The cart shook because of the unpaved way as it traveled toward his village. But, as the pain disappeared from Regal's limbs, the same couldn't be said about his fear.
"My Lord, it won't attack us, right?" Regal asked the man standing opposite of him as he pointed at the shadow pulling the cart.
"Attack?" the man opened his eyes with confusion and looked at the shadow. "There's no way that it does. I'm its master."
"Master of shadows…" Regal muttered as his fear grew larger.
If this wounded man was a god, then Regal was sure he was an evil one. After all, who can create creatures out of shadows but those gods? However, Regal didn't even harbor the thought of disrespecting him, as he still had a family to feed.
"I'm sorry for using your cart," the man apologized as if he sensed his fear. "My current state doesn't allow me to travel on my own, and I never thought that I needed a cart to travel."
Regal looked again at the man and found him to be young, exceptionally so. The merchant himself was of thirty years, but this man looked to be barely in his twenties, if not less. Yet, the aura he gave was ancient, so Regal was sure that this was a god.
"Great god, I have nothing but this cart and the food that you took away," Regal hurried to kowtow in the middle of the cart. He saw how the man waved his hand to clear the cart, and he didn't dare utter a word at that time. "You can take my cart as an offering, but the food is…"
The cart is replaceable, but his village needed the food to survive. As he begged for the food to be returned, he could feel the wounded man stare at him silently.
"Halt," the man commanded, and the shadow stopped pulling the cart. Then, as Regal began shaking, thinking to himself that death is here, the man suddenly stood up. "Raise your head."
Regal did as he was ordered and raised his head to see the man looking at him. However, instead of his imminent demise, the angry god waved his hand. Then, countless dishes appeared, and numerous slabs of well-preserved and fresh meat fell in the cart.
The food stacked around him as if he was suddenly in heaven. The fragrance of some of these dishes made him drool, and he turned to look at the man with confusion.
"I am no god," the man said tiredly. "I just need to investigate a few things, and I have no intention of stealing your food. Rather, I'll give you all of this if you help me."
'This god is a humble one,' Regal realized that he has sinned. 'I have misjudged him as an evil one, but he is the god of benevolence.'
"I also didn't take your food but simply kept it away to have a place to sit," the man sat down as the shadow began pulling the cart again. "Now, allow me to rest."
***
His rune, Restore-II, allowed him to replenish his mana instantly. However, after one hour, he would be unable to use mana for 18 hours. It was a risky trade, and Arthur found himself at the same spot when he arrived in Alka.
He didn't lie to the man in front of him, who was gulping down some of the soup Arthur gave him. Arthur wanted to investigate what was happening in the Lo River.
After he defeated the five agile Mernars, another giant monster appeared. This time, it was stronger than and faster than both of them. Arthur had to fight for his life just to survive but somehow knew that this wasn't the strongest the river had to offer.
'Something is fishy,' Arthur realized as his hour reached its end. He wanted to find a nearby village to ask around, but he found this merchant crying over his cart.
Arthur wanted to help him and also find out about the strange occurrences. It was also a good chance for him to rest since he wasn't able to use mana.
The shadow was the last of his mana before he lost it. He could have teleported elsewhere, but he feared for this merchant's life. The sight of him crying over his cart was quite pitiful, so Arthur decided to help and use him.
The shadow pulled the cart until they could see the outline of the village. Shabbily built wooden houses made up the entirety of the village, and there was a village hall in the middle.
On the way, Arthur experimented with something else. He couldn't use mana at the moment, but he still had a spiritual arm left. Arthur found that he could, despite the process being harder when he tried to use it.
Before, Arthur could use his spiritual energy to move things, but it was a struggle now. As if the gears linking his mind and his spiritual energy were now gone, it took quite the effort for him to control it.
'Humans are an integrative being of many things,' Arthur thought to himself as people began taking notice of them. 'If one thing is lost, the system fails to work together.'
"My house is at the far end," the merchant beside him pointed to the distance, and the shadow kept pulling them. More and more people looked their way and at his shadow, which looked like a humanoid entity of darkness.
Arthur smiled as he imagined what these people would do if they saw Ruki. As he remembered her, he wondered when they would reunite but wasn't too worried about her. The Queen of Shadows seemed to be out there in this world, and it might be the reason that Ruki couldn't come here.
The same two souls in the same realm would be disastrous to the harmony, or it might have no effect. As such random thoughts filled his mind, the cart stopped at the house the merchant's house.
"You live here?" Arthur looked at the house with confusion. He knew that some people had it rough, but the fact that most of the ceiling and walls were gone made him angry. How could anyone live in this place?
"Yes, yes," the merchant bobbed his head. "I'm sorry for bringing you to such a place. I will look for…"
"What happens when it rains?" Arthur asked as he stood up and jumped out of the cart. The merchant followed after him, scrambling behind him.
"We have a room that doesn't have any holes, so we just wait for it to end."
"Aren't you a merchant?"
"I am," he kept his head low. "But because of the war, the prices of goods have risen. I had to suffer the loss because no one in the village could pay the new prices."
"You are suffering a loss every time?" Arthur turned to him with shock. As he looked at the simple man nodding, he wondered how selfless one could be.
"Otherwise, everyone else would starve," the man scratched his head. "These people are my family; I can't possibly profit from them."
"What's your name?" Arthur nodded and asked.
"Regal, My Lord."
"You are a good man," Arthur sighed as he waved his hand. The cart was filled with all sorts of grilled meat, vegetables, spongy bread, and pots of soup. "Distribute these among the village people."
"Thank you, Merciful One!"
Arthur paused at the new nickname. Emotional people seemed to be quite creative in choosing names, at least better than he was. Regal went on to show him a place to sit inside the house, and he got to meet with his family.
"Please, have your fill," Arthur brought out more dishes for the hungry family, and their eyes sparkled with life. Finally, he laid back in his chair to rest as the rest of them ate.
"Mister," one of the kids who had a missing tooth walked up to him, carrying a plate of soup. "You look hungry…"
Arthur opened his eyes with a smile. However, his smile disappeared when he saw that the kid had a wooden leg. The kid grew uneasy when Arthur looked at his leg, and it made Arthur apologetic.
"Thank you," he took the plate from the kid as he began to eat as well. Regal and his family were too busy eating to talk, so it was a quiet atmosphere.
"Alright, I'm full!" Regal stood up from his spot and hurried to go outside. "I'll be back after I distribute the food!"
"Wai…" Arthur wanted to call him back, but the man slammed the door shut. The rest of the family seemed to be busy eating, so they didn't notice that Arthur was suddenly left alone with them.
'Is this guy too trusting or simply an idiot?' Arthur sighed as he couldn't believe this man would leave his family with a stranger. 'Maybe he thought that if I wanted to harm them, I would have done so already.'
