Azure Stone Viscount

"White Light. I'll call you White Light."

Par gave the no-longer-ordinary Standard One-Handed Sword a name with extreme perfunctoriness, then began testing it.

"..."

With the Status Panel, Parr easily determined the consumption of the skill carried by the White Light Sword.

Healing White Light: Can heal injuries. Consumes 1 point of Stamina every 10 seconds.

There was no time to test the healing effect for now, but judging from its earlier performance, it was quite effective at treating external wounds.

"This counts as a huge haul."

"Mm."

After gathering up the Slime Skin on the ground, the two, laden with gains, made their way back to the surface. The first thing they saw was the pitiful miners sleeping beside the fire, every one of them snoring loud enough to shake the heavens. These past few days had exhausted them terribly. If the adventure party members had not been unwilling to work them to death and delay the excavation, allowing them to take turns resting for a while each day, some of them would have died from exhaustion long ago.

Now that they were safe, fatigue washed over the miners after they had eaten their fill. One by one, they simply lay down on the ground near the fire and fell asleep.

"..."

John and Parr carried the surviving Overseer Adventurer past the miners and into the wooden cabin. Upon seeing the young man inside still rolling his eyes, they remembered that there was another unlucky fellow here.

"He's fine. He just overexerted himself. He might wake up in a while." John briefly examined the young man and came to that conclusion.

The two then stopped paying attention to the young man and turned their eyes to the Overseer Adventurer.

"Uncle John, aren't we running away? Why did we capture him?"

With the White Light Sword on his back and the Black Short Sword in his hand, Parr eyed the Overseer Adventurer eagerly.

"To question him."

John drew the Dark Knight One-Handed Sword and walked over to the Overseer Adventurer. After waking him up, he began interrogating him.

"Tell me..."

John had a question. Viscountess Mary clearly already held power over the Azure Stone Viscount Territory, so why had she sent her friend and a group of adventurers to excavate the Ruins? Wouldn't it have been more convenient for her to bring the Patrol Team herself? No one would have dared interfere, either.

"I don't know. I really don't know..."

However, John's interrogation failed. The Overseer Adventurer knew nothing when asked, genuinely nothing. The Fat Woman mage had not told them the reason. They did not even know that she was a member of the Tian Xing Society.

"You know nothing. What use are you?"

Bang! Enraged, John kicked the bloodied Overseer Adventurer flying, then began packing up to leave. Everything was unknown, and they had gained enough this time. He was unwilling to take any more risks.

"Little one, we can't stay here. Let's get out of here..."

"Cough, cough."

Just then, a somewhat weak voice sounded from inside the cabin.

"I think I can answer your question."

"Hm?"

John and Parr turned around to see that the young man had regained consciousness and was struggling to put on his clothes.

"..."

The room immediately fell silent. Neither John nor Parr spoke. They simply watched as the young man put on his clothes, then stood upright on trembling legs and bowed to John.

"Adventurer, thank you for saving my life."

"Huh?"

John let out a soft sound of surprise. From the young man's expression, movements, and manner of speech, he noticed something. He asked tentatively, "You're a noble?"

"Mm."

The young man straightened up again. Though his legs still trembled and his face was pale, a special bearing radiated from him. He slightly raised his chin and declared proudly, "I am the current viscount of the Azure Stone Viscount Territory. My name is Eric Azure Stone."

Parr and John: "..."

What? This young man was the current viscount of the Azure Stone Viscount Territory? How was that possible? The Old Azure Stone Viscount was not dead yet...

"Wait."

A flash of insight struck John, connecting all the pieces together. He hurriedly asked, "If you are the current viscount of the Azure Stone Viscount Territory, then the Old Azure Stone Viscount..."

"My father died half a month ago."

A trace of sorrow appeared in the young man's eyes at just the right moment. Yet Parr, whom he had been ignoring all along without even sparing a proper glance, felt that the young man was pretending. He did not care about whether his father lived or died. What he cared about was...

The young man, Eric Azure Stone, told John what had happened.

A month and a half ago, Eric had still been training at the Western Fortress Cluster when he received a letter from his father.

The Old Azure Stone Viscount wrote that his health was worsening by the day and that his end was likely near. Thus, he wanted Eric to hurry back and inherit the Azure Stone Viscount Territory.

As it happened, Eric had already reached the Peak Knight Apprentice level. He simply left the Western Fortress Cluster and set out for home, intending to break through to Bronze-level when he returned.

Nobles with the means would prepare Magic Crystals and breakthrough Magic Potions in advance for their children's Bronze-level breakthrough, allowing them to break through directly once they reached Peak Knight Apprentice.

After a month of bumpy travel, Eric arrived at Azure Stone City at night. Outside the city, he encountered George, the captain of the Patrol Team.

George seemed to have been waiting specifically for Eric. He respectfully welcomed him into Azure Stone City and led him into Azure Stone Fortress. The streets were somewhat quiet. The City Guards who usually patrolled the streets at night were nowhere to be seen, but the exhausted Eric did not think much of it.

After entering Azure Stone Fortress...

"After entering Azure Stone Fortress, I saw my father, who had been tortured by illness until he was barely clinging to life. Just as he was arranging his final affairs, my stepmother—that vicious woman—burst in. George followed right behind her. They actually wanted to..."

