Cain was careful to stay away from the edges of the training grounds, now that he knew some of the students were willing to wander beyond them in search of accomplishments. He didn't want to keep running into them and causing difficulties for Luna, since the rules of this world said that he shouldn't interfere in a challenge, and they weren't looking to assassinate or cause trouble with the members of the local Sects.
Master Moon had marked a cave that was supposed to be a safe spot where they could stay the first night, just ahead of them a few kilometers inside the first major mountain.
As they got close, it was obvious that they weren't the only travelers who had chosen this spot tonight though. The smell of campfire filled the air, and he could hear happy voices echoing out from the cave itself.
The details they had were that this was a safe neutral ground between sect territories, and he didn't want to camp in the open their first night, so Cain decided to risk seeing if these people were the decent sort before making up his mind whether to leave or not.
"Hail to the Camp. Is there space for two more travelers?" Cain called from the path just as he came into sight.
"Come in, come in. You've got the right spot, this is the meeting ground." A man's voice from the camp called back.
That was certainly a good start and proved that their map was roughly correct, though it was hand drawn. Maps back home were terrible at best, and usually incredibly inaccurate, which made finding anything you didn't already know the location of nearly impossible without asking for assistance.
They even had the cartography skill available, and nobody took it, they just let whoever wanted to make a few coins draw up crude maps for travelers. That was one thing Cain would gladly have changed if he had more time.
The group in the camp were almost all wearing the same yellow robes, four older men, with three young women who seemed to be of lower rank washing robes in the stream and preparing food. The only one not in yellow was a gray-robed man in the back, quietly swearing at a scroll of paper.
Cain used his interface to inspect them all, finding that the men in yellow were all spirit awakened, and near his level, in the low 500s, but the female acolytes were all under level 100. Surprisingly, the man in the back was not a human at all. The system called him a black dragonkin at level 505 and Spirit Rank, meaning both his body and skills were at the Spirit level, the same as Cain.
The dragonkin was clearly disguised as a Human using magic, since Jin was of the same species, and looked almost entirely reptilian. Like beastkin, Cain was sure there was variation, but with no horns, tail, or visible scales, it was almost certain that he was in disguise.
"Oh, a man of true culture I see. Come in and introduce yourself and your young traveling companion friend." The leader of the yellow-robed men welcomed Cain with a friendly smile on his face.
"I am Cain, of the Darklight Host, and this is my daughter Luna," Cain replied, so they didn't get any suspicious ideas.
That made the dragonkin in the gray robes smile but seemed to make the other men a bit sad. Cain would let it slide for now though. If he didn't have to, he wouldn't explain to Luna about Lolicons until she was much older.
They had a stew pot set up over the fire, a tradition Cain was familiar with from the valley's farmers. When they were working overnight in the fields, or moving livestock, they would gather together for extra manpower and make stew from a communal pot, where everyone added an ingredient.
"What's in the pot so far?" Cain asked, taking a seat, while a curious Luna went to visit the Dragonkin who was having issues with his scroll.
He shouldn't be much trouble. They had a token from his sect, and they had all seemed like decent people so far, but it was best that Luna stay away from these others until Cain was sure about them so he didn't object.
"We've added some Thunder Chicken, herbs, and cheese." The man with the stirring spoon informed him, offering Cain a cutting board.
Cain set the board on a stump beside him and pulled out a collection of carrots, potatoes, and an onion.
"Root vegetables from my home valley. They go very well with a chicken and cheese stew." Cain informed them, dicing the vegetables and pouring them into the pot.
"You travel well prepared." The leader said, giving Cain a curious look. Most travelers didn't bother with such fancy things and lived mostly on dried rations while they focused on gaining power.
"It has always been my way. It helps balance the mortal energies and improves digestion. If you like a bit of spice to your meal, I have a bit with me." Cain offered, but the man waved him off.
"We live an ascetic life. I am afraid that the spice might not be so kind to us as those more used to it." The man politely refused.
Now that Cain had added a generous portion of vegetables, the stew looked much more filling. If they had intended for it to serve the entire group, they must have been planning to add a lot of water once it was cooked.
The idea was that everyone put in a portion large enough for themselves, in something that the stew was lacking, so with eight people already here, Cain had expected the pot to have more in it, even if magical beast meat was very filling.
