Chapter 20 - Loremaster Sardon

A human village, no, it was not quite established enough to call it that.

Looking from afar, there was a small human camping ground.

Numerous "fox holes" and a few larger trenches with feeble tent-like structures over them, were splayed haphazardly in the middle of a large clearing in the forest.

On the far side of the clearing, near the horizon, one could see more forestry, covering the entirety of that horizon.

Yet, to the left, and to the right, there was no trace of trees to be seen.

Instead, a grassland seemed to stretch out endlessly in either direction.

Aside from the River, this was the only place I had seen thus far which was not almost completely shadowed by the canopy of the enormous trees, which seem to cover the land endlessly.

People in clothing similar to the trio walked about the village. Each of them seeming to be merely going about on their own. None seemed they could be bothered to stop to socialize, laugh, gossip with neighbors. Too occupied with their own means for survival.

No wall or any other assortment of barrier made of sticks or otherwise could be seen around the camp's perimeter. It appeared almost defenseless.

There seemed to be a few people lingering around the edges of the village, appearing as though they were 'guards'.

However, they did not seem disciplined at all. More or less just relaxing near the edge of the encampment with weapons on hand.

It would be all too easy for a beast to sneak into this village, or just about anything really.

If one of the Minotaurs came here, despite any one of them being at least the size of a small hill, they could probably use stealth and walk into the middle of the village undetected.

Such a thing, it is as ridiculous as having a 'stealth tank', and how stupid would you feel when such a badly camouflaged tank appeared in front of you, and you had missed it.

Well, you would be dead at that point, so I suppose you would not be feeling anything.

Creatures with size and strength like tanks and camouflage live not too far away, and Demons lurk in the forest torturing and eating people, yet these fellows were so relaxed with their security.

Not to mention these, there were numerous creatures in the woods which were of equal strength to that trio. If a group of them wandered over, that too would cause many issues.

Ridiculous!

Though I thought so, maybe they had their reasons. I wanted to get these people on my side regardless, so criticizing their methods is probably not a great idea.

I did not immediately enter the village, on account of my ragged looks, I might leave a bad first impression on these people.

So instead, I asked Seran, Horus, and Gina to go ahead and procure some appropriate clothing from in the village. We had a fair number of pelts, and a bit of herb-preserved meat from the animals we encountered on the trip here, which could be used for barter.

The trio entered the village as I remained on the outskirts. I knew it would take an hour or two, and so I settled down to do some Mental Cultivation.

Since my breakthrough to the Lowest grade mental energy, I became able to try and use the resonance technique.

Over the past few days I had begun using it, and it truly showed some great results. They had the information on how to do it available freely and publicly, and I had read over it long ago, now I could actually apply it.

I couldn't find any fault in the method or any way I could improve on it despite the additional resources on Origin world at my disposal.

This technique was the true foundation of the pokemon world. It had been perfected over many years, and had wonderous effects.

Resonating with Drowzee and Meditite, I felt the greatest effect. Their psychic energy resonated with my own as I used the mental star and Nerve flooding methods, which greatly amplified my results.

The resonance with Meditite and Machop seemed to have an odd effect on the Nerve Flooding method. Peculiar energy, I am assuming Qi, seemed to emanate in minute traces, softly, from my nervous system into the rest of my body. Strengthening my body.

The resonance with Rotom also seemed to affect the Nerve Flooding method. My mental space seemed to 'vibrate' resonating and interconnecting with some other 'space' near the center of my body.

I knew this should be related to spiritual energy, but it seemed to be in the same location where the 'Dantian' should be. But, typically, that is where one gathers Qi in later cultivation. I could not quite understand what it had to do with spiritual energy.

"Hello friend!" a voice yelled out from behind me.

The voice startled me, awaking me from my state of cultivation.

"Ah! Ah.. you were cultivating, my friend. Sorry about that! Most people just cultivate in their homes. I come out here to relax at times as well, I suppose since it is a good place to relax, it should be a good place to cultivate as well!"

Looking at the man, he appeared to be beaming with happiness. His attitude at a stark contrast with the people of the village.

