Luke’s gaze met that of the figure who stood at the wooden door step, it was a young woman dressed in a flawless pristine white furry robe.
"I am Amelia, the village head healer, you have been summoned by the village’s elders." Amelia spoke in a calm tone, her expression hinting at relief.
Luke blinked.
"How long has it been?" He asked, as since his wounds had healed so perfectly, he might have been here for a lot longer than he had naturally assumed.
"A day."
Amelia answered. Luke glanced around then asked another question. "Could you perhaps have seen my original clothes?" Luke asked, unable to mistake the feeling that he was butt naked under the white robes they had given him.
***
Luke strolled behind Amelia in a wooden armour, a disappointed expression on his face, he had discovered a new feature about the codex, but that wasn’t what currently bothered him.
’Why the fuck is this guy so broke?!’ As a matter of fact Chris his new shape shifter form was broke beyond reason, what was the point of an armour or sword if it is made of wood?
’The embarrassment.’ Luke mused to himself, recalling the look on Amelia’s face when she brought it to him.
Luke observed that the atmosphere of the uncanny hill village, currently on the street he was passing through, the cobblestones had been long covered by snow, and the weather was chilly, his wooden armour wasn’t really helping with that though.
Also he realized, the hollow looks he had seen in the villagers eyes and expressions had long vanished replaced with one filled with freedom, and the numbers of people in the village had reduced drastically, Luke could see some villagers were currently even packing.
"Why hadn’t they done this before?"
Luke asked surprised. The question hung in the air, before Amelia who walked ahead answered.
"Because they couldn’t, that was how powerful the blood fiend was." Luke’s eyes widened slightly. Recalling his battle with the void creature, it was only level ten!
Luke couldn’t even start imagining what level 100 void creatures would look like, what powers they would wield.
Luke pondered to himself, his imagination already running wild. Soon enough they arrived at the Towering building which Luke had thought was the home of the chief when he had just arrived at the uncanny hill village.
Amelia led him inside.
Seated on one couch on a side of the room were three figures, one was a young man with blonde hair, and a sharp jaw line, who looked nothing like an elder should, he was clad in obsidian armor, probably in his thrities, and a sword sheathed by his side.
’Probably an awakened.’ Luke noted to himself, another was an old woman who chewed on a stick with no courtesy whatever.
’Forget about courtesy, who chews on sticks?’ Luke thought to himself shocked about the woman’s carefree and strange attitude.
And the last was... Luke recognized that mask the instant he saw it, it was the Uncanny Seer, the one who the village was named after.
A chill ran down Luke’s spine. What if she recognizes me?’ He held an unreadable expression but inwards he panicked.
On the other side of the room sat a group Luke knew a bit about, he could see Carter, crest and the two others his undefeated one’s version had met earlier.
The blonde haired young man gestured for him to seat on a couch just close to were the other four sat.
"I heard I was summoned?" Luke asked as he sat on the warm couch his expression still unreadable.
"You were." The blonde haired man replied. "I am Avalon, from the Great Clan Eredes." Luke’s eyes widened. The clan of Eredes, one of the four great clans that ruled all of mythos with the exception of the kingdom of Dawn. A person of that caliber had come to visit a mere village.
But in reality it was no mere village, it was the uncanny village, were the Void creature, blood fiend had resided.
Me and my party were to raid the nest of the void creature in ten days, well until the undefeated one came and finished it. Avalon spoke his tone firm, his eyes piercing.
Luke nodded, he now understood why the game’s system had also given him ten days to finish the blood fiend off, and he was absolutely wrong about the powerful party Carter had mentioned in his tavern earlier.
Avalon continued, unlike in towns and cities, villages are closer to tradition, there is the legend of the undefeated one, a being who never lost a battle.
"I would like to ask, did you perhaps witness the undefeated one during his battle with the Blood fiend?"
"Yes I did." Avalon tensed, the old lady chewing on a stick stopped, while the uncanny seer who seemed to not have noticed that he was the undefeated one tilted her head slightly.
Luke already knew where all of this was going, the pattern was obvious, every one seated right beside him, including Carter and the rest, were all people he had spoken with in his undefeated one’s form so he would have to cook up some sort of story for them, in which Luke was more than excited to say.
"Alright then speak." Avalon gestured.
"It all occurred a day after I had entered the chasm of the blood fiend, its vines had already sunk deep into my body, I was only breathing because of my incredible will to live." Luke glanced at the three figures, their demeanor really expressed;
*Dude, we don’t give a fuck about you, get to the point!*
Luke continued..
Then I heard a shriek, from somewhere in the dark, forest thralls. At first I thought it was my ears playing tricks on me, or the blood loss taking a toll, but the sound came again louder than before.
"More and more shrieks echoed in the dark, at some point I had to open my eyes.
I asked myself.
Was this it, was someone coming? "Someone strong enough to kill hundreds of thralls so fast, without succumbing to the mind attack?
Then as if answering my thoughts, a glowing mist encompassed the place in an instant. It washed across my body like a tidal wave.
My eyes adjusted, after so long I could finally see, I felt free, but, but what was this glowing mist?
Who sent it?
The blood fiend, a vile void creature who had stood unparalleled and undefeated for years arose, the vines around surged, coming to life, the whole place shook, its one green eyes shone like a beacon of death in the mist, I watched with bated breath, who dared challenge such a monster, who only brought carnage, mutilation and death to whoever entered its domain.
Luke, lying through his teeth, glanced at his audience; they were nothing short of perplexed, he could see the tension in their posture waiting for his next words, without batting an eye, he continued.
"The Undefeated One didn’t walk in, he simply appeared in the mist, his armor shone like light itself, the blood fiend shrieked, but it felt more like cowering, thousands of vines lunged, even the ones lodged in my body followed.
However..
The next second, blood gushed from the blood fiend, it didn’t even get the chance to attack. It fell and grew still.
The undefeated one, sheathed his glowing sword, then tilted his head towards me. I shook, he seemed to know I was alive, I wanted to say something, anything, but at that point my eyes closed, I lost consciousness."