Fantasy Lord: I Have a Moving Castle

Chapter 55: Chapter 8: The Garden Cottage, The First Major Task

Chapter 55: Chapter 8: The Garden Cottage, The First Major Task

Having been all ears for outside movement, Char heaved a sigh of relief once he was certain the Undead had finally left.

There were so many of them; to say they blotted out the sky might be an exaggeration, yet their number was certainly not small, with over a hundred perishing at the hands of him and Clover Mantis, Star Worm.

Adding in the Undead that didn’t die, such a number could already be considered a small-scale Undead uprising.

Faced with what seemed like an endless horde in a relentless pursuit, even if these Undead were not very strong, the pressure on him was immense.

‘Is it because I carry the Natural Seal, and have Betty and Auson, these two fairies, by my side?’

After confirming safety, Char couldn’t help but think.

Just now, the reaction of the Undead was too extreme, taking a persist-until-death approach towards them.

Why didn’t the Undead react when other creatures approached their resting grounds, yet they were startled the moment he drew near?

Moreover, on their escape route, there were so many creatures in the forest they passed through, so why did they specifically chase after them relentlessly instead of pursuing other creatures?

There must be some special reason behind this.

So, what did he have that other creatures did not?

After much thought, the only thing that came to mind was the “Natural Seal.”

Considering Auson had continuously warned them of the danger ahead and seemed familiar with the escape route, leading them to this Secret Realm as if he had done it before,

It was obvious that he had been pursued like this in the past.

This made the answer even clearer.

Most likely, it was because of the “Natural Seal”!

These Undead naturally loathed beings favored by nature, and now three such favored beings had come together, so it would be strange if the Undead didn’t chase them with madness.

‘If it weren’t for Auson today, we might have been in trouble,’ Char couldn’t help but think.

Putting aside his guesses, Char finally had the leisure to take a good look at the garden in front of him, which seemed like a secret haven in the forest.

It was already autumn outside, with part of the deciduous woods donning their red, orange, and yellow fall attire.

But inside the green wall, it seemed as though it was still spring.

There were flowers of different varieties in full bloom, and the temperature was noticeably warmer than outside.

In the center of the garden stood a small wooden cottage, two stories high, small but exquisitely made, showcasing the exceptional aesthetic of the homeowner.

Several tall dawn redwoods were planted behind the cottage.

Gazing at the wooden cottage in front of him, as well as the myriad of fresh flowers, and the small birds fluttering about in the grove and on the redwoods, which seemed not at all afraid of people, Char was surprised to the point of speechlessness for a moment.

But he didn’t act rashly and instead looked towards Auson.

“Auson, is there anyone here?”

“There… there is.”

Auson nodded, speaking hesitantly, which gave Char quite a shock.

Then he saw Auson point towards himself, then at him and Betty, and he didn’t forget to point at Clover Mantis, Star Worm, and even the Rain Sound Kingfisher in the basket.

‘His math and memory are not bad at all,’ Char thought, speechless.

It turned out that Auson was referring to them as the people!

Although there had been a comedic misunderstanding, Auson’s response indirectly confirmed that aside from them, there was no one else around.

This meant that the place was unclaimed, and his entrance into the cottage wouldn’t provoke hostility or resentment from the homeowner.

However, even after confirming this, Char still did not move. He followed up with another question.

“Then, is there any danger here?”

Auson, with a finger in his mouth and tilting his head, apparently didn’t quite grasp what “danger” meant.

“Is it like the situation just now? Once it happens, do we have to run away?”

As Char asked, he mimicked running in place.

Finally, Auson understood and shook his head like a bobblehead.

Only then did Char relax and with a grave expression, opened his personal panel.

Indeed, as expected, under the adventure task entry in the task column, a bunch of tasks had been generated all at once.

At a glance, they densely filled several pages.

This was the first time so many tasks had existed simultaneously on the task panel.

[Task One] Wandering Undead

[Task Description]: There are actually a large number of Undead in Florence Forest? Find out the origin of the Undead and uncover the truth behind the incident.

[Reward]: Bone Flute of the Dead, Praying Power × 30

…

This first task immediately roused Char’s spirits.

Thirty strands of Praying Power plus a piece of equipment? The reward was even more generous than the previous goblin task, which indirectly confirmed that the enemies in this task were stronger than those goblins.

Of course, now that he had the Clover Mantis, even with the increased difficulty of the task, it was no longer a threat to him.

In terms of danger, it had actually decreased.

But this was only in reference to that single task, whereas the tasks before him clearly formed a series of connected tasks.

The previous goblin crisis could also be considered a small series of tasks, only the system had merged it into a single task.

But that task, whether in terms of scale or difficulty, was definitely no match for the current series of tasks, even though Char didn’t yet know the full scope of the tasks.

So, this should be considered the first major event and large-scale task he had encountered!

A large-scale task signified substantial rewards.

If he could complete the task, and after fully absorbing these rich rewards, his strength would reach a new level, perhaps not just one.

But blessings and misfortunes often coexist, and the more substantial the reward, the higher the risk it usually implies.

Just like now, with the mere fact-finding presenting such high difficulty, how challenging must it be to complete the entire large-scale task and resolve the crisis?

Char didn’t believe that this was a task that could be completed merely with the help of the Clover Mantis, even if he added his own efforts and other Magic Pets like Lantern Firefly and Star Worm, it would be very difficult!

It was very possible that the final tasks generated would be even more difficult than hard.

That is to say, with his current strength, it was impossible to complete this large-scale task, he must further increase his own power.

Although there was bad news, there was also good news.

The good news was: following “Whisper of the Dead”, there was a series of tasks, some of which showed as completed, while others were still incomplete.

These were first-kill tasks.

That’s right!

All the Undead that appeared just now were recognized by the system as “monsters,” and there were first-kill rewards upon their defeat.

Although each monster’s contribution to the reward was not much, just one or two strands of Praying Power, and the most from a single one was three strands.

But the sheer diversity of the Undead was the key!

So much so that in just that short span, he had accumulated over fifty strands of Praying Power, which was much easier than the “kill this group of goblins” task.

If it weren’t for the huge crisis hidden behind it, such a windfall would simply be too good to be true.

A strong sense of delight surged in Char’s heart.