Ed showed Derek around the village, having invited him and his followers inside for a meal.

While the stragglers who had been following Derek around bit into the chunks of dried meat like starving wolves, Derek himself apparently wasn’t hungry at the moment.

“Impressive work you’ve done here, Ed.” Derek commented, after he had finished looking around. His eyes had shone inquisitively for a brief moment when he had seen Ranga’s statue, which they had placed in the center of the village.

“I’ve seen bigger Villages, but this one is definitely one of the more… calmer ones.”

Ed’s brow rose for a split second.

Of course there are other Villages. Wukong told me himself that there are stronger humans out there…

Berating himself for the lack of insight, he tried to maintain a poker face. “Oh? I’m glad to hear that. We haven’t even been here long.”

“Ah, I see. You haven’t quite gathered 50 people yet, I presume? I should have known, as I didn’t see a Spirit Tower.”

Shit. He had never been very good at poker. Hopefully Derek didn’t take this as a sign of weakness.

“No, not yet.” Ed said, deciding that honesty was the best policy, and would lead the way into his next proposal.

“It seems that you’re fairly well traveled, even in these times. Could you tell me what the System’s Village Designation does, what the Spirit Tower is for, and any other pieces of information that you might share with us? We don’t have much here, but we could offer you shelter and food for as long as you want, as well as-”

Derek smiled and cut him off before he could even continue.

“Of course! One of the reasons that I travel so far and wide is precisely to help budding Villages. While I am no saint, my patron and I work for the interest of humanity. That’s been my calling for the last two months, you know.”

Oh.

Derek took out an unadorned wooden pipe that had the distinct look of being hand-crafted. Ed thought back to how his eyes had lit up when he had beheld Ranga’s attempt at carving.

“Do you mind if I-?”

When Ed shook his head, he stuffed it with some dried leaves from another bag he had pulled out. Ed caught a glimpse of at least a dozen such bags under the tattered robe. The man was like a grape, with so many bags clinging to his body. Ed hid a smile.

Derek snapped his fingers above the stuffed pipe, and a blue fire sprung to life. He took a deep drag, letting out a thick plume of smoke with a contented sigh.

“Can’t smoke all that often when I’m traveling, you know. The stuff I burn attracts a lot of demons.”

Ed could see why. He could sense the thick manna that seemed to roil in the smoke that Derek had spat out, and the smoke itself somehow had an extremely pleasant smell.

“The Village Designation just registers your location in the System. You guys can receive Quests as a Village then, and any remaining Stragglers will also get a Quest to reach the Village, should they want. I must say, there have been a few ugly situations in which a couple of Stragglers have tried to raid or take over new Villages, but it shouldn’t be a problem. There are actually a couple of Villages in this city, I’ve found, and they haven’t had such problems despite being at a similar level of strength to your budding one.”

Derek took another drag of his pipe, and observed the smoke he spat out hung in the air.

“A Spirit Tower is a… Beacon of sorts to the Spirit Realm. Regular Awakened can receive basic class quests, which should bolster your fighting power quite significantly. I’ve only seen low-grade Spirit Towers, but I assume higher grade Spirit Towers have more functions, and possibly even offer more specialized classes. They take quite a few Spirit Crystals to operate, however, and I wouldn’t utilize it carelessly. Many of the leaders of the Villages I have visited regulated their Spirit Towers very tightly.”

Ed nodded, taking it all in slowly.

“In fact, I am hoping to drop off the stragglers that I found on my way here in your Village, if you don’t mind. They are not particularly evil, I assure you, and would be a good addition to your manpower. If you are close to a 50, they might even complete your Village Quest.”

“Yes, that might work. Before that, I have someone you might like to meet.”

----

Derek and Harundal got along well. More than well, actually. Derek’s natural joviality seemed to enliven Harundal, especially after Derek had broken out a flask of what seemed to be alcohol and shared it with a few of the villagers, including Harundal.

Ed noted that the flask seemed to hold much, much more of the liquid than its size would suggest.

Now, they seemed to be exchanging human and Duruk jokes as they sat around a large bonfire after a particularly large evening meal with the rest of the villagers.

Ed had shared the information Derek had brought with him, and the villagers had looked around in excitement at the mention of ‘classes’, and now nodded in agreement to Ed’s words. Even the stragglers that had come with Derek seemed to be excited.

The rest of the night passed by as the villagers bombarded the stragglers with questions and in turn regaled them with tales of Ed and Noel’s rescue, the duel between Ed and Harundal, and generally how good life had turned since they had settled here.

--------

Derek left the very next morning. All he took with him were some rations that Ed absolutely insisted on, although he could clearly take care of himself.

By now, it was really clear that Derek was more than capable of taking care of himself, and really was traveling around to help the rest of humans. Not completely out of the goodness of his heart, he admitted. The System had given him a Quest entailing a travel route along the West Coast, and he imagined that there were many more Blesseds carrying out similar Quests all over the world.

Derek observed the villagers going about their day with a curious smile playing upon his lips.

“I said this before, but this is a good Village… Humanity’s had to start over, and it hasn’t been very pretty, even for a lot of the other ‘Villages’, Ed.”

Ed scoffed.

