Volume 8 Chapter 9

Volume 8, Chapter 9: "Valley of Death"

Valley of Death
Volume:	8
Chapter:	9
Chapter Chronology
← Previous	Volume 8 Chapter 8
Next →	Volume 9 Chapter 1

Short Summary

After being sent through the Teleport Circle to the Northern Continent, Weed, Seoyoon, and Alveron appear within the same Teleport Gate cave by the village of the Morata province that Weed liberated from the vampires of the True Blood Clan. Given the north's cold weather, Weed puts on his Yeti Leather Clothes, and tailors up some clothing for Seoyoon to wear. Weed then asks Alveron for information on the Valley of Death, which Alveron answers that it was once known as Sendeim Valley, and that it's connected to the long lost Niflheim Empire. Alveron also suggests that they go to Morata Village since the Elder there should know more about Sendeim Valley.

Shortly after, the three of them depart from the cave to head over to the village. Within said village, the Morata residents are happy to see Weed again given that he's their savior from the vampires. Weed and company make their way over to the elder's home where they help him cook a Sweet Potato meal for dinner. 

Over the dinner meal, Weed asks the elder about Sendeim Valley, which causes the latter to tell his tale of how he used to be an aristocrat for the glorious Niflheim Empire that once stood in the Northern Continent. The elder reveals to Weed and company that the reason the empire shattered, and became lost to history, was due to the rumored cowardish actions of their emperor, Eben Niflheim VI, where instead of fighting to protect his people from a sudden monster invasion, he ran away to Sendeim Valley while the monsters chased after him, and is believed to have died there after being caught by the monsters. As a result of the elder's story, Weed is offered an A-Rank Quest to find out the truth at Sendeim Valley about what happened to the emperor, which he accepts. He invites Seoyoon to start a party so that he can share the quest with her, which she uncharacteristically accepts since she feels that even though she barely knows Weed, she's convinced after having observed him in the Rotten Lich's Dungeon that he's the same Small Karichwi orc that she traveled with in Yunopu Canyon.

Departing the elder's home, Weed travels around Morata Village to gather up information on the Valley of Death from the residents. He learns many basic things, such as the valley being home to Ice Trolls, that it will take a month to get there on foot from Morata, that there's an evil power there led by some sort of boss-type monster, and that a flying monster around 300 meters long resides there. Weed also runs into Prina again, who offers Weed another A-Rank Quest to plant some seeds at the Valley of Death in order to grow some beautiful flower plants there amongst the evil so that the area would be repainted back to its original name as Sendeim Valley. Weed figures that rejecting the quest is the best option knowing how tough it will be to protect the plants from monsters while they're growing in the Valley of Death. However, Seoyoon ends up accepting the quest given that it's in her nature to take on any quest she comes across, which forces Weed to accept it as well.

Meanwhile, Lee Hye Yeon uses her newly purchased game capsule to enter Royal Road for the first time. She names her game avatar as Yurin, and spawns into Rhodium as her starting city knowing that her brother was just there. Given that she's unable to leave the starting area until the 4 week time limit is up, Yurin explores around Rhodium looking for a method to start making money, and trains at the city's Training Hall.

Characters

• Real Life
  • Lee Rien (Rehibilitation Center nurse)
  • Lee Hye Yeon
• Royal Road
  • Weed
  • Seoyoon
  • Alveron
  • Morata Elder
  • Seechwi (mentioned)
  • Prina
  • Tori (mentioned)
  • Yurin (Lee Hye Yeon's game avatar)

Quests

• Rank-A Quest: "Truth and Glory" (Weed accepts and shares with Seoyoon)
• Rank-A Quest: "Prina's Flower" (Seoyoon and Weed accept)

Items

• Yeti Leather Clothes
• Firewood
• Women's Leather Clothes (Tailored by Weed)
• Women's Thick Leather Clothes (Tailored by Weed, Given to Seoyoon)
• Sweet Potatoes
• Ice Troll Blood (mentioned)
• Prina's Burlap Bag of Seeds (Quest Item)
• Beginner Clothes

Stats and Skills

• Weed
  • Tailoring Intermediate Skill
  • Cooking Intermediate Skill
• Bard
  • Song of Healing

