Chapter 176 Connections

Once Valyr's name escaped out of Julian's mouth, all of the elders' expressions went solemn as a deafening silence swiftly covered the hall. Not long after, some of the elders' expressions went slightly grim as they shifted their gazes towards Faulerei.

"Faulerei…" Sergei could not help but say, to which Faulerei lightly nodded before taking in a deep breath and letting out a sigh soon after.

"I see now why you were hesitant to mention the candidate's name earlier, Julian." Hearing these words from Faulerei, Julian bitterly smiled in response as he nodded.

"But of course," Julian said soon after. "I'm sure all of us here know that Valyr is being chased by his clan to the ends of the world. It's the only reason why I've decided to keep my mouth shut for the most part."

"You've definitely brought us a headache, Julian," Faulerei could not help but say in response. "Nevertheless, as we've promised to keep our word, we shall see it to the bitter end."

"However, it's now a race against time," he said soon after, to which the other elders nodded in agreement, knowing what was going on in Faulerei's mind. "I presume you haven't gotten someone to keep track of his whereabouts?"

"After testing his combat proficiency, I have not." Julian lightly shook his head, eliciting a light smile to appear on Faulerei's face as he nodded.

"Good. The last thing we want to happen is for the rebel faction of his clan to obtain his current whereabouts through that person," Faulerei replied. "Though that would make things somewhat difficult in the short term, it's not that much of a problem."

"Although the rebel faction is currently occupied with the ever-confusing politics making up their clan, try and find a way to send real-sounding information of Valyr's current whereabouts to them when you have the time, Julian," he said to Julian soon after. "Let me repeat myself. Real-sounding information. Not real information."

"I'll see what I can do." Julian solemnly nodded in response.

"As for the other elders in this room with me…" At these words, Faulerei looked at the other elders, representatives of their own division within the Imperial Production Guild.

Taking in a deep breath, a chuckle soon escaped Faulerei's mouth as he told them. "I'm certain all of you know what to do at this point."

"If the guild wants to explore the Four Pillars' Inheritance in its entirety…"

"It's time for all the guild's divisions to come together."

"Send out the reconnaissance teams and have them bring Valyr to Algerie as soon as possible."

…

After Alfaera had conferred Valyr with a rank of nobility and gave him a couple titles, as well as announced Myst being the inheritor of the Perennial Blademaster subclass, the festive atmosphere surrounding Astarto had become more intensified than ever, with the events scheduled for this celebration more than enough to make everyone in the village mingle with one another and party.

Nevertheless, there were still those that opted to stay out of the limelight and enjoy the celebration at their own pace, just like Valyr and the others currently having a group meal at the village inn.

"You're leaving tomorrow?" Once she heard the words that came out of Valyr's mouth, Alfaera could not help but ask in response with a hint of incredulity. Of course, she wasn't the only one to feel that way, Damian, Tristan, as well as Myst, who tagged along with them, felt the same way.

"Yeah." Hearing Alfaera's question, Valyr could only bitterly smile as he nodded. "Though I still haven't completed Damian's quest yet, I've pretty much done everything I can in the village. With that, it's time for me to head onto greener pastures."

"However, that does not mean I don't appreciate what you've done for me. I love staying in the village, I really do," he soon added. "But I can't help but think that if I continue to stay here, I can't reach the full potential that my class can achieve."

Hearing that, Tristan and Damian looked at each other for a bit before nodding. Noticing this, Alfaera could not help but look at the two, only for Damian to send a small strand of mana to her, prompting an expression of understanding to appear on her face as she nodded not long after.

Though Myst was not privy to the kind of class Valyr had after ascending to Rank 1, it did not take long for her to infer from his words that the class Valyr currently had would only be hampered if he continued to stay in the village.

With a somewhat reluctant expression, Alfaera let out a sigh as she looked at Valyr in the eye. "Though it would be hypocritical of me to say that someone of your caliber is being hindered by the village, you're not originally from the village, so you're free to come and leave as you please. Nevertheless, we've appreciated the help you've given the village so far, especially the fact that you helped remove the village's largest problem."

"I'll make sure to come back to the village whenever a monster tide arrives," Valyr said in response to her words, only to let out a chuckle soon after. "Then again, I'm pretty sure the village will be able to handle the monster tides without my help soon enough."

As Alfaera slightly tilted her head in confusion, wondering what Valyr meant by that, the latter looked at Tristan and Damian before flashing them a smile. "How's progress?"

"Both of us have already completed the 10 vials for each type, so we both have the skill that comes along with it." Tristan nodded at Valyr's words before flashing a smile of his own. "You're right, Valyr. With this, Astarto's going to have an easier time clearing the monster tides in the future."

"What are you two talking about?" At this point, Alfaera could not help but interrupt.

"Consider it my final gift to the village before I leave." In response, Valyr looked at Damian, prompting the latter to nod before sending out another small strand of mana to the woman beside him.

Closing her eyes for a while, Alfaera processed all of the information Damian gave her, instantly changing her impression of Valyr as she could not help but let out a light gasp. "This is only something cities and larger settlements have access to… how…?"

"Connections." At the moment this word came out of Valyr's mouth, Alfaera could not help but ponder for it, recalling the surname the man before her had. After that, it did not take long for her to put two and two together, eventually nodding in response, albeit still somewhat confused.

"In any case, considering that the two of you have already finished the first level, give Myst the vials. After all, she's the future guardian of the village." In response to these words from Valyr, Damian and Tristan nodded in agreement, telling him that they'd give Myst the vials later, only causing the latter a great amount of confusion as she wondered what was going on.

At that, all four of them could not help but let out a chuckle as Damian told her that he would explain everything to her later. With that, the five of them finally continued digging into the food they ordered, talking about the interesting experiences they've gone through in their lives.