Mercenaries and Adventurers

The sound of gurgling water sounded slightly.

You can vaguely smell the fragrance of flowers.

A cold, wet mist drifted past.

Feelings of palpitations bring chills.

Kil was panting rapidly. He lay down on a piece of wet moss. He nervously bent his feet and stepped on them. His hands were waving in front of him inexplicably, as if he was driving something away.

He closed his eyes tightly and opened his mouth wide, as if he was indulging in a terrifying dream.

"ah!!!"

A panicked shout rang out, and Keir sat up with his hands on his body.

His eyes were wide open but lifeless, and his face was pale and bloodless.

The cold and moist air was sucked into his mouth, and then spit out quickly. It took a while before Kil came back to his senses.

Only then did I realize some problems.

Where is he at this time?

-

"What the f*ck is going on?"

The surrounding area is gloomy, with densely intertwined ancient trees everywhere. The tree trunks are covered with green moss that blooms with small flowers. Looking up along the tree trunks, the tree trunks extend into the darkness where nothing can be seen clearly. .

Next to him is the bottom of the tree roots. Between the intertwined aerial roots, there is a small piece of flat moist soil, which is covered with thick thick moss.

Like their counterparts growing on tree trunks, most of these mosses bloom with small flowers of various colors and emit faint light of various colors.

But in this dark and dark place, it is not these moss flowers that really bring light, but a small colorful river that can be clearly seen after looking past the tree roots next to it.

Being attracted by the colorful light-emitting river, Kil couldn't help but put his hands on the roots of the nearby trees and leaned forward to get a closer look at the luminous river.

The small luminous river flows from the right hand to the left hand. Due to the humid water vapor in the air, the source and where it flows cannot be seen.

It was only then that Kiel discovered the difference in himself.

There was no pain on his body, and there was no bloody hole in his chest. The clothes he wore were not the armor he wore just a moment ago, but a set of exquisite winter clothes that he often wore in Kendall City.

There were no protective gloves on his hands. Kil touched himself curiously and found that he was normal. But the more this happened, he knew that this was indeed not normal.

he died.

He was clearly defeated in the battle with the werewolf Wolf. He vaguely remembered that the guy broke his chest open and killed him.

But what's going on now?

Is this the world after death in another world?

He became nervous, but he picked up a luminous flower from moss and smelled it carefully. It had a faint fragrance.

Impossible, there is no way this is the world after death.

Whether it is the legends told by singers who drank too much in the tavern, or the propaganda that the Church of the God of the Dead usually gives to the people, the world after death will not be like this.

I have never heard of any hero coming to such a place after death, nor is it like what the church says about believers going to the kingdom of gods after death.

He is not a hero, and he is not a believer in any god.

Taking a deep breath of the cold and flower-scented air, Kil knew that no matter how he got here, the master who sent him here would not want him to just stay where he was.

You should take a look around.

He looked at the colorful light-emitting river in front of him and decided to explore the most magical thing around and where its source was.

-

Keir stood up and walked up the colorful stream.

Interestingly, he was wearing thick clothes, but his feet were bare and he was wearing nothing.

Stepping on the soft and thick moss, Kil carefully walked along the river and walked slowly towards the upper reaches of the river. Sometimes there were tree roots in the way, and Kiel had to go around them. As soon as you step away from the colorful river, the surrounding light will suddenly dim.

Although the flowers blooming from the moss under his feet could also illuminate, he somehow knew that if he strayed far away from the luminous river, he would be lost in the gloomy and lightless dense forest around him.

He doesn't know where this place is, or who saved him here.

But obviously when the other party rescued him at a critical moment, he definitely didn't do it out of idleness.

But he was just a nobody, how could He De be rescued like this.

"And it's a little strange?" Kil touched himself.

Except for a pair of warm and cold-proof clothes, he had nothing on his body. And he touched his chest and couldn't feel his heartbeat.

This made him feel a little uneasy and reminded him of his previous fiasco.

If I had known this would be the result, I would have gone directly to Duolalin Village. Maybe, that would be a good idea.

The uneasy Kil used his hands and feet to climb over the tree roots blocking the road one after another, and slowly moved up towards the colorful luminous river.

He didn't dare to touch the luminous river water. The surroundings were quiet and quiet. Except for the big trees with no visible crowns and dense moss, he didn't find any animals.

This made him feel a little dangerous.

Vaguely, he seemed to hear some movement.

Turning his ear, Kil listened attentively. Thanks to the very quiet surroundings, there was no other sound except the sound of running water, so the faint sound was very weak, but Kil still heard it.

The sound came from the upper reaches of Colorful Creek.

"Humph, it's true. Let me see who saved me."

Keir whispered to himself, then quickened his pace and walked upriver.

-

"La, la, la. The soil sprouts new shoots, and the grass says hello to the world."

"Beep, beep, beep. The squirrel brought me the nut shell and shared his little secret with me."

"The children are jumping around, I have to keep an eye on them and don't go far away."

"Ah, there are wolves, tigers and leopards, alien demons, and despicable thoughts gathered there, creating devils and arrogance."

"Go back to your hometown, the place where you were born. There are colorful rivers, eternal nights, and me, your mother."