Once they were finished with chores, the junior cultivators returned with more fresh water and a collection of leafy greens.
They added them to the stew when everything else was almost ready, and the air filled with a pleasant fragrant odor.
"Excellent choices." The Elders approved, nodding happily, and the youngsters retreated over to where Luna was sitting and discussing the kick technique described in the scroll that the dragonkin was studying.
[Quest: Vengeance] Help the Juniors pay their seniors back for inequality in living conditions.
[Quest Reward: Random Item, Bonus Experience]
That was an interesting requirement, so Cain started thinking of good ways to mess with the seniors that wouldn't be noticed. His first thought was the food, but messing with it when someone else was already stirring would be too obvious.
The first thing to do was to retract his healing aura from the four men, in case the juniors had something planned of their own. The quest was to assist them, not to do it all himself, so they should have some sort of plan.
"In our Sect Tradition, the Elders eat first. Please, do fill your bowl." The leader of the yellow robes asked Cain.
The stew was incredibly good, and the final batch of leafy greens added a depth to the flavor Cain hadn't been expecting. It also gave a minor status debuff, which numbed the taste buds. If Cain hadn't had his interface visible, he would have never noticed it.
"Masters, would you like some tea?" A blonde-haired acolyte asked.
The Elders of her sect seemed a bit suspicious, so kindness from the Juniors must not be normal, but Cain took the offered tea anyhow, in a clear crystal teacup, and drained it in one long swallow.
"Thank you, that was lovely." Cain commended the girl, who was doing a poor job of hiding her shock, but fortunately was facing Cain, so the others didn't see her hesitation.
She carefully poured him another cup and then went to the other Elders, who took the tea without hesitation now that they had seen Cain drink from it.
It took about four seconds for the effect of the Aura he had gained from the merged Forest Dragon to cure the lethal toxin they had introduced in the tea, but the paralysis was cured much more quickly.
These juniors were really savage, with paralysis plus a lethal toxin so that the Elders wouldn't be able to feed themselves a healing potion. But who was he to judge? Perhaps it was a custom of their Sect. Plus, the quest said that they were mistreated, or at least out for vengeance over their living conditions.
Unlike him, the Elders only sipped the tea, and the effect wasn't as instant. Cain was concerned that the girl would be found out, so he summoned a pair of Spirit Rank Rattlesnakes into the trees behind the cultivators. They didn't see anyone as an enemy yet, so they didn't attack, but the noise of them moving around did alert the Elders.
"Dammit, snakes. They must have snuck up on us." One called and began to move, but his movements were sluggish, and the attack made the snakes target him as an enemy.
Magical Beasts had a wide variety of abilities, and area paralysis wasn't uncommon, so none of the Elders suspected the tea when they were slow to respond. The girls grabbed Luna and retreated into the cave, while the Gray-Robed Dragonkin drew his sword and stood guard at the entrance, protecting the young ones.
He himself was level 500 and Spirit Awakened, making him much stronger than the ladies present, including Luna. He shouldn't have too many issues against a few magical beasts, even if they were fast and stealthy.
Luna had realized right away what was going on though and was playing along since the snakes were clearly Cain's summons in her vision.
The first man that was bitten began to convulse almost immediately, and then the second, but the third managed to kill one of the snakes. The leader managed to eat some sort of medicinal pill, and his status cleared to unaffected, right before Cain lunged forward and pretended to obliterate the remaining snake with an energy attack, while actually dismissing it.
"Thank you, traveler Cain. Some of the creatures in this forest are incredibly stealthy. Might I ask a small favor of you? I have to return to the Sect to report this tragedy to the Sect Master. Could you watch over the disciples until I return?" The remaining Elder asked.
"I am certain that between myself and the Disciple of the Divine Light who is guarding the cave entrance we can manage to keep them safe until your return, even if it should take a week or more." Cain agreed.
"In that case, I will take the bodies with me, and you can send them home with the Divine Light Disciple. Our sects are close to each other, and he will know the way." The last surviving Elder agreed, then picked up the bodies and leaped into the air, summoning his flying sword underneath himself.
"That is such a cool technique, I need to practice that instead of summoning it and hopping on." Luna sighed, sticking her head around the gray-robed dragonkin to see what was going on.
