stonecrandall Chapter 47 Tavern
Chapter 47 Tavern
"Snap!"
Luo Lan sat alone in the corner of the dilapidated tavern, observing his surroundings out of the corner of his eye. He struggled to bite off a piece of dry, hard, wood-like black bread and swallowed it along with the cheap food and drink.
Although the dining experience was terrible, for Luo Lan, who had been traveling day and night for more than ten days and nights since leaving the underground palace, this moment of rest was hard-won.
This little tavern is located in Fallen Leaf Town, near the border mountains of the Holy Kingdom.
As dusk settles, the tavern, one of the few places in this remote town where adventurers can rest, is at its busiest time of day.
In the murky air, the sour smell of cheap fermented ale, the rancid smell of dried sweat, and the burnt smell of roasted meat mingled together, creating a pungent and irritating odor.
The greasy wooden table was covered with knife marks and symbols of unknown meaning. Empty black pottery wine cups were piled up haphazardly, and a few flies hovered over the wine stains remaining on the rims of the cups.
At the bar, a bard was listlessly strumming his lute with a broken string, humming an outdated heroic epic, but no one stopped to listen to him.
The adventurers gathered in small groups, some boasting loudly about their achievements, others complaining in hushed tones about their recent poor results.
A dwarf warrior with a thick beard gulped down a mouthful of cheap wine and slammed the earthenware cup heavily on the table.
"These past few days have been truly awful! Damn it, the Rift during the Demon Tide is practically uninhabitable! The monsters inside are like they're on drugs; they've even corroded through my shield!"
The gaunt cat-man thief beside the dwarf chuckled, his fingers deftly toying with a copper coin:
"Shorty, you should be content. You know what a rift is. I've heard that recently, strange rifts that can drive away all living things within a hundred miles have appeared in the other part of the Holy Kingdom's territory."
The human apprentice mage in the group muttered under his breath, his face full of worry:
"Stop talking, it's terrifying just to hear about it... Let's just wait for the demonic tide to pass before we go to the outer areas to farm some low-level walking mushrooms."
"..."
The entire tavern was immersed in a decadent and boisterous atmosphere, commonplace for adventurers from the lower rungs of society, until—
"Bang!!"
A loud crash abruptly interrupted Luo Lan's thoughts. The tavern's wooden door was forcefully kicked open from the outside, the door panel slamming against the wall, sending splinters of wood flying.
"Help! Help my partner!"
With a loud, panting shout, a panicked orc warrior rushed in, carrying a female catwoman dressed as a spellcaster who was clearly seriously injured.
The people in the tavern looked on curiously and could see that the injured cat-man had a horrifying laceration on his abdomen, with thick purplish-black blood constantly oozing out, preventing the wound from healing—a very typical characteristic of the erosion of chaotic energy.
For wounds tainted by chaotic energy, taking a potion of life can only prevent the wound from worsening. To completely eradicate the chaotic energy, the help of healing classes such as priests or druids is required.
Seeing this scene, the tavern patrons could only cast sympathetic glances at the orc warrior.
"I...I have money! Five gold coins! Please, don't just stand by and watch...think of something!"
The orc warrior pulled out five slightly worn gold coins from his pouch. This was a considerable sum in the tavern, roughly equivalent to a Black Iron rank adventurer's entire income for a year.
But what good is money if you don't have it?
This remote town has no resident clergy, and the wounds eroded by chaos cannot be purified.
The road leading to the nearest town's church has been blocked by the chaotic mist that has spread across the border mountains during the Rift Demon Tide.
Aside from praying for the demonic tide to subside in ten to fifteen days, the cat-woman mage, who was on the verge of death, did not have her life force completely consumed by the chaos. It seemed that the people in the tavern had no other choice.
"Five gold coins aren't enough, I have more!"
The orc warrior seemed to have made up his mind. He gritted his teeth and stumbled as he pulled out three more gold coins from his pocket.
[8 gold coins... is it worth the risk?]
Looking at the orc warrior covered in sweat, and after weighing the risks and benefits, Luo Lan deliberately changed his voice, speaking in a low, deep tone:
"Let me take a look."
The sound wasn't loud, but it instantly attracted everyone's attention.
The tavern patrons turned around at the sound and saw a burly figure in the corner take off his hood, revealing a slightly weathered middle-aged man's face.
Luo Lan slowly walked towards the two warriors in the center of the tavern. The sound of heavy armor clashing could be heard from beneath their figures, which were hidden by cloaks and capes.