"I've been waiting here for a long time just to give you a returning hug."

As Keir went up the river, a gentle but powerful female song gradually came. The singing was not in a language he knew, but for some reason, Keir understood what the singing was about the first time he heard it.

The lyrics were strange and did not resemble the meaning of songs he had heard in Kendall County. Gere smacked the lyrics, which didn't seem like the contents of a human song.

What could it be?

Take a look.

He continued to move forward, and after walking for a while, he heard another song hummed by the other party.

"Woo, woo. The tired body needs sleep, and the tired soul needs rest."

"Lie in the spring after bathing and wander through the memories of life."

"The night is not dangerous."

“He will shelter weary souls and comfort restless hearts.”

"Dream."

"In dreams, we all meet, no matter how far apart we are, in dense forests and dangerous shoals, in scorching places, or in eternally frozen ice fields."

"Oh, the bud that just walked out of the house is showing off its new discovery to every friend."

"Oh, lonely traveler, please don't drink here without saying a word."

"Well, heroes with important responsibilities, please come here as our guests and tell us your stories."

"Hey, my friend who has reached the end of the journey, do you still remember me? Let us walk into the past in conversation, and then talk about the afterlife, or my eternity."

The densely packed trees around him gradually became wider and wider, and Kil waved his hand and felt a more humid atmosphere by twirling his fingers. As the slow singing came closer and closer, Kil stopped, straightened his appearance a little, and then walked slowly forward.

The colorful lights at the end of the river illuminated the trunks of a large area of ​​trees. Although the tree crowns that extended into the darkness could not be seen, at least large areas to the left and right were illuminated.

Keir walked in and saw the source of the colorful river and the singer of the song.

-

The source of the river is a small pond with only a few dozen square meters. The colorful river water swings back and forth in the pond, rippling with the water waves and emitting colorful lights that illuminate the surroundings.

There was a huge boulder beside the pond. Keir saw a huge woman in colorful clothes sitting sideways on the boulder platform, scooping up the colorful water in the pond, and washing her extremely long colorful hair with the water. Humming a song softly.

Keir was not surprised that there was someone waiting here.

This is inevitable. The person who rescued him will definitely wait for Keir to come and look for him.

Kil walked to the other side of the pond and saw that the other person had stopped humming, so he stroked his chest and saluted him.

The huge woman opposite was really huge in the literal sense. After just a quick look, one could roughly estimate that she would be six or seven meters tall when she stood up, and that she could grasp Kil's entire body with just one hand.

As if she knew that Keir was saluting her, the huge woman stopped what she was doing. She put away her loose colorful hair and looked at Keir, whose face was covered by her hair just now.

Looking up across the pond, Keel realized that the other person was a woman with a somewhat familiar face. The other person closed her eyes and said softly: "Joe Keel."

"This meeting is a bit premature."

Kil blinked and looked at the other person's face for a while, then he remembered where he had seen this face.

"Are you the elf I saw in my dream?" He was a little surprised, not because he might meet him here, but because it didn't make sense.

The elf in the dream lived in ancient times that may have been tens of thousands of years ago, and although the opponent was tall at the time, judging from the facilities of the elf ruins, the elf was estimated to be around 2.2 to 2.5 meters tall at that time, which was not at all what he is today. This female giant is at least six meters tall.

There was a smile on the other person's face, and then he replied: "Of course it's me."

"But you." Before Kiel finished speaking, the other party anticipated Kiel's question, chuckled and said slowly: "Ah, this is a long story."

"But, I guess this isn't what you want to know, right?"

Only then did Keir react, and he immediately said a serious thank you: "Thank you for saving my life, thank you for your kind deed. If you have any instructions, please tell me, and I will definitely do it."

The huge woman opposite gathered her hair together without unnecessary movement. The hair was gathered together honestly as she wished: "When you picked up my lost ring, your destiny was linked to me."

Kil also had some guesses about this, so he just nodded and didn't say anything.

"That's a bloodline thing I made a long time ago. Although it's just a gadget, it has become a little special after a long time until now."

"Originally, after I sensed that you obtained it, I watched your fate from a distance. It was a very interesting result." After saying this, the woman smiled again.

Kil shuddered, not knowing what the other party saw. And, seeing destiny?

Is this possible?

"However, although destiny can be seen, it is not fixed. I did not expect this early meeting. I would have waited to see you again when you have grown a little taller from the buds and become a little stronger."

"But, I died." Keir said mockingly to himself.

"It's okay, there's no need to be discouraged. Let's get to know each other a little bit." After saying that, the woman opposite patted her chest: "I am Apolifina - Night Flower - Drunken Dreamer, a high-level elf."

Kil paused: "I, I am Joe Kil, a human being."

Upon hearing Kil's introduction, Apolifina's closed eyes slightly bent, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

"Excuse me, where is this place? I seemed to have died before." Speaking of this, Kil said somewhat feebly.

Apolifina smiled and stroked the pond beside her, causing the colorful water to ripple slightly: "Don't be nervous, it's safe here, and we have a long time to talk."

Then, she spoke again: "Where is this? Well, this is not actually the material world. It is an illusory dream created by me."

