Swallowing the brightness in the world, a dark cluster of clouds spread across the clear sky. After giving everyone a gloomy feeling in their hearts, drop by drop, the rain began to fall.
Under the cover of the umbrellas held by Vanessa, Mordred calmly walked toward the giant river, where he saw an old man sitting under a tree.
The man was exposed to the rain, but he didn't seem to care. Looking at the lake, from time to time, he threw a few treats into the water, where fish had already gathered to feast.
"The guy looks like some kind of monk, not a hunter. Is he the one?"
"Yes, young master."
"Well... tell him to come." After observing the old man for a while, Mordred turned around. He had a comfortable place already prepared on the lakeshore.
Walking in the rain had made his clothes dirty with mud stains. It had already reached the limit of his dignity of villain's patience.
One of the men who had come with Mordred went to inform the old man about his arrival. Looking at Mordred from afar, the old man got up and made his way toward him.
"I believe I'm not the late one." Mordred greeted the old man with a nod.
"Not at all. We old fellows like to arrive early—it's a habit."
As the man replied, Mordred noticed that, despite being in the rain, not a single drop of water touched his clothes.
"Since it's raining, why don't we wait a bit?" Mordred invited the man to sit, but the old man politely declined with a smile.
"Young nobleman might not know, but the rain is the best time to catch fish. If the young master doesn't mind, I'd like to start the task right now."
"By all means, go ahead." Mordred showed no objection to the man's suggestion. After all, he was the one with the urgency for this fish.
"But where's the equipment...?"
Before Mordred could finish speaking, something rapidly arrived from the tree where the old man had previously been sitting and landed in the old man's hand.
It was a harpoon—one that gave an extraordinary presence to anyone holding it.
Vanessa hurriedly reacted and rushed toward the old man, but Mordred waved his hand and stopped her. Despite the commotion, Mordred didn't feel any malicious threat from the old man. He was still gazing at the river.
That spear is definitely an item belonging to the ranking system. And the way it acts on its own... Is this guy a weapon master?
"Did you receive the necessary requisites from our side?" Mordred asked in his calm voice.
"Oh, it's all been taken care of."
Ahhh!
From a branch of a tree that stretched toward the middle of the lake, a young man fell down, but he stopped halfway, as he was tied by a rope to the branch. Mordred noticed that the rope was also a ranked item.
Two items... This is the first time I've seen someone like this. Guess I really shouldn't underestimate the history of this world.
"Something like this isn't enough for those in the depths of the lake. If we want to make them come up, we need to make them hungrier."
The old man threw a red ball into the lake, and it quickly scattered across the water like some coloring, painting the water in deep red color. But as moments passed, the color began to sink deeper into the lake.
"Now be silent and listen carefully... You'll hear their hungry cries."
As the old man instructed, everyone became quiet. Whether it was Vanessa or the few men who had come with Mordred, they all stayed silent. Only the sound of the rain could be heard.
In this quiet atmosphere, minute by minute passed, and suddenly, Mordred lightly heard a sound coming from the depths of the lake.
Graaa! Graawl!
It was like an echo of a starving beast.
"Now you should lower the bait, for it is now looking for anything to satisfy its hunger." Other than doing everything by himself, the old man was also teaching Mordred how everything was done.
The rope that tightened the man hanging from the tree branch suddenly loosened, causing the man to fall and eventually end up in the water.
Chis!
The man splashed water everywhere as he struggled to get free from the ropes. But the rope continued to move, dragging him deeper into the water.
Very soon, the rope dragged the man up once again, leaving him hanging halfway from the branch. The young man was drowning in the water, struggling for air.
"What now..." Mordred felt curious about the atmosphere, but suddenly, before he could finish speaking, the old man moved, sending his harpoon flying through the air at the man hanging from the branch.
Chis!
It pierced through something invisible along the way. Dark green substance spilled out from the air, giving off a terrible stench, but nothing else could be seen.
After piercing the invisible object, the harpoon turned and returned to the old man's hand. As soon as he caught it, he sent it flying again—this time in a different direction.
Raghh!
It pierced something invisible again, and a huge roar came from the source. Dark green substance erupted from the air, seeming to flow down from some large object. Little by little, something became visible above the lake. First, it was a blur, then a gigantic fish appeared, opening its mouth to swallow the man hanging from the rope.
It was so close to the man, but the harpoon pierced its eye and head right before it could swallow him.
Boom!
With a huge shockwave, the gigantic fish fell onto the river, causing a massive wave of water to spill everywhere.
None managed to evade the wave of water, and Mordred could only close his eyes as the water splashed on him.