Trivia

1. Teleport Circles are revealed to also be connected to Teleport Gates.
2. The Teleport Circle used on Weed and Seoyoon cause them to appear at the same Teleport Gate cave in the Northern Continent that's near Morata Village. The place where Weed had to face off against the True Blood Vampire Clan.
3. Weed puts on his Yeti Leather Clothes again in order to deal with the cold weather of the Northern Continent.
4. In the past, Hyun was once called an "old man" when he worked as a milk delivery man.
5. It's revealed that Alveron also went through the Teleport Circle with Weed and Seoyoon.
6. Starting a campfire, Seoyoon is shown to be the only one struggling in the cold given that Alveron's robe can withstand the elements of the world. As a result, Weed tailors some Women's Leather Clothes for Seoyoon to wear.
7. The Women's Leather Clothes is a defense 25 item said to be made from the leather of a long-lived black boar. Wearing it requires level 250, and equipping the item adds +20 Agility, makes enemy arrows harder to hit, and increases the effects of a Dancer class user by 3%.
8. Seoyoon rejects the Women's Leather Clothes, which Weed takes as a sign that the clothing he made isn't good enough to help keep her warm. He makes a new thicker Women's Leather Clothes, which she accepts this time around. Seoyoon hides behind a nearby boulder to change clothes.
9. Weed asks Alveron about the Valley of Death, which the latter answers that the place is also known as Sendeim Valley. Weed next asks if it has anything to do with the undead he's been facing, which Alveron answers that it's unrelated, and instead revolves around the ancient Niflheim Empire. Alveron advises that they should get more information on Sendeim Valley from the elder in Morata Village.
10. Exiting the Teleport Gate cave, Weed could see Morata Castle, as well as residents of the village moving about.
11. Weed, Seoyoon, and Alveron, make their way to Morata Village. On the way to the elder's house, the residents greet their returned savior, Weed, since he freed them from the vampires. The village has remained safe thanks to the Freya Paladins and Priests that have been left behind to safeguard them.
12. At the elder's house, he offers if Weed and company would like to have dinner, which Weed agrees to. They eat cooked Sweet Potatoes. Weed thinks to himself that he wishes kimchi was also with the meal.
13. It's said that Alveron gained an appreciation for food after his experiences with Weed.
14. During the Sweet Potato meal, Weed asks the Morata elder about Sendeim Valley. The elder asks back if Weed knows about the past glory of the Niflheim Empire, which Weed answers that he doesn't.
15. In the past, Weed is said to have studied the histroy of the Versailles Continent, such as knowing the stories of the rise and fall of each kingdom, and their respective heroes. Knowing the backstories is said to be connected to possibly obtaining important quests.
16. The elder begins his story that the Niflheim Empire was still a thriving nation before Morata's villagers all became petrified by the True Blood vampires. The empire wasn't as cold as it is now, and the elder himself was one of the Niflheim border aristocrats.
17. Weed realizes that the province of Morata has important people connected to the history of the Northern Continent, and that it would become a huge quest hub if the north was explored in earnest.
18. The elder continues the story that the Niflheim Empire's capital was once faced with a sudden monster invasion, but instead of protecting the people, the emperor along with his guards are said to have turned coward, and abandoned everyone while the monsters chased after them. It's rumored that they were caught and captured by the monsters at Sendeim Valley, and is believed to be where the emperor died.
19. The elder ends the story that the emperor's supposed cowardish act caused the Niflheim Empire to shatter soon after while the nobles fought each other in a power struggle. However, given that this is all just rumors, the elder states that they need to find out the truth of what really happened back then that caused the emperor to do what he did.
20. After hearing the elder's tale, Weed is offered an A-Rank Quest to find out the true events that went down at Sendeim Valley (now known as the Valley of Death) that eventually led to the fall of the glorious Nifheim Empire. Completing the quest would reward Weed the treasure of the Niflheim Empire. Quest restrictions include needing to be a righteous person, and must be a person that can withstand the cold. He accepts the quest.
21. The quest reveals the name of Emperor Eben Niflheim VI, an outstanding knight and warrior who refused to retreat in battle, but was condemned for his cowardish actions against the monster invasion on the Niflheim Empire's capital.
22. In Weed's opinion, Seoyoon is someone that sports powerful skills, outrageous vitality, indefatigable stamina, and can pull off a lot of damage. 
23. As a specialty of her Berserker class, Seoyoon's mood shifts when she's in battle, and can continue fighting to defeat multiple monsters without the need to rest.
24. The Elder reveals to Weed that the reason the Sendeim Valley became known as the Valley of Death is because many expeditions went there seeking the truth, but never returned.
25. Seoyoon is said to be someone that likes to fight, but isn't greedy. And will only attack monsters if they attack her first, even if it's a rare monster that drops good loot.
