Ketika River melangkah keluar dari ruangan, ia merasa segar bugar. Adrenalin memenuhi tubuhnya, dan kekuatan paladin yang telah ia kumpulkan berdenyut-denyut. Ia bukanlah petarung—bukan benar-benar petarung. Ia hanya punya sedikit pengalaman bertempur, dan praktis tanpa latihan, tapi seberapa sulit sih?
Dengan pedang di tangan, kekuatan di lengan, dan keyakinan di hati, seberapa sulit sebenarnya?
River melangkah keluar pintu dengan tatapan berbahaya di matanya, seperti pemburu yang melangkah ke medan perburuan.
Sementara itu, Lex menggelengkan kepala dan merasa ingin memalingkan muka karena ia sudah bisa meramalkan apa yang akan terjadi. Sikap terlalu percaya diri dan kalimat-kalimat picik yang dibisikkan River di bawah napasnya justru membuat Lex makin merasa malu dari pihak kedua.
Alasan ia menyarankan River untuk membantu adalah karena kekuatan Paladin itu anehnya mirip dengan energi ilahi—dengan beberapa kelas paladin bahkan bisa langsung menggunakan energi ilahi. Namun, kekuatan paladin itu sendiri adalah hal yang unik.
Kekuatan itu bisa memurnikan apa pun yang bersifat iblis atau jahat, yang awalnya membuat Lex memberi petunjuk kepada River bahwa ia sebaiknya ikut membantu. Tapi River hanyalah paladin pemula, dan penyihir hitam di luar sana berada di puncak alam Latihan Qi!
Lex tidak bermaksud agar River bertarung melawannya, melainkan agar ia bisa menggunakan sifat pemurnian energinya untuk menahan serangan iblis penyihir itu dan menyelamatkan target. Sayangnya, River menganggapnya sebagai isyarat untuk bertarung.
Ia tak bisa menahan diri untuk bertanya-tanya apakah seperti inikah Mary memandangnya saat ia melakukan hal-hal bodoh ketika pertama kali mendapat sistem? Pasti tidak. Ia selalu berhati-hati, kan?
Meskipun Lex ingin memalingkan muka, ia tidak bisa karena harus memastikan River tidak mati secara tidak sengaja.
Jadi, ia menonton saat River meringkuk bersama pedang dan perisainya, mencoba mengendap-endap sambil membawa perlengkapan yang membuatnya sangat mencolok bagi siapa pun yang punya mata, saat ia berusaha melewati kerumunan yang bertarung dan menuju ke belakang penyihir hitam itu.
Lex mengerang. Ya, tidak mungkin ia sebodoh itu dulu. Ia bahkan membeli pistol dan segala macam—mengusir penjahat dari jarak jauh dan menghindari pertarungan bila memungkinkan.
River berhasil mencapai belakang penyihir hitam, lalu berteriak sambil menerjang ke depan.
Jika ada dinding di dalam kalungnya, Lex ingin membenturkan wajahnya ke sana. Jika usaha mengendap-endapnya yang buruk tidak membocorkan keberadaannya, teriakannya pasti berhasil.
Lex menghibur diri dengan mengatakan bahwa River hanyalah anak laki-laki yang tidak terlatih dan tanpa pengalaman. Bukan salahnya ia tidak punya kesadaran tempur. Seperti yang diduga, penyihir hitam itu memanggil perisai pelindung, menahan pedangnya.
Pantulan dari benturan dengan perisai itu begitu besar hingga pedang terlepas dari tangannya, meninggalkan River yang terpana.
Lex menyaksikan dengan ekspresi datar. Ya, dia hanya anak laki-laki tanpa pengalaman. Salah Lex karena tidak melatihnya, bukan salah River sendiri karena bodoh.
Penyihir hitam itu dengan santai melepaskan sambaran energi ungu gelap ke arah River, dan paladin muda itu setidaknya punya kesadaran untuk menahannya dengan perisai.
Energi paladin-nya menetralkan sifat jahat dari serangan itu, meskipun dampaknya tetap membuatnya terlempar ke belakang. River, seolah sama sekali tidak terpengaruh oleh kegagalannya, mendapat pencerahan saat itu. Pedang bukanlah senjata ideal untuknya.
Sebagai gantinya, ia meraih perisai dengan kedua tangan dan menghantamkan penyihir hitam itu—seperti menepuk lalat dengan buku. Energi paladin-nya menembus perisai penyihir hitam dan benar-benar membuatnya terhuyung, yang memberi kesempatan para penjaga lain untuk menyerangnya juga.
