"T-Ten thousand five hundred points! Y-You’re a tier-10 warrior!" Janna couldn’t believe it. Sure, she and her mother assumed he was very strong, but getting confirmation of his strength was different.
Kirlia, too, couldn’t believe what she was seeing, but compared to her daughter, her reaction was more tame. "While you’re on the weaker side of a Tier-10 warrior, as you’ve just entered that level of power, I still can’t believe you’re that strong. It’s amazing, really."
Kai was also shocked, not realizing he had placed himself among some of the strongest people in the world, barely into his adventurous journey. He didn’t care, though; he was happy in fact.
’This is great! I’m fucking OP already! I can’t wait to tackle harder monsters. Hell, maybe I should fight a demon king while I’m at it!’
After everyone calmed down, Kai finally decided to leave, for real this time.
"I hope to see you sometime soon." Kirlia smiled
"I’ll stop by some time soon."
"Bye, Kai. Apply to the Hero Academy so we can be in school together!" Janna yelled, waving him off.
"That’s the plan!" He shouted back.
After that, they left, and Kai hopped back in his carriage.
"What was that all about?" Gwen wondered.
"Well, those kind women were from the Gryff noble house. They wanted to thank me for saving them."
Upon hearing what he said, everyone turned to him, their eyes full of shock.
"The Gryff family?! That’s who they were? Holy shit, Kai! You met some very important people!" The coachman said in surprise.
"I know they’re nobles, but how important are we talking?" Kai asked
"Ian Gryff, the head of the Gryff house, is a tier-8 swordsman and is the current General of the Royal Army. His wife, Firlia Gryff, comes from a house of mages. She’s a Tier-5 Mage, but her specialty is politics and business." Gwen informed him.
"Oh, they’re really important. Well, she gave me this as a sign of friendship." Kai pulled out the plaque Kirlia gave him.
Gwen couldn’t believe her eyes. Not only did Kai meet the Gryff family, but the lady of the house also gave him a plaque to symbolize their friendship. It was unbelievable.
"You’ve just made some good friends, Kai. Make sure you don’t lose that, it could come in handy someday."
Kai smiled, a dirty thought racing across his mind. "Oh, I’m sure it will, alright."
---
Thanks to Kai killing the bandits, they were able to cross the bridge without any problems. Even the coachman was able to keep his money, as paying dead people didn’t make any sense.
After about three days, they finally made it to Dunbridge Village, and it was not as they expected. The village was run down, people were coughing violently, and the whole place gave off a disturbing vibe.
Looking around, they all noticed that people were sick, really sick. So sick that a few people died in the short time that Kai, Gwen, and the others arrived in the village.
There was a river that flowed close by, acting as the village’s main source of water, yet it was dark green, clearly contaminated. The well water wasn’t any different, and people wearing masks were seen pulling out dead animal bodies.
"M-Mom, I don’t want to live here." The young boy cried, hugging his mother’s side.
"What in the world happened here?! This place wasn’t in this state when I came here three months ago!" The coachman was baffled, and he went to find someone he knew to get some answers.
’This is bad! It’s like an epidemic is going around! I won’t get sick because of my [Perfect Body], but I can’t say the same for Gwen and the others.’
[ Shop
Cure All - Can cure any poison, sickness, disease, or defect that a person might have permanently. The person will be fully immune to the negative substances going forward. - 20,000 SP ]
’Fuck! So expensive, but worth it!’
Kai purchased the ability, then turned to Gwen and the family.
"Here," He used his power on them, a light green effect enveloping their body for a brief moment. "You’ll be permanently immune to whatever sickness is going around."
"Woah! This is amazing, thank you!" The parents bowed, showing their thanks, and their kids did the same.
"No problem, but this is where we part ways. See you guys some other time."
"So, what now?" Gwen asked, following Kai around the village.
"Well, since our main goal for coming here was to relax for a bit and take on some quests, we can find the source of this plague or whatever and help these people." He suggested
Gwen nodded. "I agree. While there may not be an adventurer’s guild here, there should be a request board for passing by adventurers such as ourselves. Usually, it’s in the village square."
"Let’s go."
On their way to the village square, the two of them asked people about the state of the village. Some didn’t answer as they didn’t want to risk the change of getting sick, others couldn’t answer because it was difficult to speak, but there were a few who did give them some information, but it was so vague that it didn’t really help them.
"So, a person came to this village, told them that they were all heretics, and is now suffering the wrath of the gods? That doesn’t seem right." Gwen thought out loud
"I’m not really well-versed in religion or gods, but is there a deity that would do this to people? Like a god of plagues or something?"
She shook her head. "Each Kingdom has its own god, and they aren’t able to affect another kingdom. You see, we’re in Sarkylla, the Kingdom of Grace, and there is a divine barrier that prevents other gods from affecting our kingdom. This applies to the other kingdom as well. Our goddess is a kind, beneficent deity, and she would never do something like this. No god would do something like this."
Kai nodded. "So either there is a rogue god who managed to break the rules, or this is man-made. After all, putting the rotting corpses of animals in a water well doesn’t seem godlike to me."
"I agree, let’s see if we can figure this out."