26. Weed sticks out his hand to Seoyoon to join a party so that he can share the A-Rank Quest with her, which she surprisingly accepts. To Seoyoon, she remains puzzled that she decided to join a party with someone that she only met back at Instructor Docke Lancer's home, but admits that something about this situation with Weed feels familiar.
27. Seoyoon is said to be someone that's good at observing people, such as seeing their facial expressions, as well as their moods and temperaments. 
28. Having observed Weed in the Rotten Lich's Dungeon, Seoyoon had noticed how his actions are quite similiar to the Small Karichwi that travelled with her in Yunopu Gorge. As a result, she's convinced that Weed is the same Small Karichwi that was observing and protecting her in the past. Trusting her feelings and instinct is why she chose to party with Weed.
29. Weed departs the Elder's house to gather information and supplies from the residents around Morata Village. He learns that Ice Trolls make up the monsters living in the Valley of Death (Sendeim Valley), and also learns that from Morata Village, it will take at least a month to travel to the valley on foot given how vast the Niflheim Empire once was.
30. Continuing the information gathering, Weed learns that the Valley of Death has many trap hazards given that it's protecting some sort of treasure storehouse, and is home to some sort of enormous flying creature that's said to be 300 meters long. It's also learned that flora doesn't grow near the valley due to some sort of terrible power that spills out from it, and that there must be a boss creature there controlling all the valley monsters that has survived for the past hundreds of years.
31. Ice Trolls are said to have incredible life regeneration, and have the ability to use the extreme cold. However, Weed sees the positive side that  Ice Troll Blood would be great to gather from them since the blood has better effects than common herbs, and can be used to make potions.
32. Weed is someone who's not scared of facing off against strong monsters, but is scared if said monsters only end up dropping leather.
33. After gathering all the possible information he could find, Weed ends up running into Prina, the Morata resident that he saved from Vampire Lord Tori.
34. Prina mentions that the feeling of being petrified was a sad thing since the heart doesn't beat, blood doesn't flow, and it felt like being in a prison within your own body.
35. Some dungeons are said to have stale air and disgusting smells.
36. Prina asks if Weed has any interest in flowers. Despite not being that interested in them, Weed goes about being nice to Prinal, and explains how he loves the peaceful scene of butterflies and honeybees hovering around beautifully blossoming flowers, and that it feels great lying in a field of grass while taking in the fresh air.
37. Happy with Weed's answer, Prina asks for him to do her a favor knowing that he'll be going to the Valley of Death. Offering him some seeds, she asks for Weed to plant them there so that they can blossom into beautiful flowers of hope amongst the aura of evil and death that gathers there. Prina adds that if Weed is able to do so, it would make her new friend happy.
38. Weed is offered another A-Rank Quest from Prina to sow the seeds she provides, and nurtured up into plants, at the Valley of Death in order to repaint it back to being the Sendeim Valley. Doing so would allow Weed to be introduced to Prina's friend, and be allowed to gather up the plants that grow from the seeds. Quest requirements include needing to take care of the plants from monsters so that they can grow in the valley safely.
39. Weed thinks to himself that he should reject the quest since the amount of seeds in Prina's bag is such a high amount that not only would protecting the plants while they grow in the valley prove difficult, it would make for many tedious tasks. However, Seoyoon ends up grabbing the bag, and accepts the A-Rank Quest since taking on quests is something that she never shys away from. Even though it pains him knowing what the quest will be like, Weed is forced to accept the quest as well.
40. Starting up her Royal Road game capsule, Lee Hye Yeon names her game character "Yurin," which she believes to be a cute, youthful, and feminine name. She also believes it to be an abbreviation of Human Rights Violation.
41. Yurin aims to make a lot of money in Royal Road, work hard, raise her levels, gather up as many items as possible, and possibly meet up with her brother, Weed. She chooses Rhodium as her starting city, and spawns into said city's central square. Amongst the people are beggars, and low-level artisan class players looking for parties.
42. It's said that thousands of people were currently within the plaze of Rhodium. Many of which are third-year high school starter players that just finished their university entrance exams, who appear wide-eyed, and wear beginner clothes.
43. Yurin begins to search around Rhodium for a way to make money knowing that she can't leave the starter area for 4 weeks. She comes across jobs such as being a restaurant cook, reading books to children, and cleaning stores by catching flies for 5 hours for 20 copper. She also stops by Rhodium's Training Hall to up her starting stats by hitting a scarecrow.
44. It's said that Yurin hopes that she can become a pretty Omnipotent Mage. Such mages are known for large-scale area-of-effect magic that can instantly turn hundreds of monsters to dust. They're also known for using highly offensive spells; being able to call upon rain in dry lands, and destroy mountainsides.