“That’s how it goes, I think. I may not be that old, but I’ve been around long enough to figure out that some people are just as shitty as others are good.”

Derek chuckled.

“Still, it’s all we have.” He said.

“There’s something I didn’t share with you yesterday, Ed.

I passed by downtown a couple days ago to come here, and it was positively crawling with goblins. From what I’ve been able to gather from you and Harundal, I imagine it’s this First Tribe that’s recalling all its splinter tribes. I saw more than a handful of hobs from just an initial glance…”

He trailed off, Ed’s face stiffening.

“I’m not much of a fighter, and my main goal right now is to carry information between as many Villages as I can..."

“It’s all right, Derek. You’ve already helped us a lot. Besides. I... have a plan."

Damn. Ed wished he didn't sound so unsure of himself, but that's how he honestly felt.

"Stop by if your travels ever bring you near again.” Ed said.

Besides, Derek had helped them a lot. In addition to a torrent of information, Derek had also given him the location of friendly Villages nearby that he could possibly reach out for help.

Derek nodded, and walked off to the distance. This time, Ed definitely noticed that the plants in his path seemed to be swaying as though they were alive, and he couldn’t help but take a peek with True Sight to sate his curiosity.

Derek - (Blessed by Demeter) (Traveler) Class - Alchemist Body : D+ Spirit : C Mind : D+ Greenthumb, Love of Life, Lament of Death, Changing Seasons.

Derek moved out of sight before he could examine his titles or skills closer, but he got the feeling that True Sight wouldn't be powerful enough to examine some of them. Huh. Alchemist wasn’t the class he would have guessed. Derek moved about in a manner who knew how to handle himself in a fight.

He did suppose it explained the little ‘Gift’ that he had brought with him. Ed touched the bag he had tied to his belt as if to make sure it was still there.

---------------

A couple of days passed, and life went on as usual.

Ed had been on an excursion all by his lonesome when he ran into the most powerful cat beast he had seen yet.

Shadow Cat - Evolved Body: D Spirit: D+ Mind: D+ Shadow Step (Trait/Skill)

Evolved

This cat, originally of normal size and strength, has evolved through consuming many of its foes through cunning and excelling in hunting in the shadows.

Shadow Step.

Through a mixture of physical and manna affinity, this evolved cat can transport itself through large shadows.

Not wanting to take any risks, Ed quickly activated True Sight and Blood-burn, eyes blazing yellow as he began to emit steams of red energy.

Surprisingly, this only seemed to incense the cat, as it began encircling Ed while snarling.

Then, It suddenly sank into its own shadow and disappeared.

Ed hadn’t been completely off guard, however, having watched it with True Sight the whole time, and rolled to the side as a blur ran through the space he had been occupying just a second ago from behind.

Landing gracefully, the cat lunged again, but Ed saw the manna roil suddenly and managed to side step just in time. Its claws still ripped through the front of his shirt and managed to cut into his chest.

But the cat also now sported a long gash along its side, where Ed had managed to score a hit with his dagger.

With a sudden surge of the red energy, Ed blurred into motion and arrived at its wounded side to stab at its neck from top down.

The cat recoiled at Ed’s sudden appearance, but it was too late as the dagger buried itself to the hilt in the cat’s neck with a massive force, and Ed actually felt the dagger slip into the cat’s spine, where he had been aiming. The cat collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, eyes rolled back.

Ed let out a sigh as his eyes faded and the red mist about him dissipated.

He wrenched out the dagger and noticed that it had finally produced a Blood Crystal, a first since he’d gotten one from slaying the Hob Shaman. It had been nearly a month since the last, but that had been because he had been making sure to kill only the beasts with an alignment for the Traits he was aiming for. The Shadow Cat had been a perfect final addition to the Blood Crystal.

Blood Crystal (1 Shadow Cat, 19 Large Cats, 24 Large Rats)

A crystallization of blood essence of multiple beings. (Similar Body and Mind affinities)

Fair chance of gaining Trait upon consumption

Yes!

He would consume it after Wutang had purified it this evening, which hopefully wouldn’t take too long. The Blood Crystal was relatively pure, but didn’t have the blood essence of anything as strong as the Hob Shaman. If he was lucky, he'd be able to speak a lot more confidently about the plan the next time anyone asked.

Ed was walking back to the camp, on guard but satisfied smile plastered on his face when a blue box popped up in front of his face unbidden.

Quest Complete!

Fifty humans truly consider themselves a part of a community. Strength in Unity!

Village Designation Awarded.

Spirit Tower Constructed.

15 Spirit Crystals Each Villager.

Ed practically ran back to the village to see everyone crowded around a large, crystalline tower about 10 feet high. Not much of a tower, but at least it wouldn’t be visible from afar. Strange markings inscribed its surface, letters of a language that Ed was positive nobody knew. Derek had said as much.

Noel and Ranga were maintaining the order, neither old or new villager willing to cross the terse girl with the only metal weapon in the camp or the gigantic Samoan man. Harundal hung back at the crowd, looking curiously at the tower.

Ed thanked them with a gaze of his eyes and walked forward. They had waited for him, and so it seemed he would have the honor of being the first to investigate this new structure.

Taking a deep breath to calm the roiling excitement in his belly, he reached out and pressed his hand against the smooth crystal.