Chapter 35 - INFORMATIONS ABOUT THE SILENT MARSH (1/2)

AFTER Luo Yan found out that Filli might be in the area of the forest called the 'Silent Marsh', he immediately went to the Elder's yurt.  If there's someone in this village who would know most about that place, then it's definitely the Elder.  Luo Yan needed to know first what he would be facing before going there.

This was not the same as fighting the Blights and discovering its source.  The additional task involved him finding the source, so he technically couldn't ask about that from the Elder.  But this hidden task only needed him to find Filli and bring him back here in the village.  So it wouldn't matter if he asked the Elder about it.

”Noctis, have you decided the date of your coming-of-age ceremony?” the Elder asked when he saw him.

It was such an automatic response.  As if that was the first thing the Elder would say everytime he would see him.  Not really surprising, since he was already done with task given by the Elder, the next step should be for him to conduct his coming-of-age ceremony and finally leave the village.

”No, Elder, I'm here to ask you about something.”

”Oh, what is it?”

”I wonder if the Elder could tell me what you know about the Silent Marsh?”

The Elder's expression suddenly turned serious when he mentioned that.  ”It's a very dangerous area in the Crescent Woodlands.  As you may already know from the name itself, it's a marsh.  The word 'silent' was added by our ancestors because once you enter the area, you could no longer hear any sound.  That's still true until today.”

Luo Yan caught the keyword, 'no sound'.  ”Why could one not hear any sound when they enter the area?”

The Elder paused for dramatic effect before saying, ”Because there's a very powerful beast sleeping there.”  Okay?  ”All the monsters in the surrounding area dare not make a noise for fear that they would awaken it.  My father, the former Elder, told me that this beast entered the moon elves' realm a millenium ago.  It was badly wounded and almost at the end of its life.  It went to one of the caves in the forest to recuperate.  It slept in that place and the area surrounding the cave has been known as the Silent Marsh since then.”

Luo Yan's interest was picqued by this hidden story.  ”What kind of beast was it?”

This time the Elder didn't pause and just went straight to the point.  ”A dragon.”

He became silent for a moment.  A dragon?  Seriously?  This hidden task wouldn't ask him to defeat that dragon in order to save Filli, right?  What, was Filli a princess kidnapped by the dragon and he's the prince tasked to save him?  He didn't like this kind of script at all.

”In Elder's opinion, do you think I can defeat this... dragon?” he tried to ask.

”No,” the Elder answered so straightforwardly.  ”With your current level and skill set, you wouldn't even be able to put a scratch on it.”

Luo Yan winced a bit.  See?  Even the Elder thought he was not an opponent of this dragon.  Surely, this hidden task wouldn't require him to kill the dragon, right?  Because then, there's no way he would be able to finish it.  He shook his head.  No, he shouldn't jinx himself.

But in the off-chance that he did jinx himself and ended up fighting the dragon, he'd just do his best to escape with Filli.  He'd better prepare nonetheless.

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