CHAPTER 55: “LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT”

Morion flipped the pages a few times. With every page, his gaze became more and more confused until he finally closed the book with a sigh. The leather cover of the book stood silently.

“I’ll try and look around to see if there’s anything else.” Morion finally declared after a short moment. “There has to be something in the area or else it wouldn’t be here, the book might be just a decoy.”

Ai held their gaze for a bit before nodding. 

As Morion checked the other pathways they didn’t take, Ai stared at his back and wondered if those words were half intended as assurance. At the thought of that, Ai felt his chest warm up with a feeling he didn’t quite understand. Happiness for sure that someone took the time to care about his feelings, but also…maybe he was touched?

Earlier too Morion had been supportive of him even though his judgement was purely based on feeling instead of fact. It wasn’t just this one time either. Ever since they met, Morion had been friendly, warm and kind, three things that Ayn hadn’t received since…

No, no, no. Forget it, don’t even think about it. Don’t ever think about that person. Focus on something else, focus on something else, focus on something else…

Ai took a few deep breaths and approached the table, his nails digging into his palm even though he couldn’t feel it. He stared at the book and placed his hand on the cover. He could see his fingers shaking but he ignored it.

The book gave a low hum as he touched it. So there was something here? But why didn’t Morion sense it?

Carefully Ai opened the book and his eyes landed on the first page. He expected a blank page like Morion had said but instead he found himself staring at a passage written neatly in cursive.

“I’m still not seeing anything…” Morion muttered, staring at the first page of the book with Ai.

“But why can I?” Ai wondered, his eyes staring at the lines in the book but not really reading it.

“Maybe the passage you’re seeing will explain it.” Morion suggested. “But don’t let your guard down, the words might be a spell or it could trigger a trap once you’re done reading it.”

Ai took the advice and decided not to read the passage out loud, he needed to be extra careful.

To whoever comes across this journal, it means that you have stepped foot into this place with no name. 

It’s beautiful isn’t it?

This garden once belonged to an unknown god. They shaped this place from the ground up and made it a haven for those who seek guidance and help. 

The unknown god has long since departed yet this garden remains as a haven still and it wishes to help one last person.

I was once the caretaker of this land, assigned by the god before he left, but I feel that my life is coming to an end. With my passing, I wish for the garden to be of help to one more person before it too will come to an end.

I have cast a spell on this book so only the weak may read it. So to whoever can read this book, I shall grant the garden’s final blessing to you. 

Ai felt a small cold breeze waft to him. It felt refreshing, like drinking a cold glass of water in the middle of a hot day.

“What happened?” Morion came closer and stared at Ai with a worried look on his face.

“I think the reason you couldn’t read the book is because you’re higher level than me. There’s a line here that says ‘only the weak may read it’. I’m guessing that whoever comes here, only the player with the lower level can read it.”

Morion thought about it for a second. “That makes sense I guess, it wants to reward players but not necessarily make a strong player even stronger. There could be a level limit to it as well. If I came here with a higher leveled player than me, the book might not give to either of us.”

Ai checked his status in the [Thought System] and noticed the new buff that had been given to him.

[Garden’s Blessing] - Special buff. Lasts until the event ends.

The Garden of ??? has given you a blessing accordingly! 

All skill effects doubled! [Excludes damaging effects]

Accordingly…it probably meant that the buff would change according to a player’s class. Since Ai was a mediator, the buff boosted the effects of his skills and maybe the duration of some like the [Intervene] skill that could freeze enemies for a few seconds. If Morion had the buff, the effects would probably change to a more offensive boost like enhancing his damage or speed.

In any case, the buff was truly a blessing. It wouldn’t make him able to suddenly fight or become overpowered, the mediator class couldn’t do that in the first place, but it would make him a better support in battle and for that he was grateful.

Morion ruffled Ai’s head. “Come on, let’s go back. We still need to strategize on how we can win this thing.”

Ai agreed. He also still needed to properly think about LadyMaia’s offer. 

Truth be told, the offer had been floating around in the back of his mind the entire time. It wasn’t a bad offer, guilds weren’t inherently bad, but he couldn’t jump into something unknowingly. But then again, he also had some doubts about winning against Elain and her partner since the two of them seemed extremely strong so he wouldn’t deny the extra help.

And so, he was stuck. The upside and downside to the offer kept weighing on his mind. His thoughts continued to go back and forth between declining and accepting the offer. This was why he couldn’t be trusted with a big decision.

Honestly, he partly blamed LadyMaia for his indecision. The other mediator had given him the bare minimum information that really didn’t tell him anything, other than the fact that she was willing to help him win. She didn’t explain anything about her guild and how she was going to help him win.

Ai sighed tiredly. He really didn’t want to think about this. He rather thought about proper strategy with Morion.

“Morion,” Ai stopped in his tracks. He wasn’t going to come to a decision without more details. “Let’s find that other mediator again.”

Morion tilted his head. “Are you thinking about taking their offer?”

“I don’t know.” Ai said honestly. “I just want some more information. I can’t decide if we can defeat Elain or not. Not with my weak levels and skills, even with the extra boost. What do you think?”

Morion hummed a bit and gave it some thought. He had trusted Ai to be his partner for the event, but honestly Ai thought Morion made a mistake in choosing him. His levels were low, his skills didn’t really do much for them and he hadn’t contributed much. The one thing he did was solely to benefit himself and not the team. 

Ai hoped Morion didn’t sense the waves of insecurity that came over him. Morion had always been able to read Ai’s negative feelings easily. So easily that it scared Ai just a bit.

“How about this,” Morion finally said. “We should go to them and talk about this offer again. It’s true that they didn’t really give a lot of information.”

Ai gave Morion a grateful smile. “I’m sorry all we’re doing is going back and forth according to my whims. We can just forget about -”

Morion poked Ai’s forehead lightheartedly. “Come on, we have a mediator to track.”