C20: The Plan

It was as expected if the monsters had killed the old man. Alan didn't have much affection towards him, yet he knew the old man for some time... So there was some sorrow deep under.

Elijah settled down after some time, and even Lucy started to cry upon hearing this.

'That old man must've been close to these young ones,' Alan thought, laying back to wonder about their quests. Still, a new fear has struck him now. The Midnight, the monstrous assassins were on to them.

Even as King, he had never seen the face of the leader in the Midnight. Those guys are true ghosts even within Telor.

He raised the card Gunnman had given him once more to check the quests.

[Quest Accepted]

[Reward: 5000 Rims]

- Kill the Demon Queen of Monorith

- Assassinate the Blood Mage

- Steal the Blood Stone

Looking at the quests, he just felt more uncomfortable.

They had to cross the West Lake to get to the kingdom of Monorith. "The villages in the mountains, castles in the peaks, and fountains from the heavens..." this was the well-known phrase to explain the beauty of Monorith. Although the people and the high borns were equally mad.

Alan sat up and looked at the team. Elijah was sitting on the table, laying her head. The others weren't affected by it much, and Winry was the one who was the one who was crying the most.

She was crying in her bed, hiding her face under the pillow.

"Guys... We don't have time to weep. If you need to avenge those dead people, you'll have to get stronger. You need to justify those men and women, Endier and everyone else right. Get yourselves together, and stand up!"

Alan declared to his group.

Like, Aether and Owl turned to Alan. For a moment, he didn't look like a man who was in cuffs; they felt like he was a leader.

Elijah's expression changed when he told her this. The words of the old man ringed on her head.

"Don't let your parents die in vain."

'I won't let your death be in vain either, Endier. And all the others.' She stood up, wiping her tears away.

"Alan is right... We have to look forward. We have to move on in our mission. Let's do this... For the sake of our people." Elijah declared to the team.

Luke, Owl, Aether, and Riza did not cry. All 3 of them were old and they have seen more deaths than the youngsters like Lucy and Winry.

Lucy was sitting on the chair beside the couch, still weeping.

"Come on guys. Stand up... Let's have a moment of silence for our friends." Riza helped Lucy up to her feet and smiled at her tenderly.

Riza and Lucy have been like sisters to each other. They always took care of each other and they did not separate even when the guild disbanded. They remained together since the moment they met each other.

Alan stood up and closed his eyes to pay respect to the old man at the bar. He took a deep breath as the old man's image flashed in his head.

Only then did he know the suffering of a person's death. When he was king, he killed thousands or more. But now, he felt guilty... And he was glad that he felt guilty.

"Goodbye, Endier," Elijah whispered under her breath, opening her eyes.

***

Lucy and Winry managed to stop weeping after some time. It was already midnight when the tension had finally decreased.

Everyone sat around the table to discuss the matters of the quest.

Everyone expected Elijah to start but Elijah didn't expect that. She turned to Alan.

"Alan... Do you have any idea?" Elijah's voice was so innocent.

"I..." He did not have the main idea of this quest, but the Blood Stone was something he was familiar with.

"The Blood mage and the Blood Stone. First of all, all three quests are held in the same Kingdom, Monorith. But before taking on the Queen, erasing the Blood Mage would be fine. I do not know how, and why the King gave this order to his people... But we'll find out."

Everyone listened to his plan, but all of them were confused.

"Who is the Blood Mage?" Aether asked him.

Alan's expression turned from serious to annoyed. 'Are you serious!!? These fools... I'm fucking hopeless!' Alan tried to hide his miserable expression and Elijah spoke up.

"You seem to know an awful lot for a non-leveling mage. And... You better spill all your secrets out because you only have us," she said.

"Hmm... I would if I remember." Alan looked at the sister and she looked back at him, glaring at each other like they were true enemies. He felt guilty for a moment but he overcame it right away.

"This quest will be a long-running one. I do not know the location of the Blood Mage or the Blood Stone. I've only heard that it is within the Kingdom of Argoth."

"And what will happen if it's not real?" Riza asked Alan.

"That won't be a problem. It is real. In my..." Alan almost spilled out about his previous life.

"In my past, I've witnessed the power of the Blood Stone. It is real and for a fact, I know that it is really powerful. Beware, the odds are against us here. We have to be extra safe and since we're making a new name for us without hiding in the shadows... You'll have to pull down your masks and accept the cruel world."

The Blood Stone was one of the many secrets in Argoth. No one knows how it was created, they only know that it was created by a demon warlock.

"So do you have any idea of how you are going to steal this? If it is that much powerful?" Luke questioned Alan.

"No, we have to see what the situation in Monorith is. And manage our stay there. This quest is worth the 5000 Rims. So... Better be ready."

***

The journey was yet to begin. The morning sun rose and the birds started to chirp in the rooftops of West Lake Town.

The streets slowly started to fill with travelers once more.

Alan woke up in his bed. "God... Help me. I need to get my powers back... I need my kingdom back." Alan sat up in his bed and took a deep breath, trying to slightly unwind his feelings.

[15 more souls to unlock the soul of your system]

[Daily Quests Unlocked]

"Eh?"

[Daily Quests:

- Find a common weapon

- Learn 4 spells or more

- Use your soul power to charge a weapon

Price: 300 XP]

"Wha – it just unlocked now..." Alan recalled his old memory and remembered why this happened.

Once a person is born, you cannot unlock the daily quest system until you're eligible for it... Alan couldn't believe that it took him 2 damn days just to unlock this.

"What the fuck is the soul of the system?"

But there was one problem. He did not have any idea what a soul of a system was. He hasn't even read about it.

[Congratulations! You are now a Survivor!]

[New Rank: Survivor]