Hearing the faint words tinged with desire resounding throughout his mind, Valyr could not help but spare a glance at the spear affixed to his back once more as it continued to faintly tremble. Then, redirecting his attention, he looked at the vial given to him, activating [Analysis] as the spear’s sudden reaction made him all the more curious as to what contained inside.
Ding!
Reading through the information that had appeared on the screen in front of him, Valyr could not help but widen his eyes as he looked at the two for a bit. After that, he redirected his gaze towards the box on the ground, noticing that there were over a few dozen vials in there, all contained the same viscous red fluid in the vial he held.
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[Lesser Tidemother Blood] (Item)
Rarity: Uncommon
A vial containing the blood of the Lesser Tidemother, the origin of the monster tide that wreaks havoc on villages and towns alike. It is said that its blood contains special properties that one could use to their advantage if used properly. Though, direct ingestion of the blood to one’s body shall only result in it becoming the most nefarious poison known to man.
However, when used on equipment and concoctions, one might find themselves delighted by the surprises the blood may bring.
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‘So that’s the reason why Tristan decided to stay near the corpse. It’s so he could collect the blood.’ With this thought in mind, he could not help but take a look at the spear behind his back once more, moving the vial closer to see what would happen. Surprisingly, the closer the vial was to the spear, the more it trembled. At some point, the spear gave off the feeling that it wanted to devour the vial that was in his hand, only because he had placed the vial too close to it.
Although he was curious as to what would happen if he poured the blood on the wooden spear, seeing that its description informed him that there would be positive side effects to bathing his spear in blood, he opted to keep the vial hidden for now. After all, there was too many eyes focused on him at the inn at the moment due to his Tidebreaker legend.
“Is it possible for me to get more vials of this stuff?” Though he could not use the vial of blood on his spear right now, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t ask for more vials to use on his spear.
Hearing the words that came out of Valyr’s mouth, Tristan lightly grinned as he looked at Damian. In response, Damian nodded back before turning his head to look at Valyr. “That wouldn’t be a problem… but you’ll have to ask Tristan about that. After all, he’s the only one who’s making use of the blood at the moment.”
“Although I don’t really mind giving you the vials, I feel like I’d be on the losing end to give you the vials for free.” Seeing that it was his turn to speak, Tristan went ahead and opened his mouth, looking at Valyr with a smug expression. “With that in mind, what will you give me in exchange for the vials?”
“Hmm…” Valyr’s forehead scrunched up slightly as he thought about the question, thinking about the things he could offer up. At some point, a thought surfaced in his mind as he gave Tristan an offer the latter quickly agreed to.
“How about I let you watch how my spear reacts to what’s inside the vial?”
“Deal!” Unexpectedly, that alone was enough for Tristan to budge, giving Valyr a couple more vials without hesitation as a large grin adorned his face. “I was waiting for you to say that.”
“Can’t you just get a weapon and wield it until it awakens a weapon bond?” Naturally, hearing the words that came out of Tristan’s mouth, Valyr instantly knew that Tristan was still curious about the weapon bond he had formed.
“No can do.” Tristan shrugged his shoulders in nonchalance. “I don’t really use weapons. I just rely on my fists.”
“And what’s stopping you from forging metal knuckles?” Valyr could not help but ask back. “That’s a weapon made for fists, no?”𝓞𝓋𝓛xt.𝗇𝓔t
“I…” At that moment, Tristan went silent, pondering over Valyr’s words for a bit. After a while, he picked up the box of vials and quickly left the inn, heading back to his smithy with a solemn yet excited expression. If one looked at him at that instant, it would seem that he was in a trance of some sort. “Just head to my smithy tomorrow if you want to get more vials. You’ve just given me an idea.”
While Tristan decided to leave the inn, Damian looked at Valyr and gave him an awkward smile. Turning around, he decided to bid farewell to Valyr. “Well, since I’ve given you your rewards, I’ll be heading back to the barracks. Enjoy the feast a bit more.”
“Why not join us, Damian?” As the night was still young, Valyr offered Damian to come join them. After all, it was an incredibly rare occasion in the village for everyone to gather together. “Let loose a little, you know?”
“I still have a bit of work to do once I get back.” Damian shook his head, his tone somewhat apologetic. “Gonna need to help the others draft a plan for the village’s restoration, after all.”
With that, the others decided to leave Damian be, bidding him farewell. Though, just as he bade farewell to the others and was about to leave the inn like Tristan, Valyr stood up and walked beside him.
“You know what? I’m feeling a bit full,” Valyr said with a light smile, telling the others that he was going to head back to the barracks and get an early night’s rest. Since he was the new legend of the village, no one had any problems with that, with some even telling him to get a good night’s sleep. “How about we both head back to the barracks, Damian?”
Of course, Damian, who somewhat expected Valyr to stay, could not help but be slightly surprised by Valyr’s sudden action. Looking at Valyr beside him for a bit, he lightly nodded as the two headed out of the inn, leisurely walking their way out of the barracks. “Sure, why not.”
And so, leaving the clamor that was going inside the village inn, both Valyr and Damian walked their way back to the barracks. While Valyr was enamored by the sights of the beautiful night sky, Damian could not help but inwardly let out a sigh of relief, his body language somewhat relaxed after getting out of the inn.
“I had a feeling you weren’t good with crowds.” With those words coming out of Valyr’s mouth, Damian could not help but flinch in surprise. “Kind of ironic, considering you’re the leader of the village guards.”
“I just don’t like the social interaction part of it.” Wryly smiling, Damian decided to humor Valyr as they conversed while they walked. “Imagine having to talk to over 10 people at once. Before you know it, your mind is overwhelmed.”
“Well, you’re definitely not wrong.” Hearing Damian’s explanation, Valyr lightly nodded before letting out a chuckle, seeing another side of Damian he hadn’t seen before. “Were you actually full when you decided to leave with me?”
“Let’s just say I’m in the same boat as you.” With those words, Damian cracked a bit of laughter, to which Valyr accompanied him by laughing as well.
“Although you’ve gotten the rewards from the quest, the boots, and the vials of blood, I still feel like the village hasn’t rewarded you enough for your efforts.” At some point in the walk back to the barracks, Damian opened up a conversation with Valyr. Just as Valyr raised his eyebrow at the words he spoke, his eyes widened as he heard Damian’s next few words.
“Hmm… want me to give you another reward?”
“Eh?” Naturally, Valyr was caught off guard by the question, perplexed as to where the question had come from. With that, he politely declined, thinking that the rewards given to him were more than enough for now. “You don’t really have to. I’m quite satisfied with what I’ve gotten.”
“Is that so?” Though, rather than being disappointed by Valyr’s response, a knowing smile instead appeared on Damian’s face as he decided to rephrase his question. “Alright then. How about this?”
“I’ll give you a gift to thank you for the hard work you’ve put in as a village guard.” Hearing the words that came out of Damian’s mouth, Valyr could not help but scratch his head as Damian’s smile widened.
“Now, are you going to accept my gift?”
“It would be rude to decline a gift, no?”