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ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 396 Part 1

ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 396: Side Story 12 – Blood Clot of Defeat – Part 1

This story took place about a week ago or so.

Rust and Mold happened to be in quite a bit of pinch for a good while, being lost right in the middle of the Great Sea of Trees, all thanks to the Vigilance’s rather poor navigation abilities. However, the three of them managed to overcome many crises during that time, and now finally they ––––

「Alright Mold, give me a Potion.」

「Why do I get the feeling that the more I keep on playing this game, the less I am treated as the actual human being? This is seriously some really bad treatment, one that is bound to break at least several regulation of the User’s Agreements……」

For the past couple of in-game days Mold had been balancing on a very thin tightrope between life and death so much that he was slowly becoming sick of it. At this rate, he believed that their encounters with deaths and reckless behaviors might even top those of a certain insane player going around the game half-naked and with a bird mask on his head. But for now he could only whisper silent words of complaint and letting out long and deep sigh while sitting on the ground whilst recovering his HP and mental stability.

And just as Molds HP managed to go back to it original, max value, he could feel that someone placed their hand on his arm. This hand was pale and with sharp nails, and Mold di not even needed to look that way to know that. Because that was not the first time that it was happening in the last couple of days. Just then, when that hand was placed on Mold’s arm, his HP began to drop rapidly, and after a few seconds of such energy drain his HP was back at the value that could only be described as “being in halfway in your grave”.

「Is it not unfair towards me? I mean, why am I the only one who gets drained out of HP here? Rust could easily take my place when it comes to that!」

「It does not matter to me who I drain of HP, but I thought that we have already discussed that this is the best possible outcome in here. So it is not unfair, but only practical.」

「…… Besides, you keep saying that I could take your place, but think about it for a second, why don’t you? My basic HP here is really low. So we would have to use even more potions to patch me up back to full health after each energy drain like that. And that’s just waste of perfectly good items if you ask me.」

「Kuh, I kinda feel that you are right here, but I also feel that you are kind of wrong here……」

「Umm, excuse me, but I have been thinking about that for quite a while now and…… Am I perhaps being a nuisance for the both of you? Especially with my need to recharge every now and then?」

「Oh, no, not at all! It’s not your fault or anything! Don’t worry about it! This is just how I tend to be for the most of the time! So you are not being a nuisance at all!」

There was something unbelievably sad in the words that the vampire spoke just now. It was so sad, in fact, that the shocked Mold jerked right back up on his feet and started to shake his head and arms in negation, reassuring their companion that it was not the case here.

At the end of Mold’s line of sight, there was a woman, most probably a Forest Elf, with a look on her face that seemed to pity Mold and the misfortunes he was forced to withstand for the last couple of days. However, the only thing she could do here in order to cheer Mold up was to hold his hand apologetically and hope that it would be more than enough here to compensate.

This particular place is the hidden village of the Dragon Blood Demons, otherwise known as Vampires. This village is located north of the great Sea of Trees, an area tha effectively occupies about one fifth of the entire new continent. This place is also a home to fugitives of various kinds, located at the roots of the great tree with black bark and covered with moss, looking though as if it was dead in the middle of the lush and green scenery. It may have been pretty much dead with its branches and roots twisted the way they were, but it surely grew taller than any other tree in the vicinity. A surprisingly good fit for creatures like Vampires.

The trio of Rust, Mold and Vigilance ended up in this place after Vigilance’s navigation attempt ended in a total disaster, and he deiced to try some other method instead. What he did was start moving in one direction all the time, saying that “Something is telling his to go that way for some reason”.

Since they were in a rather serious distress at that moment, both Rust and Mold did not even think about doubting Vigilance or asking him what he was doing. So they just let him do his thing as they just quietly followed after him, no questions asked. However, the two quickly understood that this “being pulled in a certain direction” was not a result of getting lost in this place, but rather some twisted form of an in-game mechanic. Needless to say, an in-game mechanic like that was clearly dangerous, since they had little to no idea how it worked or what it did. The tri-headed Tyrannosaurus Rex was still on the loose somewhere in the forest, now even stronger than ever thanks to its red transformation that a certain bird-headed individual helped it to achieve. However, tri-headed Tyranno was not their only concern here. This forest was filled with monsters that would be really hard to take down if your party was only three people. …… However, after a short while, it was actually this village that they have all arrived at.

A simple village with poor housings erected under the roots of twisted and blackened tree…… Normally you would expect that no one would be able to live in conditions like that, but here they were: various members of various races, all having one thing in common, the curse of “Dragon Blood Demonization” affecting them.

A Forest Elf with long ears and tall, slender body. A small Dwarf that looked to be either a warrior or a miner, with plump but sturdy body and arms so muscular that you could hardly even believe it. A Beastman that looked much like a human but possessing various characteristics of an animal or a beast all over their body. And a giant of a person, most probably three meters tall or even more…… No matter who they were, each person in here had some common features that must have characterized all Vampires: a skin so pale that it looked to be ill and unnaturally long canines sticking out of their mouths.

Initially, the guards on duty right before the village’s gate were vary of Rust and Mold when they saw them approaching. However, seeing that Vigilance, one of their own was with them, the quickly lowered their guard and let them pass without causing them trio any sort of trouble.

「Unfortunately, us Vampires cannot recharge our gauges with the blood of our own people…… Dragon-Stained Blood, that’s what it’s called. It has a totally opposite effect on us……」