The Lone Wanderer Chapter 672 – Chance encounter

Percy doubted that Zurvanai’s senses were half as sharp as his, but he wasn’t exactly flying over the forest in a subtle manner, so the short woman didn’t take long to notice him.

She was carrying a basket full of leaves. While Percy didn’t bother to count them, he could tell that she had collected more than his host, aning that she was either already done acquiring the Decree, or about to get there.

‘Good for her. It would be a pity for her to miss her next match. Unlike us, she actually stands a decent chance of earning her second core this year.’

Percy could have left her be, since he and the ti mage didn’t exactly have much to talk about. They had barely interacted since the start of the tournant, and Zurvanai just didn’t seem like an overly social person. However, Percy decided to approach her, to ensure that she understood the dangers associated with the prize she had selected.

“Hey! You do know that acquiring multiple ntal-type Decrees can fry your brain, right?” he asked upon reaching her, conveniently leaving out the fact that he was trying to do the very thing he was warning her about.

“I’m not an idiot,” Zurvanai replied, rolling her eyes. “Our ntal-type Decree can be discarded. I already got rid of it before coming here.”

Percy couldn’t help but frown. He had suspected sothing of the sort, but he was surprised that she had chosen to replace one of her existing Decrees instead of acquiring a new one. Unlike him, she could probably obtain all of the tournant’s free-type Decrees, and she clearly hadn’t participated in the competition too many tis in the past, so there should be plenty of more urgent prizes for her to pick.

‘Maybe her pride got wounded after losing in both events, and she decided to prioritize addressing her shortcomings,’ Micky speculated.

‘Could be,’ Percy replied with a ntal shrug, though he wasn’t going to pry in the Denyte’s matters.

Having confird that his fellow contestant wasn’t in any danger, he was about to leave. He still needed to collect over a hundred leaves to upgrade his Status.

“You won’t make it in ti,” Zurvanai said. There was no mockery, pity, or any other emotion in her voice – just a statent of fact. However, it soon beca clear that she wasn’t entirely heartless. “Here. You can have mine. I’ve already obtained the Decree a few minutes ago.”

She tossed the basket up in the air, letting the leaves scatter in the wind.

“Will second-hand leaves even work?” Percy asked, aiming the question at the Maradorian attendants.

Nawko shrugged. “My briefing only ntioned the part about the leaves having to fall off the trees naturally. There was no information about sharing.”

“I’ve accompanied contestants to this planet a couple of tis before, so I’m a little more familiar with the rules,” the other Maradorian – a man with indigo-coloured skin and a Blue core – said. “It should be fine.”

“If sharing leaves is allowed, why doesn’t the alliance just store so in a warehouse for participants to borrow when they co here?” Nawko asked.

“They rot away pretty quickly, and trying to magically preserve them sses with the process of acquiring the Decree. There’s probably a way around it, but nobody thought that it was worth the hassle,” her kinsman patiently explained.

Percy nodded, using his willpower to gather up about half of the scattered leaves. He wasn’t sure how many he had collected exactly, but there should be more than enough to complete the requirent. If it didn’t work, he would just destroy them so that he didn’t find them again by accident later, and resu the search from where he’d left off.

The mont the stack of leaves landed in his host’s arms, the sun seed to grow brighter. It also shifted colours from its original golden hue to a pale white with a faint hint of purple. This had to be so kind of local illusion, since Percy couldn’t see the Decree affecting the whole star on a whim.

Either way, the corners of his host’s lips curled up as a thick column of light enveloped them, the sun’s rays warm but gentle.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

‘It looks a bit like Falanor’s mana,’ Micky pointed out.

‘I think you’re right,’ Percy agreed. ‘It’s almost exactly the sa, minus a slight red hue. Any god in the Elental Acquisition stage can theoretically master both the light affinity and its associated concepts, which includes the one related to cleansing infestations. I suppose that this augnted form of light mana is what Ningirima fused with her mind mana to cast this Decree.’

A few seconds later, the beam died down and the sun returned to its previous colour, at least from Percy’s perspective. Much like the previous tis he had obtained a new ntal-type Decree, an inert seed took root in a corner of his mind, feeling like a second Status that he could open at will.

[Congratulations! You have acquired a new Decree: Ningirima’s Decree!]

‘Okay. Our domain and senses haven’t been affected yet,’ Micky noted. ‘We should be able to hold the Decree like this until after the match.’

