Chapter 160: The place where the Forest of Doppelgangers appeared
The group did not leave the rented rooms until the «Reset» itself.
The world outside the first city of Actacus, which was protected by a barrier, was completely shrouded in darkness. Outside the city, the world began to change, and with it, the locations of all nine Forbidden Zones and three Temples changed.
Idan and Arabel prayed for a Temple to appear in the Forest of Doppelgangers. They didn't want to spend another week in this world for nothing. They both understood that with every day they lived here in their world, several days could pass at once, and the longer they waited, the more time would pass in their world.
They now knew that it had been more than one year since they left, but less than two years since the new seal restricting their System had not been lifted. Which meant that the third disaster hadn't arrived yet.
"Let's hope we get lucky!" exclaimed Idan Arabel.
"I hope we haven't exhausted our luck on the potion that the Hero drank," Arabel said with some irony, turning to Idan. When he heard her words, he also expressed hope for this.
Finally, the «Reset» has ended, and a new iteration has begun. The barrier protecting the first city of Actacus disappeared, marking the beginning of a new week.
The Group has not yet been in a hurry to take any action.
It would take some time before the Guild could establish the exact location of all nine Forbidden Zones, as well as determine which four of them would appear in the nearby regions of the first city.
"Esma!" called Idan to the Water Valkyrie, who was idling at that moment.
Esma, knowing what Idan wanted from her, quickly left the room without another word.
***
There were even more people gathered in the great hall of the Guild than there were before the "Reset". Everyone present already knew the reasons why so many beings were gathered here, and no one tried to ask others about it. Everyone was quietly waiting for a certain group of beings to appear.
But no matter how long they waited after the "Reset", none of the expected group showed up. Among those waiting, the young Dragon was beginning to lose his patience, as were his subordinates who surrounded him.
He had come from the second city himself to meet a couple of beings from another world, but this couple dared to keep him waiting. Him, the leader of the outsiders from the second city!
From time to time, the Dragon looked around, trying to find or see the local outsider leader, but since he appeared, he hadn't even heard of his appearance.
The Dragon was aware that the Hero had encountered a group of people he was looking for. However, there has been no other news since the incident the day before yesterday. However, the Dragon was already beginning to worry about the Hero's absence.
As time passed, fresh information about the Forbidden Zones soon began to spread.
Everyone has learned the name of the four Forbidden Zones that have appeared in the regions adjacent to the first city. Unfortunately for the group, there were no Forest of Doppelgangers among them.
At this time, the door leading to the rented rooms opened and closed several times, releasing other beings who also rented rooms in this Guild branch.
Among them was Esma, whom many recognized, but for some reason did not begin to belong to the group. Like the young Dragon, he was very surprised to see the owner of the ill-fated shop here.
The dragon began to suspect that she had come here with the same intentions as him—to meet a couple from another world. But with what motives, the Dragon did not dare to guess.
He was well aware that this small-looking girl's mindset was a bit strange and even perverted.
"Oh! Who is that here?" — this voice made the Dragon's skin crawl.
The evil shopkeeper finally paid attention to him.
"Pretty face! What are you doing here? Did you probably confuse your nest when you went out for a walk?" Esma asked playfully. There was no fear in her voice, no respect for the Dragon.
Esma did not show proper respect to the Dragon, as she knew that he was addicted to the potion she was making and selling. He had already become addicted to her creation, and Esma could easily manipulate the Dragon using it. However, as a diligent salesperson, she did not seek to abuse her advantage over her beloved customers.
Many people heard Esma's words addressed to the powerful outsider leader of the second city and couldn't help but pay attention to it. Under the gazes of others, the young Dragon, feeling uncomfortable, mentally scolded the shopkeeper, but did not betray his concern, keeping calm on his face.
Esma, seeing his unflappable gaze, just grinned. She understood that the Dragon must have already cursed her with all the dragon curses he knew, but she decided not to continue mocking him.
Esma understood why the Dragon had appeared so suddenly. Like her, he was attracted to Arabelle and Idan. However, unlike herself, Esma did not know what exactly attracted the Dragon to these two.
Leaving the Dragon alone, Esma focused on what she had come for and quickly gathered information. She exhaled in disappointment when she learned that the Forest of the Doppelganger was not among the four Forbidden Zones that appeared next to Actacus. But after a while, she heard a rumor that a Forest of Doppelgangers had appeared near the second city of Ikkus.
This news immediately caught Esma's attention. She spent some more time to verify the truth of the rumors. And only after she was convinced of their authenticity did she return to the room to share important information with the group. She also talked about the appearance of many beings, including a young dragon, the leader of the outsiders from the second city, next to which a Forest of Doppelgangers appeared this time.
It remained unclear whether this Dragon would become an enemy or an ally for the couple.
What do you think?
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