Lex tidak menunjukkan perubahan ekspresi. Ya, ini sama sekali bukan rencana buruk yang kebetulan berhasil karena keberuntungan belaka. Ini adalah rencana serangan yang sepenuhnya bisa dibenarkan dan layak. Petarung berpengalaman mana yang tidak mengayunkan perisainya seperti wajan rusak, berulang kali menghantam bagian belakang musuh?
Ia bahkan yakin bahwa meskipun ia bukan petarung yang teliti dan tangguh, setidaknya ia tidak akan membuat kesalahan mendasar seperti itu. Ia sepenuhnya menghapus dari ingatannya saat ia bertarung melawan gerombolan zombie dengan tangan kosong di atas mobil. Itu tidak pernah terjadi dan tidak ada yang bisa membuktikannya.
Entah bagaimana—Lex tidak tahu persisnya—penyihir hitam itu terluka oleh salah satu serangan River dan terpaksa menyerah dari serangan itu lalu mundur.
River, kelelahan dan sedikit terluka, berdiri tegak dengan kebanggaan membuncah di dadanya saat melihat penyihir hitam itu mundur, yakin bahwa ia adalah petarung berbakat alami.
Lex mengerang. Sekarang bahaya sudah berlalu, Lex menutup mata dan mulai menarik lebih banyak energi. Untungnya ia tidak perlu membuang energi apa pun dalam pertarungan sebelumnya.
Ia mengabaikan peristiwa yang menyusul, mempercepat ke bagian di mana putra Penguasa kota ini mengundang River ke rumahnya dalam beberapa hari untuk diberi imbalan yang pantas atas bantuannya.
Pada saat yang sama, semua orang di klinik mulai memuji keberanian River, dan pujian itu tentu saja sampai ke telinga Pearl dalam beberapa hari berikutnya, memperbaiki suasana hatinya. Orang-orang bahkan memperlakukan mereka berdua lebih baik, yang memperbaiki hidup Pearl, dan dengan demikian memberi River sedikit umpan balik untuk sumpahnya!
Lex memutar mata di dalam kalungnya.
Beberapa hari berlalu, dan keduanya mengenakan pakaian terbaik mereka—yang tidak robek atau pudar—dan tiba di rumah besar itu. Pearl menatap ke atas ke arah rumah besar itu, emosi samar dan jauh berkelap-kelip di matanya saat ia mengingat sesuatu.
River, di sisi lain, menatap pria berpakaian aneh yang bersandar di dinding rumah besar itu.
When River walked out of the room, he felt invigorated. Adrenaline filled his body, and the power of a paladin that he had accumulated hummed. He was not a fighter - not really. He had very little experience fighting, and basically no training, but how hard could it be?
With a sword in hand, with strength in his arms, with conviction in his heart, how hard could it really be?
River walked out the door with a dangerous look in his eyes, as if a hunter stepping into the hunting ground.
Lex, meanwhile, shook his head and felt the urge to look away because he could already foresee what was happening. The overconfident demeanor and cringe one-liners that he was whispering under his breath just made Lex feel even more second hand embarrassment.
The reason he’d suggested that River go help out was because Paladin powers were oddly close to divine energy in a way - with some paladin classes directly able to use divine energy as well. The paladin power, however, was its own unique thing.
It could purify anything which had a demonic or evil nature, which is originally why Lex had hinted to River that he should go help out. But River was just a starter paladin, and the warlock outside was at the peak of the Qi training realm!
Lex had not meant that River should fight him, but that he could use the purifying nature of his energy to resist the warlock’s demonic attacks and rescue the target. Instead, River had taken it as an indication to go fight.
He could not help but wonder if this is how Mary looked at him when he was doing stupid stuff back when he first got the system? Surely not. He was always prudent, right?
Despite Lex’s urge to look away, he could not because he had to make sure River didn’t accidentally die.
So, he watched as River huddled with his sword and shield, trying to be sneaky while carrying equipment that made him very prominent to anyone with eyes, as he tried to go around the fighting crowd and behind the warlock.
Lex groaned. Yes, there was no way he was that foolish back in the day. He’d bought a gun and everything - fighting off bad guys from a distance and avoiding fights when possible.
River made his way behind the warlock, and then screamed as he lunged forward.
If there was a wall inside his necklace, Lex would have liked to hit his face on it. If his poor attempt at stealth hadn’t given him away, the scream definitely had.
Lex consoled himself by telling him that River was an untrained, inexperienced boy. It wasn’t his fault he had no combat awareness. As expected, the warlock summoned a protective shield, blocking his sword.
The recoil from hitting the shield was so great that the sword was knocked out of his hands, leaving River stunned.
Lex watched with a neutral expression. Yes, he was just an inexperienced boy. It was Lex’s fault for not training him, not River’s own fault for being stupid.
