85 Despairers


    [You havepleted the first task. You have gained a 1-hour leave card.]


    Isabe heard the notification and smiled as she looked around her new house.


    It was a small house in a vige with one bedroom, hall, and kitchen.


    The living hall was not that big in this 200 square feet house, but there was a firece and a sofa.


    Isabe sat on the sofa and lit up the firece by consuming 1 point of Mana because the ce she had arrived was in a snowy region with snowynds and frozen water, and despite her high stats, she still felt cold.


    *Knock Knock…*


    Isabe went to open the door and immediately greeted the cold air first.


    ''It''s freezing despite my high stats. I wonder why…'' Isabe thought as her body slightly reacted to cold, but she quickly greeted the middle-aged woman standing outside.


    "Thank you for the help and this house, chief Venisa."


    Venisa kindly smiled and said, "It''s rare to get humans in our region, and you even helped us fend off that monster. It''s only fair that we help you in return."


    Venisa and other people in this vige were not humans but Maghas. Magha race people were just like humans except their skin was light blue, with a single 15-centimeter length frosty horn growing out of their forehead and a 1-2 meter long thin blue tail.


    And Venisa was the chief of one of the many viges in this region.


    "Sigh, we used to fend off the beasts and monsters, but I don''t know why they''ve been getting stronger recently," Venisa added with a tired sigh. "I see."


    Seeing Isabe''s rubbing her arms, Venisa smiled, "Follow me, dear. I''ll give you Feiceon''s blessing to rid of the cursed cold."


    Isabe was surprised, but she quickly responded with a smile and followed her.


    As she entered the vige center, she saw young Magha kids practicing with ice at an academy far north of a small hill and a few adult Maghas returning with baskets and entering Adventurer''s Guild.


    Maghas could naturally control ice, but the problem with monsters and beasts in this icy region was that most of them had high ice resistance, making smaller Magha viges without strong individuals struggle against powerful beasts unless they had their ancestor''s blessing.


    Fortunately, all viges had their ancestor''s statues, and by invoking the blessing with their bloodline connection, Maghas could get powerful ice blessing. Venisa nced at the academy and sighed. "Beasts and monsters are getting stronger quickly. We aren''t able to keep up recently."


    "Yes. I also felt something wrong with that Tunthrall, something ominous mixing in it," Isabe responded as she remembered the big eyes of that monster that contained strange darkness.


    But a gust of wind snapped her out of her daze. ''So cold…''


    She rubbed her arms with her palms again to warm herself and created a few wisps of mes around her to get warm. ''Why is it more cold here?''


    Venisa didn''t even turn around and said, "Don''t worry, you will feel less cold soon. This small snowy region is called Faiceon region and is blessed and cursed both."


    "If you are physically and magically stronger, you will feel more cold, but if you are weaker, you will feel nothing."


    "Of course, this doesn''t apply to us, but only those who came outside of Feiceon Region."


    "Don''t worry. You''ll be fine after getting our ancestor''s blessing," she added with a smile.


    Venisa led Isabe toward her big wooden house attached to a small mountain. Below her house was a cave entrance protected by two guards and a magic-enchanted gate.


    Venisa told the guards to open the gate before she led Isabe inside.


    After arriving at the end, Isabe was surprised to see a big natural cave with an ice statue at the center.


    The statue looked like a draconic humanoid wearing some armor sitting cross-legged.


    "This is the statue of our ancestors. Every vige has such a statue, which gives us a blessing that increases our ice power based on our bloodline purity."


    Vinesan bent down and sped her palms before closing her eyes. "To outsiders, it gives them protection from this region''s cursed coldness."


    Isabe inspected the statue.


    [ Statue of Feiceon (Replica) ]


    _Note: Something is corrupting it.


    ''This…'' Isabe was taken aback. ''Something corrupting it?'' n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    A few secondster, the statue glowed because of whatever Venisa was doing.


