CHAPTER 291: ARE YOU SURE?

"Okay. That’s good to know. Let me know if I can help in any way. This time, he has truly pushed himself a lot for my sake. I might get my hands on a soul-healing or strengthening type elixir soon, but I cannot guarantee it." Damon explained and sat down opposite her. Kate and Mark sat down as well.

"Thank you." Sylvara smiled. "We would definitely appreciate all the help that we can get."

Damon nodded and then came to the next important thing. "So what’s happening back in the northern mountains? Sorry, I was not able to respond immediately. We had a lot going on at that time."

Sylvara smiled bitterly. "It’s okay. I know you had your hands full. Everyone knows. The whole world is talking about how you became the first city ruler."

Damon could only laugh at that. "If only it were that simple. The reality is not that glamorous. I haven’t become a city anything yet, and all of this is only going to last for another week if I don’t take some drastic steps. It is not that simple to bring a dark faction base smack dab in the middle of a light faction territory. The chance of success is almost zero."

Kate quietly listened, her fingers laced in her lap, while Mark leaned back, his expression unreadable.

"I figured as much," Sylvara said. "That’s why I didn’t reach out immediately either. We were both fighting our own battles. But the situation back in the northern mountains..." She trailed off, then exhaled deeply. "It has become somewhat weird."

"Huh?" Damon was confused. "How so? Did they already claim the legacy?"

Sylvara shook her head. "Nope. The whole group left the place a long time ago. I don’t think that they will return either. If I am not wrong, they should be done with that place."

"Hmmm? That’s unexpected." Damon thought that they would have completely monopolized the area.

Sylvara then explained everything with a bitter smile. "Damon, I haven’t told you yet, but that place has changed a lot now. Sometime in the past two days, almost right after that mysterious group showed up, another beast also showed up in the waters."

"A beast?"

Sylvara nodded. "Well, it could be anything. The truth is that no one has seen this beast properly. It is running wild in the waters, and it attacks anyone who even steps inside the main cavern. No one has even been able to attempt the trial anymore or use the black pool. The whole place has become useless."

Damon became silent as a puzzled expression appeared on his face. "Interesting. This is definitely something that I should take a look at. Give me some more time. Once I settle some things, I will come by and see what happened and what type of beast this is."

Sylvara nodded, clearly relieved. "Thank you. If it’s you, then I think you will definitely be able to slay it."

Damon’s mind was already racing. A mysterious beast appearing right after that group arrived? Too much of a coincidence.

And if it was strong enough to block access to the black pool entirely... then it wasn’t just some random stray. Either one of those people left it behind on purpose, or maybe someone else entirely was involved in this...

Damon reached across the table and gave her hand a light squeeze. "Once I deal with this city and its ticking clock, I’ll come find you. If I can’t solve it with strength, I’ll figure something else out. One way or another, we’re going to get that pool back for you."

Sylvara smiled. She then excused herself, wanting to stay by her grandfather’s side, leaving Mark, Kate, and Damon alone. "I can’t believe those bastards did so much just to target you." Mark sighed with annoyance. "What were they thinking? That you would just quit playing the game?"

Damon smirked. "They wanted to show what they can do, and how they can touch everything I care about with no effort at all. They wanted to show me that they had absolute control over the game and my life. They wanted me to understand that no matter how powerful I am, I will always just be a small pawn in their game."

Both Mark and Kate became silent. They subconsciously shuddered a little as they could feel a powerful aura coming from Damon at the moment. It lasted only for a second, but it was unmistakable. It made both their hearts beat rapidly, and it made them want to bow, no prostrate themselves to him. It was a weird feeling.

Thankfully, Damon’s mood lifted almost immediately. "Don’t worry about it. They showed me their hands. I am showing mine soon enough. In fact, tomorrow something explosive is going to happen. Wait for it. This entire week is going to be extremely entertaining."

Damon grinned with a mysterious twinkle in his eyes. Mark and Kate did not know what he was talking about, but it looked like everything would be revealed tomorrow.

Then Damon suddenly remembered something. "Mark, by the way, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Right." Mark immediately became serious. "We were clearing out random quests in the bloodhall questboard, and a new S rank quest popped up. Thankfully, we were there at the moment and we were able to cinch it. Or maybe it showed up because I completed an A rank quest and submitted it."

Damon nodded. "That was probably it. Anyway continue. What quest are you talking about?" He tried to remember some notable quests from his last life, but nothing in particular stood out.

The couple of S-rank quests he remembered were about upgrading one’s status to nobility, which all of them already had. So, repetition of that quest was not possible. What could this new quest be?

Damon was thinking deeply when Mark answered him. "It’s a quest for opening a portal to some place called the Bloodlands."

Damon froze. His mind went blank and then spun into overdrive. "The... Bloodlands?" he repeated slowly. "Are you sure that’s what it said?"