The Dark Archmage lightly cut a gash in his arm with his dagger, then tore a vine from the activated bandage, rubbed it a couple of times, and applied it to the wound.
In less than two breaths, the wound had vanished without a trace, and the activated vines had merged with the skin, leaving no other problems except for a slight greenish tinge at the wound site.
The chieftain and the shaman were both slightly shocked by what they saw. After a moment's hesitation, the chieftain asked:
"You are... a member of the Tree Worship Church?"
"That's right."
[ The Dark Archmage ] nodded with a certain confidence, having experienced firsthand the feeling of having a powerful sect backing you up in a fantasy novel.
However, upon hearing her answer, the chieftain's expression was not so happy. He turned to the shaman and said:
"Let's go in a different direction."
The young shaman nodded upon hearing this, took out a tattered map and began to study it, even discussing the specific location of the next stop with the clan chief.
The Dark Archmage was utterly astonished by this scene.
No, is the Tree Worship Church really that unpopular?
The Dark Archmage had considered the possibility that the other party might show hostility, friendliness, or even bow down in worship, but he never expected the scenario of the other party turning around and leaving.
Has the reputation of the Tree Worship Church really reached such a level that it's utterly discredited?
Players suddenly felt that the feeling of being backed by a sect and showing off was gone, replaced by a sense of devastation, like "cultivating in the mountains for thirty years, only to find out that the sect was actually a heretical sect."
However, since he wasn't afraid of death anyway, and he wanted to gather as much intelligence as possible, the [ Dark Archmage ] confidently asked the clan leader:
"What does this mean? What did the Tree Worship Church do to you?"
The clan chief gave him a knowing look and said:
"You know perfectly well what I'm asking. As a priest of the Tree Worship Church Tree Worship Church, how could you not know their attitude towards people like us?"
"I'm a new priest, I really don't know."
The Dark Archmage spoke half-truthfully.
The clan chief looked at her face, seemingly estimating her age:
"We asked those priests before, and they said that unless we plant trees on our bodies, we can't become one of them."
"This..."
"We only came here to seek refuge because of the Blood Corpse Tide. We will return to the wilderness as soon as the Corpse Tide ends. We hope your bishop will agree."
Now the [ Dark Archmage ] understood; it turned out to be all those messy things from before.
She had heard about the seclusion of the Tree Worship Church before, but she never expected to witness such compelling evidence today, only...
It is the Holy City's own religion that is closing itself off from the world; what does that have to do with our Second Holy See?
Completely unaware that their shamelessness had led them to easily master the "Sect Dialectics" --
I might be considered Tree Worship Church, but it's unlikely I am a member of the Tree Worship Church.
After a brief internal struggle, the [ Dark Archmage ] finally managed to briefly synchronize the Second Holy See's settings with the two people before him. The shaman, after a moment's thought, asked:
"So you mean the Second Holy See doesn't care about the power structure we belong to, and we're open to talks as long as we don't have bad intentions?"
[ The Dark Archmage ] actually wanted to say that even if they had bad intentions, Ed might just send them to other towns to cause trouble, but he nodded in agreement with the shaman's statement.
"That's right. In our settlement, not only are power systems irrelevant, but even race is completely unimportant. The lord has said that as long as it's conducive to restoring order, the Second Holy See can tolerate everything."
A look of joy appeared on the shaman's face as she looked at the [ Dark Archmage ]:
"May I speak with your chief? These nomadic herders of the wilderness are utterly defenseless against the Blood Corpse. I hope your chief will accept them so that I can continue to fulfill my mission."
Remembering that the research team had once brought back two special NPCs from the Graycast Corridor and the Eternal Domain, the [ Dark Archmage ] suddenly felt that good fortune had come his way.
But she still caught a clue in the other person's words:
"Aren't you a shaman? What mission do you need to abandon the tribe for?"
The young shaman shook his head:
"I am merely a temporary shaman, only obligated to escort this tribe to safety. As for my other mission... please allow me to keep it a secret."
As the [ Dark Archmage ] nodded slightly, a random quest window popped up in front of him:
Random Quest - Migrating Tribe
Mission objective: Bring any tribal chief to the castle. Guide Ed is very interested in any possible friendly faction.
Quest Rewards: 5 Silver Coins (Distance is long),??? Trust Level +10
"What a [???]!" the Dark Archmage thought to himself, criticizing the game system's meticulousness.
"Alright, our... leader is quite friendly to guests, but I need to report to him first. By the way, what's your name?"
" Willow, Willow Seretima."
"Yes, Ms. Willow, so will you or the clan leader come with me?"
The shaman and the chieftain spoke for a while and then said:
"I'll go with you."
After saying that, she disappeared into the jungle towards the castle, led by the [ Dark Archmage ]. Meanwhile, the nomadic tribe behind them began to set up a simple camp under the command of their chieftain.
In the jungle, the [ Dark Archmage ] walked ahead, occasionally using his knife to cleave branches blocking his path.
I've heard that some plants can already show friendliness to players with high Plant Compatibility, but unfortunately I haven't reached that level yet, and my favorite special attribute isn't [ Plant Compatibility ].
Willow, walking behind, looked at the young woman leading the way and felt something was off about her.
It took her a long time to realize that it wasn't something strange about her appearance or clothing, but rather a kind of "disharmony" that she, as a lich, instinctively sensed in terms of Psionic Energy.
Finally, as the humans before her once again chopped down a branch, the lich used the sound of the chopping to cast a simple Detection Spell, detecting the humans before her just as she had detected those strange objects.
The Lich's Detection Spell isn't some kind of cheat skill that allows you to directly see the character's stats; it simply uses the subtle Psionic Energy emanating from creatures or items to determine their race and the nature of the items.
Carefully sensing the information brought back by the Psionic Energy, Willow discerned the concepts contained within it, much like a perfume connoisseur.
"Humans—a fusion of flesh and blood, plants, and soul, hmm... but each one is somewhat extraordinary."
Willow frowned slightly. Everything about the human in front of her was unusual. Not to mention the flesh and blood containing extraordinary vitality and the plant parts that were faintly connected to an unknown existence, even the soul seemed exceptionally pure to her senses.