Chapter 426 - 420 : The Seed That Was Sown

"So this is Maldora canyons."

At the edge of what seemed to be a steep cliff, a figure stood in an observant fashion, taking in the sight that laid before him like a lord overlooking his province.

'It seems like I made it in time.' 

Glancing at the system clock on his interface, Sato made a sigh of relief as he recalled the past event that he had just experienced.

After the incident with the carriage, Sato had escorted the mother and son pair over to Cralls town where they had met up with a relative who would take care of them. In exchange for helping them with their problem, Sato was rewarded by the duo and as well, given an explanation for the series of events that had occurred. 

According to the son, Little Finn, the reason for their being chased down by the merchant Kolin was simply because they had a certain piece of jewellery that had attracted the interest of the merchant. It was to the point that the greedy fellow had scammed the family through an elaborate scheme, in a bid to get them to sell it to him right after they had disagreed. Since he couldn't just steal it in broad daylight, Kolin had to make use of various plots in an attempt to get the jewel into his hands. Apart from scamming the family into debt, he had also sent a robber after the jewellery.. Unluckily for the hired aid but luckily for the family of two, the thief happened to get caught by a series of coincidence as he tried to rob the family.

After they got scammed into debt, the creditor -under the orders of Kolin- had demanded for the jewellery as compensation. The family refused and opted to pay through some other means. The law of the kingdom enabled this to be possible so the family had a deadline to make up the cash or sell the jewellery to Kolin through the hands of the creditor. 

The mother and child pair then worked their bodies to pay up the debt with Little Finn doing random jobs like acting as a guide in the day while washing plates and cleaning the tables at a pub at nighttime. As for his mother, just before she got ill, she had sold off the valuable items they had while also washing clothes for others to make up for part of the necessary cash needed. They did this not just to make a living and pay off their debt but to also save enough and flee the city, escaping the harassment known as Kolin. Their target was Cralls town where Mrs Rachel had a relative that could protect them in the town. 

By grace or by coincidence, the excess amount Sato had paid the young boy was enough to make up the requirements so the duo didn't waste a single second, lest Kolin finds out, as they began making their preparations. And so, the following sequences of events had taken place with the carriage driver revealing their location to the mercenaries and Sato saving them before escorting the two to Cralls town.

After they had met up with their relative, Little Finn handed the jewellery to Sato. In the words of his mother, which he relayed to Sato, the jewellery had caused them a lot of pain and suffering but rather they hand it over to Kolin, the source of their sorrow, they would instead sell it out to some random individual. However, as Sato had helped them this much, they would prefer to hand it over to him.

As it turned out, the reason why the jewellery was so precious to the family was that it belonged to Finn's deceased father, who had died while working at a mine. But if the memento were to bring the family more danger, they would rather let go of it than lose their lives.

'Another unknown artifact added to my inventory.' Sato gazed at the object in his hand. An earring[1] with a blue gemstone laid in his hand, glittering like a polished pearl put on display.

It was the jewellery that had caused all that problem but ended up in his hands. Sato had tried using [Appraise] on it but not even a single line or word was revealed after the scan.

"The view is truly stunning." 

Taking his eyes off the earring, Sato praised the scene in front of him as he took in the sight with a slightly awed impression. He was sincerely impressed by the view as such places with a cinematic scene like this were quite rare in reality.

Maldora Canyons could be compared to the Grand Canyon but was way larger and encompassed a greater area of land than the latter. Not only were there various rocks that were older than countries, kingdoms, and even species, but the massive variation in age had even created a symphony of colours with the existing distinct appearances of the rocks. In some parts of the canyon, it was almost as if one was staring at a rainbow upfront. In some other places, it was a rainbow of a certain colour but at a different spectrum.

Added with the strangely shaped rock moulds that pointed towards the sky, Maldora Canyons was a natural paradise as well as a natural tourist attraction that could fatten the wallets of the ministry of tourism of any nation.

However, roaming within this canyon were creatures that could end one's life within a jiffy. Even the military technology from the 21st century of humanity, apart from the apex creations, would hold no advantage against some of the monsters hidden here, especially the ones in the deeper parts of the canyon. However, no player currently knew of this.

'I can't stay here for long. There are still other maps to visit as well as the Apprentice blacksmith tournament. There's also Xue Yan.'

Recalling that Xue Yan had yet to call him nor inform him by any means of her location, Sato became a bit worried, not just for her but for the whole team as well. Thinking back, Fudo and the others had moved with Xue Yan towards Salt Springs lake. So if Xue Yan were to encounter any problems along the way, it wouldn't be just hers alone but the whole team's.

*Ding*

"Speak of the devil." Sato glimpsed at his interface as he caught sight of a message.

It was from Xue Yan.

Opening it, Sato read the message and finally understood why she had yet to show up. Through the message, Xue Yan had explained that she was caught up aiding the others as their location had been revealed.

It should be remembered that Sato had gone around Riverdale town while being escorted by Fudo during the early stages of the game. After his poster went viral those who recalled Fudo's association with him started keeping an eye out for him. This became more pronounced right after Sato had escaped the clutches of Emperor's Might and the dark players in Riverdale town. 

As a form of retaliation, the dark players began searching for Fudo and when he was spotted with the others, they all became prey. Luckily, Xue Yan was there so she was able to offer them protection. This was until Battle Wolves sent out their men. Things became more difficult and the team of 6 had to retreat to the Caventry's walls for safety. When the other 5 are through with their trials, they would then proceed once more and head to the nearest town.

'Battle Wolves…' 

Sato narrowed his eyes as he stared at the name.

Emperor's might had at least taken a step back and not gone ahead to hunt down his teammates. Maybe they might have done so in the dark but they didn't publicly attack them in broad daylight as Battle Wolves did. This alone had made the top-class 1st tier guild enter Sato's records.

'At least they're safe.' Sato sighed with relief.

If his teammates were to die continuously, this would affect their progress as well as delay the time they would need to reach the city. One of the criteria to use the teleportation array was for the player to be a level 10 or above. 

If one wanted to travel over to the city, using the teleportation array was the fastest and safest method. By taking a carriage or walking the distance, there was the risk of being robbed/killed by bandits or falling prey to monsters. And to survive this disaster, a player would need to be level 10 at least. So in the end, the main goal was to reach level 10 no matter the method of travel one wanted to use.

If Fudo and the others had died multiple times to the 'hunters', they would not be able to make it to the city in time, and their progress would be delayed.

'This account will be settled in the future, eventually.' Sato thought as he faced the sky with renewed vigor and determination.