'A spirit?! Why is there a spirit out in the middle of the day?' thought Angus confusedly.
Based on Angus' experience, a dead spirit is very weak during the day or exposed to the sun. Some could even disappear anytime.
It is also why people only find dead spirits in dark areas or at night. However, the spirit in front of them looks fine and even does some kind of meditation.
"Ohh.. It seems we have arrived." commented Darren.
"Master Darren, did you know who he is?" asked Angus.
Before Darren could answer, "A traveler??" heard a voice not far away from them.
Everyone finds a red-skinned, plump woman Altras approaches them.
"I am sorry for the late welcome since it is quite rare for people to visit this place. May I know what brought you to this secluded location?" asked the Altras woman brazenly.
"We just happen to take a break before entering the Ancient Vault." replied Darren without getting offended.
"Taking a break, eh?" said the woman while observing everyone for a moment.
Although their village is the nearest settlement to the Ancient Vault, no one will think of taking a break in this village. Not only is the place quite secluded, with only a minimum living facility, but it is also shunned by others because of its nature.
Honor Valley is inhabited by hundreds of Altras spirits. Even if people know about this place, they definitely will not choose this place to take a break. However, the middle-aged woman also knows that Angus and the others are not ordinary travelers.
Her instinct warns her to get as far as possible from them. The Altras woman is by no means weak. She could even be considered one of the top fighters in Nirvas. Yet, she finds each person in this group could kill her.
Unfortunately, she cannot escape since it is her responsibility to welcome any person in this place as the caretaker. Unless the person is doing something terrible to the village, the village will accept anyone, even the most heinous person of Nirvas.
"Sure. Just make sure to not create trouble in the village. It seems you already know about the village. I hope you also respect the village's rules. Anyway, Welcome to the Honor Valley. The resting place of the honored ones." said the woman.
"The resting place?" said Angus in confusion.
Before the Altras woman could reply, everyone noticed someone approaching their place at a fast speed.
The Honor Valley location is quite secluded despite the close distance from the Ancient Vault. Although it is not deliberately hidden from the people, not many people will expect a settlement in this location.
Therefore, they didn't expect other people to approach this location, especially with its resident's nature. After a while, they find a person covered in full cloth coming towards them.
"A group of people?? That's quite rare." said the person.
"Oh my… you are back early, Ragaz?" said the Altras woman in a teasing tone.
"Shut up, woman!! Mind your own business!!" snarked the person rudely before passing the woman
During this moment, the hideous man glances at Angus' group for a moment. While glancing at Angus' group, they notice certain greedy eyes for a moment.
Even Jayna could feel bad intentions from the hideous person for a moment despite still burying her face into Angus' chest. However, this bad intention immediately disappeared as it appeared.
"I apologize for his rudeness. He is just one of the troublesome occupants that shamelessly stay here. Don't worry, he will not cause you any trouble during your stay here." said the woman Altras as they guided everyone to the village.
"That's certainly interesting." muttered Darren while stroking his silver-haired mustache.
As the seventh-grade vampire, Darren notices many things about the hideous person. However, the most surprising factor for him is the person's race.
The person's race is famous for not having strong combat strength. Although it is not impossible to become strong, it is quite hard to reach high grades because of their race and body limitations.
Then, everyone followed the Altras woman to the Honor Valley. The village is inside a small mountain covered by vegetation.
There is only one road into the village. But, people could still sneak in through the air, ground, or just break through the vegetation. Though no one dares to do such a thing if they know the true nature of the village.
"Umm… Angus, can I eat that?" asked Anna out of nowhere.
Anna is trying to catch the bluish flying spirit that passes by.
"Anna, you can't eat that." rebuked Angus.
"Ehh… Why?? It looks fluffy like cotton candy." replied Anna.
N0 v el Next. CoM
"You will get a stomach ache if you eat that." lied Angus blatantly.
"Stomach ache?! That's bad. Anna hates pain. Mira, you must not eat that thing even though it looks delicious." said Anna.
The little troublemaker is trying to advise Mira. Still, it looks like she is convincing herself to not eat the poor Altras spirit while Mira only gives the nod to her.
"Err… Please don't eat any honored spirits here." said the Altras woman with cold sweat.
The woman knows the group in front of her is not normal, especially the two girls in the flying pillow. She couldn't sense or feel anything from the two girls in the group. Yet, her sharp instinct told her to never get close to them.
On the way, they find a lot of strange tombstones all over the place. They only see a few empty outworn houses for the living and more weird-shaped tombstones.
They also find many bluish transparent Altras' spirits all over the place. From gigantic muscular Altras to harmless senile old Altras. Angus notices all these Altras spirits seem to completely ignore them, unlike the ordinary restless spirits he knows.
According to the Altras woman, these spirits are dead Altras that gained the greatest honor of living in this sacred place until the end of time. It is sort of sacred ground of the Altras race.
Since the village is located on high ground, they could see good scenery in the surrounding area. For Angus and the others, it is a good place for travelers to take a break if it is not for the huge number of spirits residing in this area.
While the others enjoy the scenery, Angus needs to pacify the scared Jayna. She keeps embracing him and is startled every time she sees a spirit. If Angus didn't calm her, she might already burn the whole village while running away.
Fortunately, they found a quiet place without any spirit and good scenery. Then, They decide to have their lunch break there. Despite the absence of the spirit in the surroundings, Jayna is still glued to Angus for fear of seeing any ghost.
At this point, everyone doubts if she is terrified of ghosts or just finds an excuse to get intimate with Angus. Since the couple has a very strict and fearsome aunt watching them like a hawk, they couldn't express their closeness in public openly.
Angus knows Jayna has knowledge of Fire Phoenix's life. There is no way she will get cold feet when confronting spirits. Moreover, Phoenix is known as the bane of all evil spirits. Some legends even say a tiny fire spark from Phoenix could easily decimate the strongest evil spirit.
Still, Angus didn't complain since Jayna used this chance to 'touch' him with her matured body.
On the other hand, Jayna still managed to enjoy the breathtaking scenery and Angus' body. She also occasionally lectures Anna on the way.
The little gluttony keeps drooling while looking at the spirit like it is delicious food. Fortunately, her best friend Mira kept reminding her of getting a stomach ache before she tried to grab the nearby spirit and eat the poor spirit.
While having their lunch meal, "Hmm… Weird?! Aren't we supposed to be near the Ancient Vault? Why can't we see it from here? Did it have some kind of camouflage defense mechanism?" asked Angus.
"Correct. The Ancient Vault could only be found and entered from one path. If you try to enter it from the air or in another direction, you will not even find it. I also hear you will not be able to find it if you intend to steal rather than retrieve it from your own vault." explained Aunt Extalia.
"True. Although I am not sure about the stealing intention part. However, it has been a while since I visited the Ancient Vault. There is a chance they upgrade their defense mechanism to that degree." said Darren while serving tea to Mira.
"I see. I thought it could only be found and opened by a certain password like Old Man Draught's vault." said Angus.
"Old Man Draught?! Ahh.. It seems you already meet the current World Smith. No wonder you have that twin-blade artifact." said Darren.
"Master Darren, did you know about the Old Man Draught?" asked Angus.
"World Smith is the title bestowed by the World to the best crafter in the world. The title itself is not fixed and could always change to another person at any time. However, every person with the World Smith title always has Godly craftsmanship skill." explained Darren.
"Every person that reaches a certain strength or has a high affinity with the world itself will know World Smith. Basically, it is an open secret for strong people." added Darren.
"Hmm… That's new. Is it okay for us to know this information?" asked Angus.