He seemed to be a friendly middle aged man, his features mildly resembling those of the trio, but his features more 'heoric'. His friendly disposition left a good impression.

'A man approached me without my even noticing. It seems I still lack training to improve my awareness, I was confident enough after honing it on our travels, but I suppose the effect is lessened during cultivation.'

Cough, "Well, don't worry about it. I did not feel like entering the village just yet, and was just waiting on my fellows to return."

The man nodded,

"Yes, it looks like my friend has had quite the journey in the woods. Probably, a journey beyond the Demon's boundary? Only out there would one encounter the more vicious predators, they generally don't venture on this side of the Boundary.

I do not recognize you friend, you must have come from somewhere near the other side of the Human Ring."

"The Human Ring? Is this place in the Human Ring, then?"

The man's eyes flashed and he smiled.

"My friend seems to have come from very far away, indeed.

I do not know if it is fortune or misfortune that you made it to this place, but.. yes, this place here is a part of the Human Ring. The land where the Demons allow humanity to roam freely. What is this friends' name, might I ask?"

"Oh, I see. My name is Grey, and you?"

"This one is called Sardon. It is good to meet you."

"And you as well."

We both stayed for a moment in silence... suppose I should say something.

"..How big is the Human Ring, then? Do you know?"

Sardon smiled widely and answered.

"The Human Ring is a ring of grassland, in the middle of Demon territory. The forestry border you stand at now is the outermost ring of the Demon's territories. The forestry border, which you can see near the horizon, leads towards the inner circles and the core regions of the Demon territory.

If one wished to travel around the entire ring, for an average person, it would take about three lifetimes of constant travel.

Some of the wandering tribes continue their journey in perpetuity, some in one direction, one in the other. In this way, people can know for themselves it to be true. The ring itself is not actually a perfect ring, but it should be pretty close.. from what we could tell.

...this section of the great ring is especially well known however, as it is one of the few points on the ring where people have been rumored to leave and return, at least, in a few our more secretive oral traditions."

The man's words made me think, if what he said is true, with the surface area of this Ring alone, despite it's relatively small breadth, it would still be terrifyingly large.

The entirety of the Demon territories, would be far larger.

"So, why did you decide to rest here, friend? Were you waiting to watch the sight of the end-lights? I find it is one of my few joys to watch the light slowly fade, the distinctive colors you see at that moment are simply beautiful.

I tell most every girl I court how comparable she is to it! Hahahah. It works well, you know! It does not hurt that I am a Lorekeeper to begin with, my stories sway their hearts with ease, these hunters' stories cannot compare. Though, my friend, I am sure you've a number of tales comparable at least."

I stopped for a moment and looked at the sun in the distance. This region's light stayed perpetually the same during the day, as this world's sun rose and set, it never truly seems to be breaching the horizon.

"Yes, I do have a few.

It is a bit peculiar for me here. Where I come from, the Sun would generally rise in one part of the sky, and set in the other.

Here, it only barely crosses the horizon, staying and there throughout the day. I agree the light of dawn is beautiful, but the light here always appears like the light of dawn, does it not lose it's meaning?"

"...I'm afraid I don't know what you mean friend. The 'Sun'? What is that? I've never heard of such a thing."

I was stunned for a moment, most every civilization had the concept of the sun, so I had assumed he would know what it was. But then, trapped in a land were you never see the whole thing, I suppose it makes sense for the concept to never have formed.

"...The light of day, it comes from a glowing sphere in the sky, that sphere is called the Sun... it is, like the stars, which you can see at night. The stars appear like dots of light in the sky at night, they are the same as the sun, but they are further away, so they appear smaller."

I never thought I would have to explain something like this to someone.. at least, not to someone fully grown.

"Hahah, you are a funny man, friend. What a creative tale! Although it is funny, please do not say such things!

The Oral Traditions are the foundation of learning in the world. If false stories spread, it could take many years to correct those mistaken, especially so with such a realistic tale as yours.