Kil looked around, then looked at himself, and touched the clothes he was wearing.

It feels solid to the touch and doesn't look fake.

Seeing Kil's confusion, Apolifina explained: "I have a special status and some small abilities, so although it is an illusory dream, it is no different from the real world. The difference between reality and illusion It’s not that big.”

"After you died, I brought your soul here. In fact, I can bring you here as a whole, but you have to defeat your enemy, right?"

"Ah? Defeat the enemy? Werewolf Wolf?" Kil was a little dumbfounded. He thought he had come to another place, but who knew that was not the case. It was just that his soul came over, and his dead body was still outside the village of Dorallin. in the wilderness.

Seeing Kil's confusion, Apolifina said softly: "I will resurrect you, young bud, it's easy."

Blinking his eyes, Kil finally felt relieved. If that was the case, then it would be fine. The werewolf's legs haven't healed yet. If he is resurrected, he should be able to beat the opponent.

At least 50-50 is no problem.

"As I said before, this meeting is a bit premature. I originally wanted to meet you for the first time after you are stronger. Because I need your help."

"Help? You have such great power." Kil looked around, his meaning was self-evident. The strength of a being who can create such a place is unfathomable, right? Moreover, considering the opponent's magical figure, the identity of the so-called high-level elf, and the fact that he had seen the opponent's ancient power in dreams, the other elves who are always ready to obey orders do not look like they need him. 'Help' looks like.

"Because you and I have different identities. I need the help of a human to help me get back something I cherish. My identity does not allow me to leave the place where I am needed at will. And you can help me."

"A cherished thing? I don't know if I can do it. After all, I can't even defeat a werewolf." It's not that Kil has any doubts about the difficulty of completing the opponent's task. No need to guess, it will definitely not be easy. It's just his strength. , he himself was not optimistic about it at this time.

"No need to doubt, little sprout. Fate has linked you and me, and you can do it. No need to doubt, no need to worry. After you are resurrected, defeat your enemies, and then please thrive. When the time comes, I will ask for help The content will be informed to you.”

Keir nodded, pursed his lips.

"But, what should I do?" He was still a little worried.

"It doesn't matter, let's talk, maybe I can help you."

So, Kil told the details of his battle with the werewolf Wolf. Originally, he took the time to explain briefly, but the other party said that the time passage in this dream was different from that in the real world, and that they had a long time.

Only then did Keir sit cross-legged on the edge of the pond and tell him everything that had happened recently.

Apolifina listened quietly, and smiled slightly when Kil said that he met a big tree that could move.

"Those were the outer guards of the research room. I didn't expect that after so long, besides the goblins, some of them are still alive today. It's really not easy, Kil. If you encounter them in the future, please don't burn them with fire. It’s not easy for a fighting guard tree to survive to this day.”

"Well, well, it's not easy." Keel shrugged.

Then Kil continued to explain, and soon, he talked about what happened before his death.

Apolifina supported her body with one hand, withdrew her other hand from the pond, and played with her hair: "Oh, I have a good idea."

"Please tell me." Kil straightened his back and looked at the other person's face with piercing eyes.

It's so beautiful, but why do you close your eyes? Can't figure it out.

"You have been to the research room where my old friends and I used to be. There is a stone statue at the bottom of the hall. Well, is it still there?" Speaking of this, Apolifina thought of something and was slightly stunned.

Keir knew that the stone statue should be the heroic appearance of the other party's father, and it was a commemorative thing that the other party built in the 'research room' after his father's death.

"It's still there, intact."

"In this way, you can use the stone sword in the hand of the stone statue to defeat your enemy." Smiling, Apolifina continued: "There is a small mechanism on it to correctly pronounce the stone sword simulated weapon. Anyone with the name can temporarily control it at will. However, there is a switch on its hilt, and when it is turned on, it is a place to add energy. "

"Do you have gems that can be used as energy? If not, you can go to the energy room next to the hall to get some gems containing energy and put them in. Then say to the stone sword '￥#@￥@#@￥ @' , you can control it at will within a certain period of time. The werewolf should be able to deal with it."

Kil scratched his hair and was really embarrassed to tell the other party that he had already taken down all the gems in the ruins.

"I know. If I can't beat the opponent after resurrection, I will go find this weapon."

"Well, there's one more thing you need to be careful about."

"Please tell me."

"I just remembered that there were some research objects that were difficult to deal with sealed in that research room. After sealing them with my companions at that time, I originally planned to clean them up after a few years, but unfortunately something happened later , which delayed the matter. Later, I separated from my companions and everyone was busy with things, so I forgot about it. "

She stuck out her tongue slightly: "Is the seal intact now?"

Keir nodded: "When I went there last time, it was still in good condition. I couldn't get in or out. There was something blocking it."

"That's good. You are not strong enough now. When you grow into a strong plant, you can help me deal with it. We will contact you then."

"Contact? How to contact me?" Kil was passively brought into this so-called dream. He didn't know how he got there or how to get out.

"It doesn't matter, I'll tell you right now about this place and the role of that bloodline ring. It will always help you."

Apolifina said with a smile.