Cedric managed to pull himself together and rushed outside, searching for a local medicinal plant. Luckily, he found one. He grounded it and fed it to her; she felt better, but they both realized she wasn't going to last much longer without proper treatment.
She whispered, her eyes gentler than ever. "Cedric, I have kept this away from you all this time." She coughed. "I am sorry for that. Open the box in that corner." Cedric protested, questioning what she meant, but she insisted.
Upon opening the small box hidden in the corner, he found a golden key. "What is this for?" he inquired.
"That is the key to all of our bloodline treasures and knowledge. Father said it holds our biggest family secret, along with our history. He said once we enter the vault, we will know exactly the reason behind his actions, which eventually led to his death," said Selina with a sad tone.
"So he really had a reason for doing all that," cried Cedric, clutching the key. He put it in a safer container and hid it in a better place. His sister told him that he didn't need to search for the vault and that she just thought he deserved to know about the key. "I need to know the truth," replied Cedric with a heavy voice.
His father, Rodric, had killed his own wife, their mother, when they were little kids. Before his tragic death, he spent his days sitting beside his wife's grave for months.
He grew weaker and lost most of his powers; his last actions were unfathomable. He passed a policy requiring every family of Valeric to have at least one Vower, then proceeded to start wars with neighboring kingdoms. He was unable to think straight, and so his enemies' schemes triumphed.
As Cedric was about to head out, the next day to the town market, he looked at Selara sleeping soundly which put a smile in his face, determine to protect her sister, he stepped outside.
He sold his loot and earned ten gold coins, which were enough to buy rations for two months. However, he needed a thousand gold coins to hire a good healer and buy the best medicines. Generally, it took five hundred gold coins, but since he was an outlawed, everything was twice as expensive for him.
The men of the town looked at him with spite. He was in better shape, so they were more weary about messing with him. They speculated that he must have begged or stolen the loot. Just then a group of Ciphers (rank 4), along with a Sentinel (rank 5), approached him. The man leading the group was the Sentinel Dorvik, a huge, sturdy man with a long beard.
It was the man who had hanged Rodric with his own hands. He looked at Cedric with amusement, like he was a plaything there for his entertainment. "Ohh, is it Cedric? You have grown so much since the last time I saw you," Dorvik said.
Blinking his eyes, he leaned his head forward, looking closer, and then he started laughing like a maniac all of a sudden. He turned to his subordinates. "Do you guys..(laughs)..still remember the look on his face when I hanged his old man, and..(laughs), and… shit dripped through the old man's leg?"
His men joined in and laughed along with him. Their laughter was louder than the morning chickens' cluck. "Cedric had the look of a dead fish when I saw him," added Dorvik, and the group broke into hysterics. Cedric's eyes burned with absolute hatred, but he contained himself because he knew any act of violence could lead to an irreversible situation. His sister was his priority right now.
Cedric left as the crowd mocked him. He swore to himself he would get back at them. He went hunting again, this time planning to catch a big game and sell its loot for a good payday to get his sister cured as soon as possible. Cedric walked up the hill of Mount Drouca; this time, he was able to kill savage beasts (rank 2) easily all alone, but their flesh was inedible and their loot worthless.
Descending the mountain from the other side, he reached the valley. Following it up, he arrived at the shelter, and sure enough, Alviz was there, skinning hides. Cedric requested him to hunt an Abyssal Beast (rank 7) together. Since Alviz was an Invoke (rank 6), he could technically slay an Abyssal Beast with support.
Alviz declined, claiming it was too dangerous for Cedric. He worried they might encounter a Tier Three Dread Beast (the highest tier among Dread Beasts, rank 7). From rank 6 onwards, there were three tiers within every rank for both Beasts and Voweds. Cedric snarled, "Fine, I will go alone."
Alviz calmly dismissed him, assuming he would get scared and turn back. Cedric left and climbed north toward the highest peak of the mountain. The wind there was harsh, but the view from the top was magnificent.
He could see the second-largest city of Valeric, Dalmora. Cedric thought to himself "If Only Selina was here right now. Just this one successful hunt will make everything alright," Cedric reassured himself.
He encountered two rank 3 Awakened Beasts and finally got the chance to use his new skill, Infernal Dance. His foot was covered in dark flames as he moved swiftly across the terrain.
The Emberwing Hawk Beasts charged at him mindlessly. He dodged and pierced through one of the beasts' hearts, killing it instantly, but the other charged with flames radiating from its body.
It managed to wound Cedric on his leg, but Cedric killed it with a swift blow. Now wounded, he tried to limp back to the shelter. To his delight, Alviz was climbing up. Cedric called out to him, but he was acting strangely. Alviz gestured for Cedric to be quiet and follow him.
They slowly descended the mountain. Alviz claimed he had seen a baby Dread Beast, an Ironclaw Behemoth (Tier 3), which meant its mother was around. Suddenly, they heard rustling in a bush, and there it was, the baby Behemoth. Cedric's jaw widened at its size. He thought to himself, If this were the baby, how big would the mother be?
The baby was not to be underestimated, it matched the power of a rank 5 beast, stronger than the hound. Alviz shouted, "Climb back up quickly! We need to go to a more even surface!"
They ran up quickly as the baby followed them.
And to no one's surprise, the mama Behemoth appeared from the dense forest, joining its baby in pursuit. Reaching the hilltop, Alviz released multiple arrows upon the mama Behemoth, but none could pierce through its thick skull.
The mama Behemoth charged with its two trunks pointing toward Alviz, its huge fists pounding on the ground as it advanced. Its fur was brown, and it was structured like a gorilla, with two huge horns attached to both sides of its skull. Its size was almost thirty-five feet.
As it charged, it made an uncanny human-like shout. Alviz barely managed to dodge the attack and pierced through its leg, but that only made it more enraged. It turned around and bolted toward him more furiously this time. Alviz jumped the other way and pierced through one of its eyes with his arrow. It shook its head violently, grazing Alviz.
But then something unexpected happened, its horns extended rapidly, and blood started dripping from them. Alviz was impaled midair, the horn going through his abdomen. If Cedric didn't free him quickly, he wouldn't survive.
However, Cedric was busy fighting the baby Behemoth. He managed to slash one of its horns, but his hands were full with this beast. All hope seemed to fade as Cedric tripped and fell on his back. The baby Behemoth charged and pierced through Cedric's feet.
He groaned in pain as he struck his sword down on its head continuously with his Infernal Surge, the image of his sister's pale face flooding through his brain, but it only wounded the creature. The beast extended its horn upward, tearing through Cedric's feet.
Cedric's scream tore through the mountain as the baby Behemoth charged at him once again. Its mother slammed Alviz onto the ground repeatedly, shattering his bones.