    ''Should I even take this blessing if something is corrupting it?'' Isabe thought and immediately came up with the answer.


    ''No.''


    On the other hand, the statue produced a dreamy icy wisp.


    "ept the blessing, dear. Don''t resist."


    Isabe gulped, clenched her fists, and closed her eyes.


    ''Reject this. I don''t want the blessing.''


    ''Reject!''


    Venisa was looking with a kind smile. But the next second, the wisp shattered instead of entering Isabe.


    Venisa was surprised.


    "Oh my, what happened?"


    Isabe feigned surprise and said, "I did as you said and epted the blessing. I don''t know why this happened."


    "Hmm, alright. Let''s try one more time," Venisa worriedly nodded and faced the statue again before sping her hands.


    ''Is she aware or not aware?'' Isabe thought as she looked at Venisa''s back.


    ''My guts tell me she doesn''t know this statue is corrupted,'' Isabe concluded and firmly nodded. ''Erix told us to trust our guts.''


    (A/N: Thank you, Erix.)


    "Venisa, wait!" Isabe said in deliberate exmation and started Venisa, who was praying.


    "W-what happened?" Venisa turned around with slight panic and saw Isabe pointing at the statue''s eyes.


    "Venisa, something…something is in there," Isabe said with slight hesitance. ''Phew, I almost uttered corrupting.''


    If she said corrupting, she feared that it would make Venisa angry. Although Maghas were peaceful and didn''t show any radical behavior despite being tribal and having an ancestor as their deity, back on Earth, Isabe had seen some fanatics of different religions and believers who would take anything negative word about their god to extreme levels and take drastic actions.


    "Something? Where?" Venisa looked at the statue and squinted her eyes, trying to find ''something.'' "The statue''s eyes. There''s something dark deep within them. Please look carefully," Isabe sincerely said in a stressful tone.


    There was truly there, something dark and ck whirling in its eyes.


    Venisa looked at the statue''s eyes with focus, choosing to believe Isabe because she was stronger and had saved their vige.


    But that was not the only reason because she was also feeling something ominous lingering in the air recently.


    ''What is it?''


    Venisa narrowed her eyes and continued to focus for a few seconds before finally seeing the glimpse of something ck whirling deep within, in the realm of spirituality that connected her to the statue because of her years of prayers.


    If it was someone else, they might not have noticed it, and Isabe might have gotten into minor trouble.


    16:12


    "This ominous feeling is the same as what I saw in that Tunthrall," Isabe muttered.


    "That monster''s eyes?" Venisa was shocked and felt dread.


    "This is bad… What is happening?"


    Isabe also wanted to know, and that was when It happened.


    Announcement notifications in a deep, despairing voice. They rang in every Earthling''s head who had entered the first floor: Aestian''s Realm.


    [ Despairers, you have found enough pieces and clues. ]


    Erix looked at where the trail had ended in the northeast of Netherwind Woonds, his expression dumbfounded. ''Seriously, what are they cooking?''


    His heart was beating fast, and he was having goosebumps as he heard the first notification while looking at a pool of ck blood and two youngsters, a girl and a boy, nailed on the ground with two magic formations. Around them was a pool of ck blood with various types of flesh and bones belonging to beasts and monsters whirling inside.


    [ Despairers, you have seen enough to greet the darkness of this world. ]


    Rin was listening to Nessa telling her experience of the tragedy that took her family, and when she heard the second notification, she felt goosebumps.


    [ Despairers, you are in a world that is between maws of death.]


    When Nessa finished telling the climax of her experience, and Rin heard thest notifications, she felt a biting chill crawling down her spine.


    [ Despairers, the fate of this world depends on no one but you.]


    [ Save this world, and you will not only survive but also thrive. ]


    [ Let this world get destroyed, and you shall cease to exist with it. ]


    "That''s not much of a choice, init?"


    "Or maybe…there is?"


    [A new main quest has been added.]