Chapter 80: Chance Encounter
It had been about a month since I left, and the swirling heavy snow above the Rogue Encampment had stopped, but the weather was still cold. Walking on the main road, the stubborn ice blocks were mixed with wet mud, feeling like stepping on pickled cabbage, both rotten and slippery. However, the pedestrians on the road, at least, no longer had the gloom from when it was snowing. At this time, they all revealed a kind of anticipation for good weather. I could already imagine the scene of countless Civilians praying in the Church.
Cain's home wasn't far from the central Camp and was easy to find, because his home was quite large even within the entire Rogue Encampment. Of course, everyone knew that Cain wasn't a rich man, nor did he have habits of luxury or extravagance. His large house, rather than being for people to live in, was more for Books to live in; it was truly a library in name and reality.
My luck was good, Cain happened to be home. He was wearing thick Cotton Clothes at the time, his whole body covered in dust, and even his white beard was a bit blackened. When I arrived, I only realized upon entering that he was organizing the piled-up Books and Scrolls. The entire House was filled with a choking dust.
"Cough cough... My dear Wu, I didn't expect you to come at this time. Look at my House, cough..."
Cain said with a slightly embarrassed smile. I quickly smiled and shook my head, and carefully surveyed the entire House. Oh my god, is this a mountain of Books? The entire House was filled with bookshelves several meters high, neatly lined with densely packed Books and Scrolls. At first glance, I thought I was trapped inside a tomb of Books.
Fortunately, there was a Small Courtyard in front of the House. Inside, there was also a delicate small wooden table and a few clean Chairs. It seemed Cain had received many guests here. His House was truly... it really couldn't accommodate any more people.
After sitting down, I immediately handed the Horadric Scroll to Cain. He was very excited when he took the Scroll, even his hands trembled slightly. After taking it, he closed his eyes and carefully stroked the Scroll with his hand. After a good while, he carefully opened the Scroll.
Seeing Cain's solemn expression, I didn't speak to ask questions either, but silently closed my eyes to rest on the side. Until who knows long passed, only then did I hear Cain's sigh beside my ear.
"Good, it is indeed the real Horadric Scroll, and what is recorded inside is indeed the Shortcut Portal to Tristram, and the Method to open it." Cain's eyes were a bit teary, and his white beard trembled violently.
"However, it still requires some other auxiliary items to open the Shortcut Portal. Unfortunately, I don't have them on my Body. Wu, wait a moment..."
Hearing Cain say this, I thought another Quest had come. Unexpectedly, Cain just told me to wait on the side, and he ran out by himself. He only came back after a while, with an expression of being ripped off.
It seemed he went to collect those auxiliary items. However, who would be so foolish as to dare to rip off Cain at this opportunity? I was very curious.
"Wu, these are the auxiliary items to open the Shortcut Portal." Cain took out a small package from his Body and said with a bit of gritted teeth.
I opened it out of Curiosity, and a dazzling multicolored Glow spread out. I looked Dumbfounded at the contents of the small package. It was actually one Ruby, one Sapphire, one Amethyst, one Emerald, and one Diamond each. Omg, this this this, isn't this a Trial of my willpower?
Then, Cain told me the Method to open the Shortcut Portal in detail, until I had noted it all down.
"Wu, I'll leave this matter to you. Oh right, I have one more reluctant request, I hope you can help me."
"I am willing to serve you, Lord Cain."
"Alas..."
Cain lightly sighed. "An old friend of mine, named Griswold, was once the most outstanding Blacksmith in the Rogue Encampment. But when Tristram fell, he happened to be visiting there. Finally, he disappeared in this disaster. Over the years, I've been inquiring about his News, but, alas, I'm afraid... So, if you have time, please help me search carefully. In case he really... If possible, I hope you can let his Soul rest in peace."
Cain said intermittently, with unspeakable sorrow in his tone.
"Lord Cain, I understand."
I looked at this poor old man with a slightly sympathetic Vision. In my vague memory, there was indeed a Boss in Tristram. I forgot the Name though, but it should be the person Cain mentioned. Should I tell him now? Alas, forget it. It's better not to do such a foolish Action. Let's go there first and see.