Eric gritted his teeth. After taking several deep breaths to calm his emotions, he said hatefully:

"They wanted to secretly seize everything in the Azure Stone Viscount Territory. They wanted to imprison me. The situation was extremely dangerous. My father used the last of his strength to hold them back and let me escape through the Secret Passage in Azure Stone Fortress..."

What happened next was a chain of unfortunate coincidences. Misfortune never came alone. After escaping the city, Eric did not dare take the main roads or approach anyone from the Patrol Team. He went straight into the Deep Forest, intending to take a detour and notify the Knights in the Azure Stone Viscount Territory who were loyal to the Old Azure Stone Viscount, then use their strength to reclaim everything that belonged to him.

However, the weather happened to be overcast those days. Even John, an old adventurer, had gotten lost without a Compass to guide him, let alone Eric. This unfortunate young man lost his way in the Deep Forest.

And after getting lost, he ended up here. When he spotted this Mine in wild delight and came over to ask for directions, he was caught. The adventure party excavating the Ruins here happened to be short-handed. How could they refuse a strong laborer who delivered himself to their doorstep?

Eric had originally planned to tempt these adventurers with benefits. But when he saw that the Fat Woman was a purple-haired mage, he immediately thought of his stepmother. Like a frightened bird, he abandoned that idea and obediently became a miner, intending to find another opportunity to escape.

But the adventure party valued this place too highly. Someone was guarding the Mine Pit at all times, and Eric could not escape at all. It was during this time that the Patrol Team Leader, who had accepted Kunna's request, came over to deliver himself to death.

"That's what happened. That woman was probably afraid that I would suddenly return and seize power while she was away from Azure Stone City, so she did not come here personally."

After finishing his account, Eric bowed to John again and pleaded earnestly, "Adventurer, I hope you can help me reclaim everything that belongs to me."

"..."

John did not answer immediately. Instead, he rubbed his chin in thought before walking outside.

"Viscount Eric, please allow me to think it over."

"Of course."

"Uncle John, I always feel like he's lying."

Parr followed him out. He had heard many holes in Eric's story: first, the vague timeline; then Eric insisting on entering the Deep Forest to avoid the Patrol Team; then after being captured and forced to dig, he did not dare act simply because the Fat Woman had purple hair; and then the Patrol Team Leader, whose brain must have been kicked by a deer to come here and get himself killed...

"Mm, that's true."

John patted Parr's little head and gave him an approving look.

"You're right, little one. He is lying, but only partly. Most nobles are like that. They won't tell you everything, so when we deal with nobles, we only need to listen to their general purpose. Don't worry about the details."

"So? Are we going to help him?"

"Let me think..."

John frowned in deep thought. If he helped Eric, he would certainly gain many benefits, but he did not want to get involved in the messy nonsense between nobles.

"Looks like this is the only way."

In the end, John decided to help Eric, but not all the way.

"Viscount Eric, I've made up my mind. Once dawn breaks, I will escort you to the nearest Knight territory, and then I will leave. My apprentice and I still need to continue our journey. We must reach Fluorescent City before the Month of Bitter Winter arrives."

Returning to the wooden cabin, John gave this reason. He would not help Eric reclaim everything, but he could protect Eric until he contacted the Knights of the Azure Stone Viscount Territory.

"Is that so?"

Eric calculated the current date in his head, then asked, "Are you heading to the Western Fortress Cluster?"

"Mm."

John nodded without saying more.

"..."

Eric narrowed his eyes and examined John and Parr. Then a smile appeared on his face. "In that case, I shouldn't delay your journey. We'll do as you say!"

Upon hearing this, a greedy expression immediately appeared on John's face. He rubbed his hands together as if nervous and asked tentatively, "Since Viscount Eric agrees, shouldn't we discuss the payment for this?"

Adventurers really are all equally greedy.

Eric looked at John with some contempt. Parr remained beneath his notice, but he did not voice his thoughts. Instead, he smiled and discussed the payment with John. He was quite generous; even though John's asking price was somewhat high, he agreed to it.

"Hypocrite!"

Parr, who had been ignored the entire time, curled his lip and ran outside to practice with the White Light Sword. The sword was a little too long for him at the moment, so he needed some practice before he could put it to use—put it to use cutting down cultists.

Cluck, cluck, cluck...

At dawn, a Wild Vegetable Chicken in the Deep Forest hopped onto a branch, stretched out its neck, and began to crow. Parr, who had been curled up in the corner of the wooden cabin sleeping while hugging his sword, instantly opened his eyes, fully refreshed.

"..."

"No time to waste! Let's go!"

After packing up, Parr set off behind John with an even larger and heavier bundle on his back.

John also carried a bundle. Their haul this time had been considerable!

Viscount Eric walked beside John, while the pitiful miners followed closely behind the three of them. They did not want to stay here for another moment.

As for the surviving Overseer Adventurer? The useless man had already been dealt with. Before he died, Parr had secretly finished him off, gaining 100 Life Energy Points and 10 Mental Energy Points.

Half an hour later, the group smoothly emerged from the Deep Forest, only to run straight into the Patrol Team—George's Patrol Team.

The author is terrible at naming things. You can tell from the book title.