It would still be a good idea to activate the seed before returning to Remior, since this was what Percy had done on Atlantis and Gallimus. He didn’t know whether that was a necessary step for the assimilation, or whether he would be able to carry the seed back in its current state and only fuse it into his Status after reuniting with his main body, but he saw no reason to ss with a tried and proven process.

‘I got it too,’ Kassorith confird.

‘Great. That ans we won’t have to start over,’ Percy replied with a ntal sigh.

He had been open to the possibility, but he hadn’t expected the spectacle, since the last two Decrees he had acquired from the Void Hand hadn’t produced any obvious phenona.

Percy wasn’t sure what exactly Nawko and the other bystanders had witnessed, but he now understood that he would have struggled to convince his guide that the acquisition had failed and that they would have needed to spend another three days in the forest.

“Thank you,” he told Zurvanai. “I’ll make it to my next match because of you.”

“Don’t ntion it. I had no further use for the leaves anyway,” the Denyte said, gesturing that it wasn’t a big deal. “It’s an interesting Decree, isn’t it? I hope that I won’t be as useless the next ti I co across a demonic infestation.”

“Useless? That’s not the word I would choose.” Percy smiled. “Sure, you didn’t win, but didn’t you rank third in that event?”

“You know what I an,” she replied with a scoff. “I was only able to do well due to sheer killing speed and the fact that I could purge the negative thoughts a little faster through my affinity. No matter how you slice it, I was ill-equipped for that type of contest. That’s why I plan to start practicing runecrafting as well.”

Percy’s smile widened. “You’re being too hard on yourself. We each have our own advantages – you, more than most people.”

Zurvanai shook her head. “You’re not wrong, but fighting against the corruption is an important skill for everyone to hone. I’m glad that I identified this weakness in a controlled environnt rather than out there, on a genuinely hostile planet. No excuses would have saved then.”

Percy considered offering her so polite words of consolation but ultimately decided against it. He didn’t really disagree with the Denyte’s assessnt, as he also thought along the sa lines. If she wanted to channel her defeat positively, he wasn’t going to dissuade her.

“I look forward to that,” he said. “Maybe we’ll even get the chance to work together one day.”

The short woman sighed. “I wish more people felt that way. This is what we should all be striving towards instead of killing each other.”

Percy frowned, not quite sure where that had co from. Zurvanai wasn’t wrong, but he didn’t want to discuss Void Hand politics with a stranger, and a mber of a founding faction to boot.

“I know that the alliance isn’t without its issues, but the tournant is proof that we can cooperate peacefully in so areas, isn’t it?” he asked in an attempt to steer the conversation away from the topic.

Zurvanai creased her brow. “I’m not just talking about the Void Hand. If only we could co to an understanding with the Moirai and the divine beasts, we would be able to reach much greater heights. I just feel that presenting a joint front against the Cardinal Devils makes more sense than squabbling over who gets to keep which Elental Source.”

The Denyte’s words rattled Percy to his core, causing him to see her in a new light. He sure hadn’t expected to hear such talk from anyone in the alliance – not after what Kassorith had told him about the people of Zath’maan.

The ti mage appeared to mistake his silence for sothing else, however, as a hint of red quickly rose to her cheeks. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have spouted such nonsense! The Moirai and Sixiang are our hated enemies and thinking of them as anything else is treason.”

Percy stared at her deeply for several seconds before speaking. “Did you an what you said? If you were in charge of the alliance, would you do things differently?”

Zurvanai clenched her fists until they paled, probably realizing that it was too late to take her words back. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not in charge,” she muttered, her voice growing quieter. “Not yet, at least.”

Percy nodded as the woman turned around to leave, her attendant following right behind her. He stared at the ground for a minute or two, replaying the brief conversation in his mind over and over again. He knew that Zurvanai had ant everything she’d said. She had no reason to lie to him, and he hadn’t missed the sincerity in her soul.

‘Maybe it’ll be okay if it’s her…’

He glanced up, realizing that the woman had already left his line of sight. He could still see her clearly through his Sage’s Pond, and he knew that she was well within earshot.

“Wait!” he shouted. Zurvanai didn’t reply, but she must’ve heard him, because she halted her steps. “Let’s et up after your next match! I have a proposal for you!” he continued.

The Denyte resud walking, but only after nodding faintly.