The warlock casually launched a bolt of dark purple energy at River, and the young paladin at least had the sense of awareness to block it with his shield.
His paladin energy neutralized the malevolent nature of the attack, though the impact still knocked him back. River, as if completely undeterred by his failure, had an epiphany in that moment. The sword wasn’t an ideal weapon for him.
Instead he grabbed the shield with both hands and smacked the warlock with it - as if he were swatting a fly with a book. His paladin energy tore through the warlock’s shield and actually caused him to stumble, which gave the other guards a chance to attack him as well.
Lex showed no change of expression. Yes, this totally wasn’t a terrible plan that just happened to work out of sheer luck. This was a completely justified and viable plan of attack. Which experienced warrior didn’t wield their shields like a broken frying pan, repeatedly smacking an enemy’s rear?
He was even most certain that even if he wasn’t a meticulous and formidable fighter, he’d at least not made such basic mistakes. He completely blocked out that one time he fought a horde of zombies with his bare hands atop a car from his memory. That never happened and no one could prove it.
Somehow - Lex had no idea how exactly - the warlock got injured by one of River’s attacks and was forced to give up on the assault and retreated.
River, exhausted, and slightly injured, stood tall with pride swelling in his chest as he watched the warlock retreat, convinced that he was a natural born fighter.
Lex groaned. Now that the danger was over, Lex closed his eyes and began pulling in more energy. Fortunately he didn’t have to waste any in the previous fight.
He ignored the events that followed, fast forwarding to the part where the son of the Lord of this city invited River over to his mansion in a few days to be rewarded appropriately for his help.
At the same time, everyone in the clinic started to praise River for his bravery, and that praise naturally fell upon Pearl’s ears the next few days, improving her mood. People even treated the two of them better, which improved Pearl’s life, and thus gave River some minor feedback for his oath!
Lex rolled his eyes within the necklace.
A few days passed, and the two of them dressed in the best clothes - the ones that weren’t torn or faded - and arrived at the mansion. Pearl looked up at the mansion, a faint, distant emotion flickering in her eyes as she recalled something.
River, on the other hand, looked at the oddly dressed man who was leaning against the mansion wall.
"Senior, do you have any guidance?" River asked, speaking in his mind for he now knew that the senior could hear his thoughts.
"I told you, call me Cliff. I have no guidance, but I do have a proposition for you. Inside, you will be offered a reward of your choice. Choose to accept property outside the city, at the location I am marking in your mind.
"If you do that, then I will take it as if you are agreeing to help me out for a few years. In that case, I will continue to guide you, and I’ll help out Pearl as well. However, in exchange for your help, I will only offer guidance - I will not help you in any other way. Your path has to be walked by yourself.
"However, this will be a difficult path for you. If you go inside and choose an easier path, I will not blame you. After all, this is your life you’re gambling with."
River was silent for a moment, pondering something.
"If I choose something else, then will I ever see you again, senior Cliff?" he asked.
Cliff’s lip twitched as he heard that. Apparently, he really didn’t like being called senior. To be fair, his odd dress sense aside, he did look quite young. However, River did not think he was young at all. If anything, he even suspected that Cliff might even be at the peak of the Foundation realm, or maybe even a former Golden Core cultivator!
Technically, he was right. Lex was a former Golden Core cultivator. But his cultivation had not dropped, like River expected, but had risen instead!
"What do I say I want the property for? The lord will surely ask?" River asked.
Cliff rubbed his chin for a moment before answering. It would indeed be odd to ask for land in the middle of nowhere, even if the location was connected by road. It would be unsafe to live alone. What was a feasible option?
"Say you’ve always dreamed of opening a guest house for travelers? The location is near an interaction on the road, so it will see a lot of passersby, and attract a lot of guests."
River looked oddly at Cliff.
"A guest house? What’s that? Is that like... a roadside Inn?"
Cliff’s lips twitched again.
"No, you cannot call it an Inn. A guest house. Anyway, that’s the reason. You can figure out the rest."
Here he was, trying to lay low and not attract attention, and yet he found himself opening up yet another Inn. He didn’t want to call it that because it might attract attention if someone looked into River’s life ever.
Unsure about how to react to the oddly dressed man’s request, River and Pearl stepped into the mansion for their meeting. The two of them seemed not to notice how many people were looking at them with hidden intentions, but Lex saw it all.
Such was the way of life. By helping out the Lord’s son, they had surely interfered with certain people’s plans. They were bound to make enemies, just as they were bound to make friends.
It didn’t matter. Lex began to absorb energy, ignoring everything around him, treating it like fast forwarding through events until two weeks later, River and Pearl left the city, unsure about their future once more.
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