The light of day comes from the fire energy of the red mountains, an outpost of the Dragon race. And there are indeed flickering lights in the night sky, but these come from the chaos flows, which rampage above the ninth layer of the heavens.

I know you are good intentioned here, as you know I can determine the falsehood as a Lorekeeper. However,this knowledge was painstakingly gained by our wandering ancestors, the average person may take what you said as truth, we cannot disgrace them by spreading rumor."

"MASTER, WE HAVE RETURNED!"

"Ah.. it seems my fellows are back, I will just be going now then."

"Oh, of course! Sorry if I offended you, it is just.. the Oral Traditions are rather important.."

"Don't worry about it, it is obvious you would react strongly towards something against your beliefs. I would not hold it against you."

His face twisted, seeming confused.

"Well, good bye then."

"Ah, yes, may the Demons keep from you."

Grey joined up with the trio and they moved deeper into the forest to discuss the situation of the village.

The man looked into the far distance, towards the red mountains. His powerful vision, enhanced by his strong cultivation, allowed him to see far further than the average person ever could.

He looked on as the flows of fire energy were gradually extinguished as they met the chaotic energy in the upper layers of the nine heavens. At the instant they were extinguished, they transformed into a dim but dazzling Aurora of dancing energy, which gradually faded and gave way to the night.

"Tcht, stars, what nonsense. Trying to lie and mess with others about something one could witness with their own eyes. What a foolish child.

...still, he should be stronger than he lets on. He acted completely ignorant of my presence, but he could even kill a Shepherd.."

The man turned, his eyes flashed with a dark light. His body moved abnormally fast, disappearing into the deep forest.

--------

We returned to our nearby burrow.

"Have you gotten the clothes I asked for?"

"Yes Master, we have bartered for them on your behalf. We also spoke to some of the people around town to see if there has been any news or changes since the time when we decided to leave."

"And?"

"The village chief has recently fallen ill with a fever, and aside from that, a wandering Loremaster had come into town just the other day. Aside from these, there is nothing significant."

"I see. Hm.. do you all know what the regions beyond the borders of the Demon Territory are like? If we wished to find somewhere safe from the reaches of the Demons, where would we need to go?"

"...My lord, we do not know the best way. Supposedly, if one finds the river beyond the Demon's forest boundary, one can follow it in the direction of the Red Mountains to reach the Wilds of the Dragons. There, for the lesser races, only the rule of the wilds applies, as the Dragons care not for worldly things. This is where we hoped to venture."

"I see. Then, considering the Demon normally guarding the way is now dead, what chance is there that the Tribe here would be willing to follow and escape these lands?"

"Master.. for some, they may jump at the chance. For others.. perhaps not. However, if Master shows his strength, I think they would not refuse."

"Okay... Gina, tell me a about the people you know in the village, even the little things. I want a layout of the way things are in the village."

'A lot of the things that Loremaster said earlier were things I had no idea about, I need to learn more about these people in order to deal with them.'

"..yes master, first there is Germol, he-"

I listened to her explain the situation of the village, as expected of a pretty female, she seemed to know basically everyone in the village, and every bit of gossip between them.

But more or less, it came down to form one picture of the attitudes of most of the people in the village. An attitude that had forced these kids and their friends to run and try to escape Demon territory on their own, without any elders stepping out to help nor stop them.

Sigh~ 'I figured as much, despite being treated as cattle, there would still be a lot who would fear change and not want to leave. They would likely use all their clout to keep others from leaving as well.

To bring these people with me, in the end, it is likely to come down to force. It would not make sense to do so out of nowhere though.. maybe, I should make up some excuse why they need to leave?

A primitive society, where magical things are everywhere and demons exist. It shouldn't be too hard to trick them, right? Come up with some realistic hoodoo and paint the Demons as though they are trying to kill them (which is generally true anyways), incorporate a bit of other true events to make it seem more real... considering the Demons really do constantly kill and eat people here, it shouldn't be too hard.

Well, if it doesn't work, I can just beat them until they follow me. They might hate me for it for a while, but they would eventually come around.'