A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

Only a few people can get through this in a short time.

Honestly, overcoming this kind of psychological trauma isn't something that can be done just by talking about it, and it's difficult for others to offer much help.

Ultimately, others can only offer support; it's meaningless if you can't overcome the challenges yourself.

This is also why so many people went insane after the disaster. Bray had encountered madmen before, but he was too lazy to recall them.

Dealing with madmen is exhausting. Just dealing with Jonathan alone is exhausting, and other madmen like Bray often choose to ignore them.

“Yes, let’s get going,” Bray replied.

It's early morning, just as the sun is rising.

If you set off in the early morning, you'll have plenty of time to find a place to rest before nightfall.

Bray has been sleeping very comfortably in the safe zone of Claw Fortress these past few days, and has had enough rest and recuperation.

It's practically impossible to get a deep sleep in the wild, so Bray is usually in a light sleep and will wake up at the slightest sound.

Wake up, Bray is traveling alone right now. It would be strange if he were to be sprawled out and fast asleep.

No matter how strong Bray is when he has a sword, he's a pushover when he's asleep, not even worth a bite from a monster.

"What about those mimic beasts?" Talika asked the question that concerned her most.

Bray seems to be saying that the intelligent monster escaped, which means Claw Castle will be in great danger from now on.

“There’s nothing I can do, I can’t catch up.” Bray pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

Talika seemed a little excited and was about to say something to Bray.

Bray noticed Talika's expression and raised his eyebrows slightly. He had a guess in his mind what Talika was about to say.

“Talika, alright, this young man…” The old woman paused, then changed her form of address.

“Bray has no obligation to do anything for Claw Castle,” the old woman said quietly as she walked up to Bray and Talika, leaning on her cane.

If Bray chooses to save Clawburg, then he deserves respect.

If Bray tried but failed, he has no reason to be blamed.

Because Bray has already done more than those who stood by and did nothing, and is more exhausted both physically and mentally.

“But what if those mimic beasts come back?” Talika said anxiously.

"Just do whatever it takes to survive; it's a very simple principle," the old woman said calmly.

“It would be even better if the methods weren’t too bloody and inhumane,” Bray added.

I really hope that in the struggle for survival, we don't all end up being no different from wild animals.

“…” Talika was speechless, standing blankly to the side.

In Talika's view, Bray is the only way Claw Castle can completely eliminate the Mimics, and personally, she really hopes that Bray will stay.

She always thought her grandmother would try to persuade Bray, but she didn't.

Bray nodded to the old woman, knowing that she was still very depressed after losing her grandson.

It's already quite impressive that she was able to say so much on her behalf.

Bray, who had been squatting, stood up, packed all the things he needed into his pouch, and prepared to set off lightly equipped.

After handing over the agreed-upon payment to the old woman, Bray left without further ado.

Before Bray really left, the old woman said something in a voice he could hear.

"I did a divination for you, and it came together to form a very interesting sentence."

After hearing this, Bray paused for a moment.

“The world will not thank you,” the old woman said very slowly, so that Bray could hear her clearly.

"That's all there is to it."

“Good luck, and I sincerely hope you don’t go from one darkness to another,” the old woman said. A cold wind blew by, and Bray pulled his coat tighter around himself.

"What exactly did she mean?" Bray murmured as he set up the grill, lit a fire, and sat in the wilderness.

Before she left, the old woman said something quite intriguing to herself.

"The world will not thank you." Her words, spoken in a flat tone, lingered in Bray's ears.

To be honest, if you take this sentence out of context, Bray has absolutely no idea what it means.

Does that mean people won't be grateful to me after I cut down the silver seed?

But that's the situation now, and Bray himself doesn't seem to care.

However, on the other hand, he didn't expect that the old woman would secretly perform a divination for him.

Ugh, I feel like my privacy has been violated. Fortune tellers are really scary.

The important thing is that the old woman was only working part-time; if he had encountered a professional, Bray estimated that all his secrets would have been dug up.

The firelight rose in the sunset, and the grill wasn't used to directly roast the meat.

Bray placed pebbles on the ground while frying the meat because it wasn't raw meat; it was marinated.

Grilling this kind of meat...that's weird, it's better to pan-fry it.

Although there's nothing wrong with eating that kind of meat as is, Bray thinks it's better to have it a little more fragrant.

Being in the middle of nowhere is already difficult enough; if you don't try to enjoy yourself, wouldn't that be letting yourself down?

Because Bray had just rested at Claw Fortress, he wasn't covered in mud like someone who had spent a long time in the wild.

Overall, the mines were kept relatively clean.

Bray pulled a yellowed notebook from his magically concealed pouch and began writing down what was recorded inside.

The signs above were all given to me by the old woman.

