Chapter 221: [221] The Old Man Speaks

Ark was sitting at the other side of the camp alongside some of his party members, juggling his head alongside a snowball.

He could have enhanced his senses to hear what Rodolph and Harold were talking about, but he frankly did not care one bit.

All that mattered were results. No matter how Rodolph got them, it would be permissible.

Every second, the ball of black fire would descend by an inch, and with each thirty seconds, the dip would be even greater.

One minute, thirty seconds later, the fireball was so close that Ark could see both men sweating profusely.

Neither of them could fathom the thought of escaping, because that would simply lead to the fireball swallowing them whole... So they had to stay and enjoy the heat.

A few seconds later, the fireball drew even nearer, and then finally, Rodolph turned around to face Ark.

"He is ready to talk!"

"Oh? Finally." Ark snapped his fingers, and the fireball flew up into the sky, just before it erupted, creating a shockwave that came down upon their heads.

Ark caught his head in his hands and turned it to face Olivia and Thalia. "Shall we?"

They both gave him blank stares before staring at themselves and heaving a sigh.

"Can you stop doing that?" Olivia frowned.

"Huh?" He tilted his head slightly. "Why should I?"

"Because no one carries their head around! It’s creepy!" Olivia said in an exasperated tone. "How can you even do..." She stared at his empty neck. "...This?"

"Synchronisation rate. I’ve hit fifty percent," Ark replied in a matter-of-fact manner as he got up and fixed his head back in place.

At the mention of synchronization rate, Thalia’s face shifted slightly as she got up as well, but she did not say anything.

Following Ark, the rest of the party gathered around Rodolph and the old man.

"First of all," the old man said in a husky tone. "It’s not that I didn’t want to tell ya. Our village has rules, ya know? And those thieving pillagers are worse! If they find out I told ya anything, I best be ready to die."

He sighed and shook his head. "But it seems, Harold ain’t got a choice no more. Alright..." He gestured with his free hand. "Ask away."

Ark nodded. "First of all, who are you? Where are you coming from? And are you related to those pillagers in any way?"

"I am Harold, son of Nils. I am from a village north of here, and no, I have no relation to those scumbags!"

The old man actually seemed offended by the question.

"How far away is your village?" Thalia asked.

The old man stared at her for a few seconds. He probably felt he was better off hiding his village, but he still answered, although sluggishly.

"It’s a two-day walk north of here."

’Hmm? Why did he expose the location of his village so easily?’ Ark mused. Sure, his life was on the line, but Ark expected him to have tried to resist it a bit...

Thalia frowned slightly. "If it is that far, why did a man as advanced as you leave? Were you planning to lose your life in this cold?"

"I didn’t have a choice!" Harold slammed his hand into the snow with a snarl, his eyes darkening. "I didn’t have a choice..." He said in a much lower tone, sadness appearing in his eyes.

Ark gave him a few seconds to regain his composure. And after a short while, the old man stared up at Thalia.

"We’ve run out of food. The children are dying, ya know? The monsters now move in packs. No one can fight them, save for those bastard pillagers..."

"We used to have Sunborns too, but most of them joined the pillagers. I may be old, but I am still a Sunborn."

"So you left the village to find food," Olivia said thoughtfully. "You wanted to do something for your people."

Harold nodded.

"Well, that was stupid." Rodolph folded his hands across his chest as he stared down at the old man. "What would have happened if you died out there? You would only make things more difficult for them."

"I know." Harold sighed. "But I couldn’t sit back."

Ark could understand the old man. There were times when, even though it was illogical to try, you still had to do something. "And Sunborns, who are Sunborns?"

Harold’s face immediately shot in his direction. "Huh? What do you mean? Aren’t ya all Sunborns as well?"

’He must think we are Sunborns because we also have unnatural abilities...’ Ark thought.

"Just answer the question. Who are Sunborns?"

Harold seemed confused by the question. He mumbled something under his breath before he spoke.

"The sun has been eclipsed with black ever since the dark age when the gods cursed us. But maybe it was one final show of mercy, or maybe it was a stroke of luck? The dark changed our sun."

"Now, on rare, random days, the darn eclipse will change." He pointed at the sky. It was nighttime, so they could not see the sun. Still, he continued his explanation.

"When the red aura around the eclipse burns gold... any child born underneath its shimmer is called Sunborn.

"These children are said to be masters of a new age. They possess gifts that defy human comprehension."

’So it is a very different awakening process from what we have back in Venaris.’

There was a theory that the dungeons and towers were actually mirrors of existing dimensions.

If that was the case, people of this world could awaken without a system. Did that mean there was possibly a unique way to awaken in Venaris without depending on the system?

Thinking about it, it wouldn’t be odd. The natives in Eden already had their method...

Ark shook the thoughts out of his head, deciding to focus on the matter at hand.

"If you are a Sunborn, what is your ability?" He probed.

Harold suddenly smiled proudly. "I am a fog master! Impressive, right?!"

"..."

Everyone gave him blank stares.

After a few seconds, Olivia broke the silence. "Fog master? What is that supposed to be?"

Harold scowled and clicked his tongue. "I swear, you kids are as dense as a lump of coal! Don’t you know anything about this world?"

Silence...

"My God. Have you managed to survive all this while?" Harold shook his head. "A fog master is the most important member of a unit if you wish to traverse the Cursed Fog."

"A fog master protects you from the fog, helps navigate it, and most importantly, protects you from having your minds devoured by the wraiths..."

"Fog masters are rare, you know? I am the only one in our entire village—"

"Bullshit." Rangar finally spoke after being silent for so long, cutting Harold off.

Harold frowned. "Huh?"

"You are the only fog master in your village. The fog master is impotent if you want to cross the Cursed Mist? I say it is a load of bullshit."

Rangar’s frown deepened. "You have already given us the information we want. Now, you are just trying to seem important so that we don’t discard you like the useless baggage you are."

"Hey! Watch your mouth, you overgrown cat! Back in my day, I would bend you like the back-alley whores—"

Rawr!

A guttural roar escaped Rangar’s throat as he swung at the man’s face, his claws fully extended.

"Rangar!" Olivia screamed, but Rangar paid no heed to her warning as his claws sliced through the air...