"Seems like you have a good eye," Mordred calmly wiped off the water from his clothes, but the wetness was not something he could easily get rid of.
"Comes with experience. This old man has been doing this for a long time. I could see things others couldn't—like the invisible scales of this fish and the terrible upcoming weather.
And I can also see a few things from humans."
The old man looked at Mordred with a serious expression this time.
"Just like the aura of death lurking around you. Young man, be careful—the future is not like to welcome you."
Mordred was caught by surprise at the old man's words. But thinking about it, it was indeed as he said. There were a lot of heroes in the Destiny Game, and he would face them eventually. Although he was preparing for everything, nothing was ever certain.
However, what surprised Mordred more was the ability of this old man. His experience and skills were extraordinary. If possible, Mordred really wanted to make him his ally.
"Ever thought of helping someone get rid of their death variables?" Mordred asked directly getting to the point.
But the old man remained silent and did not answer.
After a few moments, Mordred did not wait any longer. Since the old man refused, there was nothing he could do about it—unless he forcibly took action, which was something he needed to think through carefully.
"Vanessa, handle the payment for this old gentleman."
No longer interested in anything else, Mordred gazed at the giant fish floating above the river. Even though it was dead, its muscles would twitch from time to time, causing waves in the water.
After receiving his reward, the old man called for his rope, which had tied the man to the tree branch. As the rope came loose, the man fell into the river, clinging onto the giant fish.
"If this old man's help is needed another time, you know where to find me." With those words, the old man walked away, holding the harpoon and rope in his hand.
. . . . . .
A few minutes after the old man disappeared, Mordred was still gazing at the river.
"Should we remove the fish?" Vannesa asked.
"Leave it... Let everyone else go back to the carriage." Since the fish was already caught, Mordred decided to finish the task right here and now.
"..... Should have asked his name at least."
At that moment, Mordred remembered that he never asked the old man's name. Although he didn't show it outwardly, the things the old man said still bothered him and constantly itching at his brain to think.
"What happened to the Leviathan Pearl? Did you meet with him?"
"Yes, Master, but he asked for a rather odd reward instead of money," Vanessa answered.
"An odd one? What's that?"
"Apparently, he has a sick daughter. His request is for us to help treat her. But the illness she has is not something that has a cure yet."
Even though Vanessa finished speaking, Mordred felt that she was still holding something back.
"Is there something you want to say?"
"I informed Charlotte about this matter, and... she said she has a cure for this disease, but..." Vanessa hesitated to say the last part.
"Does it have any side effects?"
When speaking of Charlotte, Mordred knew that the cure would definitely have at least one drawback. Although she was an alchemist, she focused more on human mutation rather than healing.
"Yes, although it would heal the patient, it would also reduce her life expectancy."
"That's... hardly our problem. He's asking for a cure, and we have one. Proceed with the matter."
"Yes, young master."
After giving Vanessa her orders, Mordred calmly walked to the edge of the lake, where he saw the dark green blood of the fish mixing into the water.
Looking at the floating giant fish, Mordred whispered,
"With the authority granted by the will of the world and the unity of gods, I request a pathway to the realm of spirits through this sacrifice..."
His words echoed like a whisper, and the water in the lake suddenly began to bubble as if boiling.
The blood flowing out from the fish's body began to float in a specific pattern, creating a hand-drawn illustration circle around the beast.
In the next moment, a deep green glow appeared on the surface of the blood circle, and at its center, a deep hole formed. Above this deep hole, the body of the fish floated.
"Come on, come on, you dirty, mind-sulking leech..." Mordred felt like he had been waiting for ages, staring at the giant circle. He waited patiently until the prey he was expecting showed signs of appearing.
The body of the fish suddenly began to twitch, and it appeared as though countless worms were writhing beneath its scales.
Suddenly, its stomach exploded, and a giant worm-like creature rose up from within. It feasted on the flesh of the fish, savoring every bite. After tearing apart a piece of its flesh, the worm dug back into the fish's body and continued devouring it.
And when its bones began to appear, Mordred heard a voice in his mind.
"Delicious... Very delicious... I want more... More of this... Give me more... Oh? There's also something extra."
"I'll give you more, but I need you to do something for me."
Hearing the voice in his head, Mordred showed no fear or panic. Instead, he spoke calmly. He knew that this voice belonged to the mind-sucking leech that was currently swallowing the fish's body.
"..... Well, well, well, it's been some time since I found something like this—a human asking for help again. But know this, I want double the amount of sacrifice every time you call me again."
As the mind-sucking leech's voice echoed, a digitized panel appeared in Mordred's vision.