At first, Bray couldn't find a pen and paper at Claw Castle, so he had to memorize everything by rote. However, he eventually managed to find a used notebook.

Using black stones instead of pens, one could barely manage to write something on them.

The handwriting is very bad, but everything else is fine.

With the notebook as a memo, Bray no longer had to worry about forgetting which road sign he was supposed to go to when he woke up.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—" Gradually, the meat on the stone began to smell delicious.

Bray sat beside him, comparing the memo with the map.

Next to him was a broken bridge with book patterns carved on it.

The broken bridge connects to half of a destroyed building, standing on the desolate land.

If I'm not mistaken, this bridge was originally supposed to be some kind of sky bridge, and there may have once been a settlement of lower species at the foot of the bridge.

Ahem, the so-called settlements of lower species are, in other words, cities and the like.

This broken bridge is the eleventh of twenty road signs.

At this point, you might think that Bray has successfully seen the ten road signs ahead, right? Unfortunately, no.

Before the broken bridge, Bray only saw a road sign.

"What a rip-off..." Thinking about this, Bray couldn't help but complain.

All he saw along the way were ruins and debris. It was difficult for him to even recognize what things were, let alone road signs.

Along the way, Bray also saw a huge stone with a half-carved pattern, but he couldn't find anything on the memo that matched it.

Bray had a hard time finding the third landmark, and the journey from the third to the eleventh landmark was entirely a matter of guesswork.

If he takes the wrong turn, Bray will likely have to turn back and start over.

I'm so worried. That's why I had to go to the "Prophet's Tomb." Wouldn't it have been better to go somewhere simpler?

Since we'll end up fighting anyway, what's the point of finding a place with such a sense of ceremony?

Bray couldn't help but mutter a curse about white face in his heart.

He sadly put away what he was holding, picked up the meat from the stone with a peeled twig, blew on it, and put it in his mouth.

It's a bit much to ask people to admit the taste of these pickled foods.

Because it was a pickled product, I didn't add any seasonings, but I didn't expect the problem to be so complicated.

Just because Bray doesn't think it tastes good doesn't mean others don't.

Bray keenly detected a distinct swallowing sound nearby.

However, Bray did not see anyone in his field of vision.

However, it's important to understand that vision is just one way of perceiving the world, and it's often not very useful.

"Hungry?" Bray asked the air.

"How did you know I was here?!" a surprised voice rang out.

"You're swallowing so loudly. I'm only blind in one eye, not deaf," Bray said irritably.

Although the sound of him swallowing was very subtle, he was still an adventurer, and he needed basic hearing sensitivity.

"Whoosh—" After a sound of a cloak being ripped off, an elf stood in front of Bray.

"An elf?" Bray glanced at the elf, slightly surprised.

Elves are quite rare in the Eastern Continent... and most importantly, there isn't a single safe zone around here.

Yes, there are no safe zones.

Bray was already very far from Claw Keep, and even those who came out of Claw Keep to explore were not able to find their way here.

"What's wrong with the elf now?" the elf said, displeased.

Bray didn't answer immediately, but continued to look the other person up and down.

"Tsk, a male elf..." After a long while, Bray clicked his tongue, expressing his displeasure.

He had thought it would be a female elf, so at least it would be pleasing to the eye.

He was surprised to find out it was a male elf, and remarked on how androgynous the voice sounded.

"What's wrong with male elves?" The elf felt offended.

"Nothing much, it's just that I prefer pretty girls," Bray answered honestly.

“Sit down and have something to eat,” Bray said, gesturing to the ground.

There are no chairs here, and Bray himself eats sitting on the floor.

After hesitating for a moment, the male elf sat down and quietly took a piece of roasted meat to eat.

"It's delicious..." the male elf said contentedly.

“I always thought elves were vegetarians,” Bray said.

"Who gave you the misconception that we are vegetarians?" the elf asked dismissively.

“Just daydreaming,” Bray answered the question naturally.

"By the way, is there a safe zone here? How come you're all alone in a place like this?" Bray took the meat away before the elf finished eating the last piece.

This elf is really impatient... and doesn't stand on ceremony at all.

"Safe zone? What's that place?" The elf looked at Bray with a blank expression, his tone gradually becoming doubtful.

“You don’t know?” Bray was stunned.

"Why should I know?" the male elf retorted.

"Huh?" Bray exclaimed in surprise.

"Huh?" The male elf was also stunned.

Bray and the elf who had been eating fried meat just a moment ago fell into an eerie silence.

The atmosphere instantly became extremely awkward.

Bray's mouth was slightly open as he looked at the other person with an expression as if he were looking at a resident of another world.

After a long while, the elf could no longer stand Bray's gaze and had to speak first.

"Why do I have to know what the safe zone is..." the elf muttered.