Free Web NovelChapter 20: The Flower Crown
"So there are humans in this world, that is truly reassuring." Despite not expressing it, deep down he had been afraid that this world might belong exclusively to monsters, with no presence of humans or similar beings.
Now, those nagging fears disappeared from his head entirely, and with great excitement, he began examining the place. He wandered through the alleys filled with rubble, and entered the crumbling houses.
He searched for anything useful, and also analyzed the living patterns of this world’s inhabitants based on what they had left behind.
The human ruins were not large, so it was clear that they belonged to an old town, built in a style similar to the Middle Ages, with a hint of advancement, such as the paved alleys and gardens. And most importantly the architecture of the place was practical and refined.
Due to the absence of humans, for decades or perhaps centuries, monkeys had taken over the place, making the trees growing over the rubble their homes, and storing their food in the rooms that were still somewhat intact.
The adult monkeys watched him with extreme caution as he passed, while the young ones had eyes full of curiosity, and after a little hesitation some of the mischievous ones among them began pelting him with fruits.
Bop!
A large walnut hit his head, and this greatly annoyed him. He raised his head and fixed the monkey that had hit him with a light killing intent. He wanted to surge toward it and grab it, but it was in a high and distant place.
In any case, there was no point in getting worked up over a few monkeys, so he ignored them, and continued his sightseeing tour.
When he reached the center of the town, which was a small square, he saw three large eroded statues that had lost some of their parts.
The statues stood facing each other, looking at one another in an imposing manner, raising their stone weapons high, a sword, an ornate staff, and an axe, as though celebrating a victory.
Since the statues were in very poor condition, and one of them was even headless, Arthur had difficulty identifying them. The only certain thing was that the one holding the staff was a woman.
"That’s strange." He opened his mouth slightly in astonishment, not just because of the statues alone, but the featureless woman’s statue had a beautiful crown made of flowers on its head.
’Someone placed this crown a short while ago, two or three days at most, the flowers are still maintaining their fragrant scent.’
He narrowed his eyes, and carefully examined the area around him, and to his astonishment he found no tracks, as though the square had not been stepped on by any foot for decades, even the monkeys kept their distance.
’This is not normal, either I am imagining things, or the person who placed this crown left no trace behind, a ghost? That is not out of the question in this forest.’
His body shivered, and he felt a little cold. Facing monsters was still something he could accept, but ghosts? Well, that was a bit too much for him.
In any case, he did not think about it further, and redirected his focus toward the crown, for it appeared it was not ordinary either. There was a faint aura emanating from it, and this pushed him to examine it again using the Evaluation skill this time.
[ Flower Crown: A primitively crafted Arcane Item, possessing defensive and healing abilities.
Rank: D (Uncommon)
Quality: Low
Effects:
• Reduces incoming damage by 15%.
• Increases maximum HP by 10%.
• Accelerates recovery rate by 10%.]
[ Alert ]
[ This Arcane Item was crafted in a primitive and unstable manner, causing its abilities to deteriorate gradually over time.
Time remaining before losing all its properties: 59 days ]
’Well, this is something interesting.’ His shock increased, and his suspicion increased as well. He stole a very cautious glance at his surroundings, for who knows, perhaps this was some kind of trap.
His cowardly instinct urged him to leave, but he did not listen to it. He walked toward the statues, stood on his hind legs, which greatly increased his height, until his face was level with the statue’s face.
From afar the monkeys watched him in terror, they wanted him to move away from the statues and leave the crown alone, but they did not dare approach him, for he was a predatory monster after all, in addition to another reason.
Arthur tensed, and very slowly, he grasped the crown with his claws, lifted it off the statue’s head then placed it in the Dimensional Storage, and after that, well, nothing happened.
He let out a breath of relief, and stepped back, he looked at the woman with a kind of gratitude, and said sincerely: "Thank you."
His eyes passed over the other two statues, and he thought. ’What is your story, you three? Who exactly are you and where did you end up? Maybe I’ll never know. Still, just seeing you here took a real weight off my chest. Thanks.’
He had examined most of the town, so there was no need to stay any longer. Before leaving he brought some flowers and placed them near the woman’s statue.
He returned to following his tracks, and did not reach his comfortable den until midnight. Like a wanderer finally returning home after a long time away, he felt a deep sense of relief and contentment.
He closed the entrance with shrubs and lay down on the soft straw bed. The distance he had covered was very long, and this made him astonished at the fact that he had gone that far in a single night.
’The full moon frenzy is truly terrifying.’ He let out a short sigh, and did not give the matter any more attention. ƒrēewebnovel.com
The reasons were clear, the full moon frenzy had made him careless and indifferent, so he had not moved slowly and cautiously as he usually does, but had run like a madman through the forest.
He curled up into a comfortable position, his awareness drifting toward sleep, his thoughts dimming like a candle about to go out, leaving nothing behind but a peaceful, quiet stillness.
Then suddenly, his body shivered. He opened his eyes and stood upright. "What was that?"
For some reason, all his instincts reacted at once, and he felt intense danger that lasted for one moment before disappearing. He was not the only one, for a countless number of monsters felt the same thing.
The weak monsters quickly ignored this feeling due to their ignorance while the powerful monsters were struck by restlessness and a large number of them either changed their location or concealed their presence.
"Are my senses deceiving me?" Arthur could not find any logical explanation, and drowsiness had overcome him, so he ignored the matter after a short while, and fell into a deep sleep.
