Chapter 158 158: Fast And Reckless [Pt1]



Once Keith had gotten the message from Master Hana, he knew he would have to drop everything and go help her out. She sounded desperate so Keith was interested to know what was happening with her.

And to help Master Hana out, Keith would have to travel into her territory. 

But the bigger question here was - whom should Keith take with him for this? He wanted to take Shinzou or Clair, but both were a little preoccupied now.

"Hmm, let us see. Since Master Hana's territory crosses the Elf's Forest, I guess it would be a good idea to take Shimi with me. She might know a thing or two about the Elf Forest."

For some reason, Keith did not want to trust Shimi with matters regarding the Elf Forest in Master Hana's territory. But even Keith knew Shimi was his best option to cross the forest safely. 

Being a half-elf gave Shimi a huge advantage over anyone else when it came to the Elf Forest. And that was something Keith wanted to take advantage of.

Keith quickly dialed Shimi's number and the female picked it up in a single ring. It was almost as if she had the phone in her hand and she was waiting for Keith to call him.

"Hello, grandmaster. Can I help you with something?"

Shimi's voice sounded breathless and high. It reminded Keith of some 'pleasant' thoughts and his body reacted to Shimi's voice. 

'No, do not let your mind wander down the wrong path. You need to focus on what is going on here.'

Keith managed to correct his thoughts in time and then he couched into the phone to break the air of awkwardness that had suddenly descended.

"Meet me in front of the Elf Forest. Master Hana needs our help and we shall depart to help her out as soon as possible."

Shimi had gone quiet on the other end of the phone. For some reason, Keith had expected her to take this offer without any hesitation. Shimi liked the grandmaster and was devoted to him.

But the sudden tense silence seemed to speak otherwise. It made Keith nervous about Shimi's answer.

As unlikely as it was for Shimi to refuse his offer, Keith could not help but think of it as a possibility now.

"The Elf forests? Are you sure you want to make 'me' your guide for such a place, grandmaster? I am not sure if I would be able to help you out."

Shimi sounded doubtful of herself. Her existence as a half-elf was something that had always eaten away at her. It was because of her succubus 'other' half that had made her unable to adjust to the elf society.

No one had liked her or seen her worth in her original birthplace. Only the grandmaster had seen her worth.

But still, the thought of going back home was terrifying for her. Shimi would like to avoid this if possible.

"If it is too much for you, then forget it. I will ask for a local guide to help me out."

Keith realized that it was somewhat difficult for Shimi to come with him. So, he quickly decided to back out and let Shimi decide.

But his sudden actions caused Shimi to panic. She could not help but feel as if she had disappointed the grandmaster somehow. It made her mood sour and she knew she needed to rectify it.

'W-Who cares if it is the place that gave me nightmares? The grandmaster asked me to do something, so I should be able to do it.'

Shimi's mind was suddenly filled with courage and determination. She wanted to help the grandmaster out at any cost.

"Grandmaster, do not worry. I, Shimi, the current 3rd princess of the Elf clan will help you out. There is no need for you to look for another guide if you want to head to the Elf Forest."

Shimi assured the grandmaster. She wanted to prove her worth, but the biggest reason she had volunteered was because of jealousy. 

She knew she would not be able to take it if someone else decided to put their hands on the grandmaster. And Elves were a proud and selfish race. 

Shimi was sure at least of her race-members would try something funny with the grandmaster and then things would escalate quickly.

Keith looked at Shimi's determined eyes and felt relief flood his system. He had not been sure how to find another guide since the thought of Shimi rejecting his offer did not even cross his mind.

But it seemed like things were finally going back on the right track for him.

"We shall meet in front of the forest tomorrow. Make sure you always have your tracking signal up."

With that final set of instructions, Keith let the phone off. He had made plans to get to the Elf Forest so that was one part done.

And now came the difficult part - to get to the Elf Forest in one day. 

Keith might have gotten ahead of himself when he said that he would be in the forest tomorrow. It would take him 3 days to get to the Elf Forest without any external help.

"What is wrong? You look worried for some reason. I was about to head out as well when I spotted you from afar. Do you need some kind of help?"

The speaker was an unknown male well in his mid-30s. He looked like a well-kept and respectful man in Keith's eyes. But Keith still did not feel comfortable telling him everything.

'But I guess I will have to tell him something if I want his help.'

Keith nodded to himself before turning to the man.

"I need to get to some place by tomorrow but I do not think I have enough time on my hand. I was just looking for a way to travel fast."

Keith summarized his situation in two short lines. He did not have enough hope for his situation in the first place.

But for some reason, this man suddenly perked up and his eyes shined. It was almost as if something had struck the man's brain.

"You want to get to someplace faster than it would take originally? Well, I know just the place for you then. If you are willing to pay, these people would take you anywhere you want them to."

The unknown person offered Keith this opportunity but Keith was not as excited as this man was. 

First, this sounded too good to be true. And when such a thing happened, the chances of it being a scam were high. 

Second, this man looked harmless but most dangerous people in these new words looked rather harmless. So, Keith was a little slow in taking this man's hand.

But in the end, Keith decided to take this chance. He did not seem to have another choice and he did have the money to pay for anything expensive.

"Alright, take me to 'my aid.' money should not be a problem for me. And I am even willing to pay a little extra if these people can get me to my location in my given time frame.'"

The unknown man grinned his wide smile and he suddenly looked glad.

"Of course. These people are pro at what they do. You will not need to worry about anything when you have them by your side."

The unknown man assured Keith before asking Keith to follow him. Keith walked behind this unknown man toward an unknown place.

Slowly but surely, the surroundings began to look familiar to Keith. He was sure this location was one her had visited before. But not by himself.

He had visited this place in the game he had played. There had been some kind of event here but the actual contents of that event were escaping Keith's mind right now.

"Hey boss, I have a customer for you. Would you stop being lazy for once and come out now?"

The unknown man knocked on the barely-holding metal door quite loudly. The door was in genuine danger of falling from the frame and injuring someone.

But the man leading Keith seemed not to care about this. He kept on knocking on the door until an unkept man opened it with an annoyed expression.

"What is wrong? Can you stop disturbing me when I am doing something important?"

The 'boss' asked with an annoyed expression as he finally opened the door. Keith could smell the booze on the boss's breath from even where he was standing.

The boss was a well-built man with bulging muscles and a decent height. He was intimidating to look at but Keith did not feel fear when he looked at the boss.

Somehow, his heart was calm and his brain could remember where he had seen this man before.

'Ah, yes. I remember where I have seen this place before. It was in that delivery event when the game first launched. It was the service for fast travel before mounts were introduced.'