I bid farewell to Cain. Seeing that it was already late, I rested for a day in the Rogue Encampment. Only on the second day did I step onto the Teleportation Array and arrived at Stony Field.
Bringing Light Snow , I had already walked for two full days in Stony Field. But those six Boulders seemed to be deliberately opposing me and just wouldn't appear. Moreover, there were simply too many and too large Stones in Stony Field. Circling around, I got dizzy and lost my bearings. Now I'm a bit unclear about where I even am. Sweat...
On the third day, I looked ahead with teary eyes. Don't misunderstand, in front of me wasn't those six Boulders, but the Entrance to the Underground Passage. That deep, dark Cave seemed like a mocking mouth opening towards me. I was completely lost...
Just as I was dejectedly preparing to turn back and leave, Light Snow , whom I was riding, seemed to hear something. She suddenly turned her head with a vigilant expression and growled softly towards the front. Through the information transmitted via Telepathy, I immediately knew what Light Snow meant—There were sounds of fighting ahead.
Could there be someone up ahead? Of course, it wasn't impossible that Monsters were killing each other. I had seen this situation more than once. But driven by Curiosity, I still slowly walked forward. Just in case, I put away Light Snow and Oak Sage, only letting Xiao Er, Little Three, and Poison Creeper follow beside me.
As I approached the Battlefield, I discovered that one of the two sides fighting was actually Class Changers! My heart immediately jolted—This was the first time I had encountered a Class Squad in the Wilderness. I quickly found a hidden Corner and carefully observed this rare battle.
This Class Squad had a total of five members: two Paladins, one Assassin, one Wizard, and one Druid. The combination was quite decent. Their cooperation with each other also surprised me—It seems teaming up is different from going solo. Seeing their well-ordered advance and retreat, each person fully utilized the Advantage of their Class. A Squad of five people, the Combat Power they displayed was enhanced by more than 10 times compared to solo. This was the Advantage of teaming up.
Unfortunately, their cooperation could be said to be seamless. However, the Enemy they faced was also not weak. It was surprisingly the Elite Moon Clan with the Extra Fast Stats that I had killed at the Entrance to the Underground Passage last time, and his four Followers. The Elite with Extra Fast had fast and fierce Attacks, making the two Paladins blocking in front suffer greatly. The Druid's Poison Creeper had also died repeatedly. The Raven's effect was also limited. Now his Mana seemed to be exhausted. He was standing beside the two Paladins, holding off one Follower, while the Assassin darted between the three, stabbing whenever there was an opportunity. The Wizard behind was accurately using Ice Bolt to pass through her Companions, hitting the Elite and the Followers. The Level of the Ice Bolt seemed not very high, so the Damage caused was very limited. However, it greatly slowed down their Movement. Seeing that the Class Changers were at a disadvantage, but I wasn't anxious. After fighting for so long, I still had some Insight and Experience now. The current situation was very subtle. Although it looked unfavorable for the Class Squad, in fact, as long as one Follower died, the situation would immediately reverse. The balance of victory would still gradually tilt towards the Class Changers.
However, the situation was beyond the judgment of me, this Rookie. I hadn't taken the Sorceress's Mana into account. At this time, the Sorceress's Mana was clearly not much. The frequency of Ice Bolt became slower and slower. Without the slowing effect of Freeze, the Monsters immediately became lively and energetic. Although two Followers didn't have much Life left, the battle situation was still not optimistic.
At this moment, the Sorceress in the distance made an unexpected decision. She cast a Frozen Armor on her Body and actually charged headfirst towards the Battlefield.
I was startled, and immediately understood that the Sorceress wanted to utilize the Freeze ability attached to her Frozen Armor. Although the Sorceress was very fragile, as long as she didn't provoke the Elite, she could still withstand a few hits. I secretly praised her courage and Tactics. This seemed very reckless, but it was undoubtedly a good Method. Although she didn't master many Spells, this Sorceress had indeed utilized her Spells to the fullest.