exclaimed, excitedly picking up her packed bag and wrapping her arms around Liam's shoulders.
Just then, she felt something uncomfortable in her shoe. She took it off and pulled out a scribbled note and two travel passes.
I figured you'd need these.
Seeing the familiar handwriting, Seria's eyes turned red. The girl looked up at Liam. "Linus is always taking such good care of me. Well, let's go together. Our unknown adventure is beginning!"
"Right."
Seria snuck over to Linus's door and slipped a thank-you note of her own into the gap. Then, the two of them set off, using the roads and teleportation arrays to travel to Hendon Myre.
On the way, Liam noticed that the citizens and soldiers were all on edge. Clearly, the sudden appearance of the legendary Sky Tower had the authorities nervous, and the common people were terrified that monsters from it would invade their lands.