Chapter 324: Not a Sub-Scenario?

Some unknown amount of time later, somewhere inside the Brutal Wilderness...

"I know you’re awake, boy. You’ve been awake for a while now... Are you trying to plot your escape?"

The voice of the Awakened Realm powerhouse from before Uhtred was knocked out resounded through a simple-looking cottage.

Uhtred, lying on a bed in the corner, calmly opened his eyes, his gaze locking onto the Awakened Realm powerhouse immediately. It was just like the man had said, he’d been awake for some time now and was actually planning his escape.

Upon waking up, he’d thought at first that perhaps this was an introduction to a sub-scenario. His captor was an Awakened Realm powerhouse like the Heavenly Demon from the previous Floor, after all...

But the more Uhtred watched the Awakened Realm powerhouse roam through the cottage doing basic, random stuff, he came to realize this was anything but a sub-scenario. He’d simply been captured by someone very powerful, that was all.

Whether his captor meant him good or whether he was captured with evil intentions, Uhtred didn’t know. However, he did remember what had happened before he was knocked out. From his brief exchange with the Awakened Realm powerhouse back then, the man hadn’t seemed to mean any harm.

Still, though, Uhtred wasn’t willing to wait and find out. His body was surprisingly sprightly and healed — thanks to the Awakened Realm powerhouse, no doubt. Uhtred could sense some healing essence flowing from the bed in which he lay, which made him all the more certain the man meant no harm.

"There’s no need to think too much. You can leave if you want," the man suddenly said, his back turned to Uhtred as he mixed some essence-dense herbs in a mortar. "But I’ll advise that you wait for a few days. It’s that time of the month when beasts turn berserk and pour out in waves. You wouldn’t last more than a few hours before you’re overwhelmed by their numbers."

"A beast wave?" Uhtred croaked, his voice coming out scratchy. He cleared his throat and sat up straight, a suspicious frown coloring his face. "I didn’t notice any beast waves when I traveled through the Brutal Wilderness on my own."

"And that’s because you were lucky to have traveled and exited the forest right at the cusp of the beast wave," the man grunted.

"Oh? Then aren’t I so lucky?"

The man stilled, hearing the clear sarcasm and suspicion behind Uhtred’s words. He then dropped his mortar and pestle, walked over to the door beside him, opened it and gestured flamboyantly:

"The door is now open. You may leave and see for yourself."

Uhtred grunted and pushed himself off the bed, intending to do exactly that. The moment he stood up, he felt a slight dizziness that immediately cleared a second later. It turned out that even with the Awakened Realm powerhouse’s healing bed, he still wasn’t fully healed yet. But he was fit enough to react or fight back if things turned awry...

Not that I’d have a chance against this guy, Uhtred thought. Hmph. I guess if it comes to that, I’ll just spam my Unified Elemental Spell as much as my core will allow.

Cautiously, he walked over to the door, his eyes locked on the Awakened Realm powerhouse’s face the whole time. The man looked middle-aged at most, without any particular flourish to his appearance — his was a face you wouldn’t look at twice in a crowd.

He watched Uhtred without any change to his expression. He didn’t look intrigued, amused, slighted or even offended at all. If anything, he looked like he wanted Uhtred to be gone so he could have peace.

Uhtred saw the look in his eyes and felt a bit confused. Did this man truly have no ulterior motive? Why then had he brought him here and healed him?

Just as Uhtred was about to cross the threshold of the door, the man suddenly spoke, startling him.

Ha! I knew it was too good to be true! Here comes his true motive! Uhtred thought, readying himself for anything. But the man simply walked past him and opened a door leading deeper into the cottage.

Pushing the door wide open, he revealed a figure lying on a similar healing bed to Uhtred’s. This figure, however, was in a much worse condition.

"Your friend here came looking for you after I took you away from the city. Unfortunately, he entered into the Brutal Wilderness just as the Beast Wave began. He would’ve died had I not stumbled on his worn and beaten body," the man said. "Since you’re going, take him along with you. My home’s not for charity. I only brought him in here because you were here."

Uhtred, staring at the figure in question, had a look of utter confusion on his face.

"Elion Silverwood? He’s not my ’friend.’ Didn’t you see us battle back in the city?" Uhtred scoffed, flabbergasted. "I don’t what makes you think he came ’looking for me,’ but you’ve got it wrong, man. Just send him on his way when he wakes up or something."

"Oh, but I’m sure he came looking for you. He muttered your name over and over in his sleep."

"Now I know you’re just bullshitting." Uhtred snorted. "This guy doesn’t know my name!"

He shook his head and turned, preparing to leave the cottage, when the terrifying aura of the man’s Awakened Realm cultivation suddenly pressed down on the surroundings.

"I don’t give a rat’s ass if you believe me or not. I’m ordering you to take the elf out of my fucking house and carry your business elsewhere! I’ve had enough of your nonsense skepticism!"

His words sounded like thunder, each syllable resounding with more anger and fervor the more he spoke.

Uhtred felt the weight of it press down on him, and his knees threatened to buckle under him. It was with great strain that he forced his head to look up at the man, a mad glint in his eyes.

"T–Then why the fuck did you help us in the first place?!" He forced through gritted teeth.

That was the question bugging him currently. Everything Uhtred had seen so far aligned well — everything but the reason for the man bringing him and Elion Silverwood here.

What exactly did he want? There was no way he did it simply on a whim or out of pure goodwill, Uhtred didn’t believe for a second such a thing existed in a Scenario world like this.

Not to mention, the man clearly knew that he was a champion, just like Elion Silverwood — an undeclared, unregistered human champion — yet that didn’t seem to faze him?