Free Web NovelChapter 29: Chapter 29: Inauspicious
’Mind-clearing Fruit Tree... Who came up with a name like that?’
Andre’s mouth twitched as he looked at the sapling before him.
But that was, indeed, the name of the tree before him. The Mind-clearing Fruit Tree produced fruit called Clear Brain Fruit, also known as Brain Fruit.
It was named for its resemblance to a human brain and was the primary ingredient in a Potion required to help High Level Wizard Apprentices become Official Wizards.
A single Brain Fruit was worth several hundred Magic Stones—and Medium Magic Stones, at that, not the Elementary Magic Stones used by Wizard Apprentices like him.
However, because it grew so slowly, the tree itself was less valuable than its fruit.
’Let me take a look.’ Andre activated his Eye of Truth and scanned his surroundings. Once he confirmed there were no Magical Beasts nearby, he easily took the Mind-clearing Fruit Tree with him.
’It will take at least fifty to sixty years to cultivate this Mind-clearing Fruit Tree, and about seventy until it bears fruit. If I have no use for it, I can always sell it. A Wizard Clan like Victoria’s would be the perfect target.’
Having planned out a use for the Mind-clearing Fruit Tree, Andre continued on his way.
And so, Andre traveled on, stopping periodically whenever he found something of value. On the seventh day, he ran into someone head-on.
"Quint?" Andre asked cautiously, looking at the wildman-like figure across from him.
"Andre! Thank goodness! I finally found someone!"
Hearing his name, Quint’s squatting body trembled. He turned and slowly raised his head to look at Andre.
When Quint was certain it was Andre before him, he could no longer hold back his tears. They streamed endlessly from his eyes.
"What in the world happened to you?"
Andre looked at Quint, momentarily at a loss for words.
The difference between his own attire and Quint’s was like night and day.
Quint no longer looked like the noble scion who had entered the Secret Realm. Instead, he resembled a wild man, dressed in clothes fashioned from Magical Beast pelts. The workmanship was so crude that Quint must have made them himself.
"I... I...!" Quint looked at Andre, wanting to explain but unable to get the words out.
After struggling to speak for a moment, Quint broke down and started wailing, which only made Andre more sympathetic to his plight.
He must have suffered immensely. Given Quint’s strict upbringing, he would never have broken down and cried like this in front of him otherwise.
"Could you spare a set of clothes?"
Quint cried for a long time before finally stopping. He reached out to Andre, asking for clothes.
Andri took a set of clothes from his Storage Ring and handed them to Quint. freewebnσvel.cøm
The moment he had the clothes, Quint hurriedly ducked behind a tree to change.
Half an hour later, a completely transformed Quint appeared before Andre.
Quint no longer looked like the wild man from before, though he still appeared haggard. His once-deep eyes were now sunken into his skull.
"What have you been through these past seven days?"
Andre asked again, looking at the newly clothed Quint.
"Don’t even ask. The moment I entered the Secret Realm, I ran into a pair of Gale Giant Eagles that had just hatched their chicks. I barely escaped with my life, only to be ambushed by two Rapid Flame Tigers."
"After I got away from the Rapid Flame Tigers, I ran into two Gale Leopards. I barely escaped their pursuit when I was attacked again by..."
As Andre listened to Quint’s tale, his mouth twitched, and his hands involuntarily clenched into fists.
’This is just awful.’ Quint’s story was so tragic it was as if someone was targeting him. Every time he escaped the clutches of one Magical Beast, he would immediately encounter a new one.
If he hadn’t found a river and made a desperate leap, letting the current carry him to safety, there’s no telling how many more Magical Beasts he would have encountered.
"You haven’t been cursed, have you?"
Andre frowned, taking a few steps back as Quint walked toward him, his expression guarded.
"Cursed? You mean the kind of Witchcraft that affects a person’s luck?"
Quint looked startled for a moment at Andre’s words, then shook his head.
"Witchcraft that affects luck can only be cast by an Official Wizard, and I’ve never offended anyone like that!"
Quint insisted to Andre with absolute certainty.
"If you didn’t offend a Wizard, then why have you been so unlucky since entering the Secret Realm?"
Remembering Quint’s pathetic state from moments before, Andre found it hard to believe that he hadn’t offended a Wizard.
According to Quint himself, he had been attacked by three or four different kinds of Magical Beasts every single day for the first five of the past seven days.
Worse, they were all Magical Beasts known for their Speed. It was as if someone was specifically targeting him, wanting him to die beneath their claws.
Even after all that misfortune, in Andre’s eyes, Quint was still being stubborn and refusing to face the truth.
"I...!" Quint started to argue, but as he stepped toward Andre, Andre retreated. For every step Quint took forward, Andre took one back.
"For the next twenty-some days, you’d better find a place to hide. Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t see you leaving the Secret Realm with the rest of us."
After he finished speaking, Andre took several unused Disguise Scrolls from his pack and tossed them to Quint.
This was the most he could do for Quint.
By now, Andre had a theory about Quint’s predicament, but he would have to wait and see if Quint made it out of the Secret Realm to know if he was right.
After tossing the Scrolls to him, Andre walked off in another direction.
After only a few steps, Andre broke into a run, as if something deadly was chasing him.
Quint watched Andre’s retreating figure, his mouth agape. But in the end, he picked up the Disguise Scrolls Andre had thrown to him.
’Heh. Maybe Andre was right. Maybe someone did place a Witchcraft curse on me. Just wait until I get out of this Secret Realm and find you. You will suffer the wrath of the Si Shi Clan!’
Quint turned and walked off in the opposite direction from which Andre had left.
Not long after Quint had gone, Andre returned, watching his retreating back. frёewebnoѵēl.com
’I never would have expected it. An ancestor of Quint’s clan was one of the ones who helped those three Great Wizards besiege my own ancestor.’
’So, that’s why. After he entered the Secret Realm, his Bloodline caused Magical Beasts to attack him, because he emits an ominous aura!’
’Those Magical Beasts are only attacking him to drive that ominous aura from their territory.’
Andre felt utterly helpless as he considered the knowledge passed down through his Bloodline.
This "lock of hatred" would loosen from time to time, revealing bits of his inherited Bloodline knowledge. ’If you’re going to reveal it, just reveal the whole thing,’ he thought in frustration.
But no, it would wait until he encountered something that triggered the right conditions, only then revealing the corresponding information. He sighed.
