Chapter 175 - Valuable

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After getting close to the gate, there was a deep, but raspy voice.

"Stop!"

I decided to listen and looked up, where the voice was coming from. However, there was nobody there. Though if I had to guess, I doubted the person in question was invisible because there was a convenient cover on the top of the wall.

I rubbed my chin with my thumb and forefinger.

"Why exactly should I stop?"

The person behind the cover seemed to be at a loss.

"...You are not from this village."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"But I could be part of the village if you let me in."

The person scoffed.

"Scram, monster! If you truly did try to enter the village, then the light will burn you to ashes!"

I scratched the back of my head.

"Then why are you so unwilling to let me in if I'm just going to burn?"

The person fell silent once more. Only after a minute or so, he spoke up again.

"It is simply a warning for your own sake, don't get it mixed up!"

I tilted my head to the side.

"So what happens if I enter the village and I don't burn?"

The person took even longer to respond this time.

"T-There's no point in taking such a big risk! It will be better for everyone if you just left!"

I laughed.

"Well, if you say that..."

I purposely dragged out the last part of my sentence, wondering how afraid I could make this guy. My eyes widened while my pupils constricted.

Suddenly I appeared on top of the wall and behind this person, who was looking through a tiny peephole.

"...I won't be able to resist my curiosity."

"AHHHH!"

The person turned around in fear, pointing at me accusingly.

"Monster! Go away or I will have to fight you!"

I blinked a few times.

"That's a bit rude, don't you think?"

The person seemed to be having a bit of a difficult time replying. In that time, I took a closer look.

It was an emaciated man. His hair was black, but it was very dull. If I didn't know any better, I might've thought it was actually grey and that he was an old man. He also had a messy beard that made him look like someone that came straight from the wild.

However, the thing that caught most of my attention was the fact that he only had one arm.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, you lost an arm too?"

The man's finger began shaking.

"You... what do you want?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"I dunno. Though I feel we could be a little close considering we both went through the experience of losing an arm."

The man looked at my left arm, then my right arm.

"...You used to have three arms?"

His lip trembled as he said that fact, like I was some sort of monster. I simply let out a soft sigh.

"No, I regret my arm."

I then pointed at the arm that had been broken off.

"This thing was blasted off, but I was able to heal it."

The man's eyes widened.

"A monster with that powerful regeneration?"

I blinked a few times.

"Hey, since when was I a monster?"

The man frowned slightly.

"What do you mean? Are you not a monster?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Have you never seen another person before?"

The man paused.

"...The only time an outsider showed up was many years ago and the actual truth of that fact is unknown. Chances are, it was probably just a monster."

I tilted my head to the side then pointed at the giant glowing sphere in the distance.

"But from what it sounds like, if I was a monster that light would burn me up, right?"

The man's lip twitched.

"Under most circumstances, yes."

I raised an eyebrow.

"So is this not proof enough?"

The man coughed.

"There are still monsters that are only slightly affected, especially if it is at a distance. That way, they can pretend that they aren't."

I rubbed my temple with the base of my palm.

"So how about I prove it to you by moving further into the city."

The man had a slightly aggrieved expression.

"That could prove it but-"

"Alright."

Without waiting for him to finish, I teleported from the top of the wall and into the city. From there, I began walking on ahead by myself. I inspected the village for what it was.

The houses were just one floor and made of some black wood held together by some rope. They seemed to be pretty haphazardly put together, especially because of all the gaping holes I could see.

There wasn't anybody out on the streets right now, either because they were sleeping or people rarely came out in the first place.

It did not take me long to come across a tree with just a few glowing fruits on it. I walked up and took a closer look at it.

In the distance, I could hear the sound of rushed footsteps along with panting.

"Don't touch those!"

I turned around to see the man once more.

"Why not?"

Once the man reached me, he bent his knees and started panting.

"Those... we need those to survive in this village!"

I raised an eyebrow.

"I never said I was going to take them, alright? Calm down."

The man furrowed his brows.

"...Ok."

I took another look around.

"The streets here are completely empty. Is there even a single person here in this village?"

The man shook his head.

"What's the point of walking around? That's just a waste of energy, you know."

I blinked a few times.

"It is? I find myself enjoying a little walk now and then."

The man sighed.

"We don't have that luxury. The food we have in this village is simply too small. We are always on the verge of starvation. If it weren't for the people working hard to collect the fruits of light in the wilderness, we would be dead."

I nodded.

"Ah, I see. These things are called the fruit of light. So things here are just barely afloat, I'm guessing?"

The man smiled bitterly.

"Well... it feels more like we are sinking."

I turned to him.

"Why is that?"

The man shook his head.

"The scavengers of this city are having difficulty finding enough for us to have a proper meal. It seems that the shadow monkeys of this place have been too rampant, eating quite a few of the fruits of light."

I looked up at the tree next to me again.

"Why can't you just plant more of these trees? Won't that work fine?"

Galileo shook his head.

"We have tried that before, but it appears like something underground eats the fruit of light before it has time to grow into a tree. The only trees we've seen are the ones that naturally form."

He sighed.

"...If only there were a few more trees then we would be fine. However, it has gotten so bad, that our council has been heavily debating whether or not they should give up one of our precious artifacts to commission a hidden organization into eliminating them."

My eyes lit up slightly.

"Artifact?"

The man pressed his lips together.

"I've said too much."

I laughed.

"Maybe we should start again. Hey, my name is Jay."

The corner of the man's lip twitched.

"...My name is Galileo."

I put the tip of my finger on my chin.

"So you say that your village is concerned about the lack of food? To the point they wish to give up something valuable to remedy it?"

Galileo slowly nodded.

"Essentially, yes."

I couldn't help but smirk.

"What if someone was able to grow several trees in your city?"

Galileo furrowed his brows.

"That is impossible. We have already tried that before."

I waved my hand dismissively.

"Just think of it as a hypothetical for now."

Galileo paused before rubbing his temple.

"Well... if such a miracle truly could happen, then our village could soar to new heights. We would no longer have to be so afraid all the time. Then, expeditions could be voluntary, so we wouldn't have to worry that our bravest warriors would die."

The corner of my lip turned up.

"So that person should naturally be rewarded, right?"

Galileo sighed.

"Yes, but only if that is actually the case. I understand you wish to have this artifact, but how would you even be able to do that in the first place?"

I pointed a finger towards the tree.

"Watch closely."

Galileo did as I said, keeping his eyes on the tree. After a few moments, I finished casting the growing spell, forcing the tree to sprout with more fruits of light.

His jaw immediately dropped at that sight.

From there, I plucked one of the fruits and put it on the ground. After stamping on it a few times, it went deep into the dirt. Seeing this Galileo cried.

"Wait don't ruin it!"

I rolled my eyes.

"I said to watch, alright?"

I diverted the growing spell onto the plant below me. A small black stalk sprouted out of the ground.

Galileo's eyes widened.

"What?!"

I turned to him.

"So, about that artifact...."

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