"Can you please save her?"
The orc warrior seemed to see a glimmer of hope and hurriedly called out in anticipation.
Luo Lan didn't say much, but simply raised her right hand slightly.
Pray silently in your heart, construct the path in your mind.
"Light..." Luo Lan's lips moved.
At that moment, the air seemed to freeze. The orc warriors held their breath, their eyes wide, anticipating witnessing a miracle.
A pale holy light, unlike the common orange holy light, burst forth from Luo Lan's palm. Although the color was different, its purifying effect was exactly the same.
The chaotic aura that had been lingering was melted away like fresh snow under the pale light, and the horrifying wounds healed to a degree visible to the naked eye. With just a little more rest, the life of this seriously injured cat-man mage was saved.
But unnoticed by the crowd, a wisp of black mist quietly seeped into Luo Lan's left hand, which was covered by heavy armor gloves...
"It's alright. Just need some rest."
"Thank you so much! You must be a paladin, right? Please accept these."
Luo Lan calmly accepted the eight gold coins handed to him by the orc warrior. Looking at the tavern, which was once again rippled by his actions, he pulled his hood back up and walked straight out of the tavern.
"Squeak"
With a soft thud, Luo Lan pushed open the wooden door that had just been knocked askew by the orcs and walked out alone.
"Hey, paladin? I never expected to see a holy priest in our godforsaken little place."
"But why is he wearing a hood? It's so secretive, unlike what you usually see in city churches..."
"Hmm, concealing his figure, white hair and blue eyes... do you think he might be 'Roland the Lost One' from the recent wanted list?"
"Are you kidding me? Not only is this guy a middle-aged man, completely different from the young man on the wanted poster, but if he really is the Diamond-level Chaos Aberrant on the wanted poster, would we even be alive?"
"Haha, that's right. Come on, let's keep drinking, bottoms up!"
"..."
As Luo Lan walked out of the tavern, she listened to the increasingly distorted and noisy conversation behind her and gave a self-deprecating laugh.
[The wanted notice has even reached the border? Looks like we need to speed things up...]
[But diamond level? You're giving me too much credit.]
As Luo Lan pondered this, he continued walking, looking down at himself. A series of information, visible only to him, appeared before his eyes:
Name: Luo Lan
Race: Humanoid
[Class: Knight]
[Rank: Silver]
[Constitution: 24] (Vitality, Recovery Speed, Biomass Energy...)
[Strength: 25] (Strength, Energy, Endurance, Explosiveness...)
Agility: 22 (Speed, reaction, accuracy, coordination, etc.)
[Intelligence: 9] (Knowledge, Memory, Mental Strength, Spell Effectiveness...)
[Willpower: 13] (Perception, Intuition, Inspiration, Mental Resistance...)
[Charm: 11-2] (Approachability, Leadership, Appearance, Eloquence, etc.)
[Specialties: Indestructible body, mastery of military equipment, proficiency in heavy armor, pale light circuit, ultrasonic sensing, bio-battery, underwater breathing, toxic filtration, high-speed metabolism]
【技能：圣光lv.？、圣殿骑士团基础剑术lv.1、圣王国军用体术lv.2、狂暴lv.2、音波震击lv.2、赤电雷暴lv.1、骨刺爆射lv.2、怖慑lv.3、热视觉lv.1、淡光晶簇lv.1】
[Status: Chaotic Distortion, Necromantic Symbiosis, Death Mark Protocol, Remnant of the Mark of Sin, Optical Camouflage (Disguise in effect, Charisma decreased)]
[Equipment: Holy Kingdom Standard Armor, Holy Kingdom Standard Broadsword, Holy Kingdom Standard Magic Cross Pendant]
[Knowledge: Akquad Common Language lv.1]
[Permissions: Forging, True Sight lv.1]
More detailed information than a typical [Appraisal Technique] flashed through Luo Lan's vision.
The assessment of Silver's strength is vastly different from the Diamond's strength that the people in the tavern had been discussing earlier.
The extraordinary ranks in this world are, in order: Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond...
Silver and diamond may seem to be only two levels apart, but Luo Lan was well aware of the enormous gap between them.
[I still need to work harder... at least, I need to actually reach Diamond rank first.]
Pulling her thoughts away from the ramblings stirred up by the patrons' lively discussion, Luo Lan moved away from the tavern.