After carving the materials from the Odogaron, Leon continued toward the depths of the Rotten Vale. Based on his previous experience, he had a rough idea of where Vaal Hazak would appear.
However, that eerie Elder Dragon wasn't Leon's goal; he was looking for the Village Chief of Schrade Village.
With his twin blades on his back, Leon stepped over crushed bones and decayed mud, slowly advancing into areas where the miasma grew increasingly dense.
No ordinary monsters could be seen along the way; even the highly resilient Odogaron no longer appeared here.
This was a true abyss of death, where all living things seemed to dissolve into dust within the effluvium.
Leon's vision was gradually obscured by a red mist, forcing him to rely on his map and intuition to move forward.
Finally, after crossing a bone bridge formed by a collapsed fossilized tree, he saw a cave half-hidden behind a crumbling wall.
A faint blue flame flickered at the entrance, and the miasma seemed to be dispelled by some force within the flame's reach.
Leon approached cautiously and spoke, "Is anyone in the cave? I'm Leon, from Astera."
A long silence followed.
A raspy voice drifted from inside, sounding close yet steady, carrying the weariness of many years. "Leon? You are the Red Star?"
As soon as the words were spoken, system text flashed before Leon's eyes.
[MAIN QUEST COMPLETED: FIND THE VILLAGE CHIEF]
[REWARD: ROCKSTEADY MANTLE, HEALTH BOOSTER, POWER TALON, ARMOR TALON]
These four items would be of immense help for hunting.
Donning the Rocksteady Mantle allowed a hunter to ignore damage reactions for a short time, granting effects like Tremor Resistance, Wind Pressure Negation, Earplugs, and damage reduction...
The Health Booster could be placed on the ground to rapidly heal wounds within a set duration.
Additionally, the Power Talon and Armor Talon were upgraded versions of the Powercharm and Armorcharm.
[QUEST UPDATED]
[MAIN QUEST: DEFEAT VAAL HAZAK]
Description: To stop the Schrade Village Chief's impractical actions, please hunt Vaal Hazak.
Quest Rewards: Full Vaal Hazak armor set, Expert Jewel x2, Attack Jewel x2.
'Stop the Chief?'
This new quest left Leon completely puzzled.
At that moment, the voice came again. "Come in. Let me have a look at you, boy..."
Leon followed the voice into the cave, greeted by the pungent scent of aged herbs.
The cave was filled with medicine bottles and scrolls, along with a high platform constructed from a mix of monster bones and vines.
Atop the platform lay the fully dissected corpse of an unknown monster, its stench nauseating.
Firelight illuminated a corner.
Standing there was an elderly man draped in a tattered cloak, his hair white and his eyes streaked with a sickly red.
This was the Village Chief of Schrade—Raymond.
Raymond looked up at Leon and asked, "Are you looking for me?"
Leon nodded slightly. "Yes, I came to find you. Why are you in the Rotten Vale? And what did you mean by 'Red Star' just now?"
Raymond studied Leon for a few moments, then turned away to pick up a set of Hunter's Notes. "Since you're here, take a seat first."
With that, he kicked a chair made of beast bone toward Leon.
Seeing Leon sit down, Raymond continued, "The Red Star comes from the legends of Old Schrade..."
'Old Schrade? The Old World?'
Raymond paused for a beat before adding, "Legend says the Red Star can hunt the Black Dragon and liberate the Kingdom of Schrade."
Leon pressed further, "Why me?"
"Because of Demon Mode..." Raymond opened the Hunter's Notes, which detailed the legend—
"When the Red Star burns through the night, humanity shall reclaim its ancestral lands, and the glory of the kingdom shall be restored."
"So you believe the Red Star is a hunter who can maintain Demon Mode for an extended period?" Leon didn't think of himself as the legendary figure, but considering the system's quests, it was highly likely he would eventually return to the Old World...
To hunt the Black Dragon...
"I don't know," Raymond sighed. "But reclaiming the Kingdom of Schrade has been our clan's mission for centuries. We cannot let any opportunity slip by."
Hearing this, Leon chimed in, "So your presence in the Rotten Vale is also to find a way to defeat the Black Dragon?"
"Yes." Raymond's finger stopped on a specific page of the logbook. "More accurately, I am studying Vaal Hazak's effluvium mechanism. Perhaps it could infect the Black Dragon..."
His gaze suddenly turned somber. "But unfortunately, there is currently no way to make Vaal Hazak leave this place."
As he finished, a brief silence fell over the cave.
Leon lowered his head, his expression shifting as a scene from not long ago on the outskirts of the Rotten Vale flashed through his mind—
His brief skirmish with Vaal Hazak.
That Vaal Hazak hadn't behaved like a typical Elder Dragon exerting its presence. Instead, it was sluggish, even appearing disoriented at one point, wandering the Rotten Vale like a lost animal.
"...I have seen Vaal Hazak," Leon said slowly. "Are you certain it is completely unable to leave this valley?"
Raymond paused, his voice low as he asked, "Are you sure what you saw was... Vaal Hazak?"
"It left the main areas of the Rotten Vale and appeared on the outskirts, and something was wrong with it." Leon recalled, "It seemed injured and was moving slowly."
Upon hearing this, a flash of shock crossed Raymond's eyes, quickly transforming into a complex mixture of emotions.
"...So it worked."
"It worked?" Leon looked Raymond straight in the eye. "Was that Vaal Hazak released by you?"
After a long silence, Raymond spoke gloomily, "It wasn't released. It was driven. I attempted to force it out of its territory."
Leon asked in confusion, "Driven?"
Raymond replied, "I tried to create a mobile effluvium field, just barely enough to lure Vaal Hazak out..."
As he spoke, he picked up a half-ruined jar-like device from nearby. The apparatus was pitch black, its surface covered in cracks, faintly emitting a dim red light.
"This was my first attempt at replicating an effluvium environment. Theoretically, it can maintain the field's stability for thirty minutes, but once it fails, Vaal Hazak turns back."
The device in Raymond's hand emitted a faint sizzle, as if it might completely disintegrate at any moment.
Leon stared at the object for a moment, then finally shook his head, speaking with rare gravity. "You should stop."
Raymond froze, looking up at Leon's steady eyes. For a split second, even the bloodshot vessels in his eyes seemed to still.
Leon stood up, his voice brook no argument. "You have researched this for years, and the price you've paid is already high enough. You aren't a madman. You have no obligation to gamble on legends, and you certainly shouldn't try to manipulate an Elder Dragon for a mere possibility."
"You don't understand," Raymond's voice seemed to crack slightly. "If the glory of Old Schrade really could be restored? If the Black Dragon truly could be slain? Then we could finally go home..."
"I don't need to understand," Leon interrupted, his tone hardening. "I only know that Vaal Hazak cannot possibly solve the Black Dragon problem. You are simply wasting your strength."
He paused a beat. "Now that Vaal Hazak is no longer stable, I must hunt it."
"You can't kill it!" Raymond suddenly raised his voice, agitated. "That Vaal Hazak is the core of my research! It might be the best test subject for dealing with the Black Dragon!"
"Come back with me." Leon's expression was as cold as iron, his voice calm. "I will handle the Black Dragon."
"You..." Raymond's eyes wavered. He wanted to say something, but ultimately chose silence.
He wasn't irrational; he had simply been researching for so long that he found it difficult to let go.
Seeing this, Leon's tone softened. "Wait for me to hunt Vaal Hazak, then come back with me."
After saying this, he turned and walked toward the cave entrance. The blue firelight behind him gradually grew dim.