Chapter 37: Oak Town
Six glittering frames make up the system's interface, and the backpack-like pattern of sixteen spaces on the bottom left is filled with gray, as Aldrich Triss has no bags with him.
There are twelve spaces in the upper left humanoid pattern, only two of which are filled, marking an ordinary fine linen single coat and an ankle-length trousers, after all, they have just come to this magical secret realm, and they have not gained anything.
In the middle of the left side are the usual weapons, long weapons such as guns and spears, ordinary weapons such as maces, battle axes, and heavy swords, short soldiers such as scythes and throwing axes, and long-range weapons with matching bows, crossbows, and arrows.
At the bottom right, a three-stack pattern of coins of different heights is stacked, and unsurprisingly, the number is zero, and although the rather long frame could indicate astronomical wealth, Aldrich does not have a single copper at present.
There are a total of eight spaces in the upper and lower layers of the right, the first is a black bear head side face pattern, with its mouth open and roaring, according to Triss's speculation, it should be the power of the bear he masters, and the rest of the spaces represent Aldrich's skills as expected.
The upper right corner appears as 0/150, and after the two red flames rush in, the numbers in front of it jump sharply, and the single digits that keep flashing, prompting the ten-digit numbers to rise rapidly, until 80/150, it comes to an abrupt end, and when the dark aura merges with the interface, it just reaches 100/150.
"Whew!" Aldrich Triss's memories come back to life, and the once vague fragments begin to take shape, and he smiles faintly, looking at his surroundings with a playful mindset, or a secret place.
The skeleton knight whose life he had killed began to disappear, leaving the only legacy on the ground was this black armor and the weapons he carried.
Aldrich tentatively reached out to touch it, and found that there was nothing unusual, and lifted the shoulder armor with both hands and shook vigorously, and from it fell a few black light gray clumps of chimney, which dissipated before it hit the ground, and there was no trace of it when the wind blew.
Tris put his right hand through the opening in his neck, wiped it back and forth, and found no bone fragments or sharp spikes of the skeleton knight, and after a while, he took his hand out, and found that the palm of his hand was clean, so he put the armor on his body.
The front chest and back are a little loose, but it doesn't matter, now I am just wearing a fine linen single coat, and if I find the right fur to make an inner lining in the future, I should have a feeling of fit.
Picking up the hat, Aldrich pulled his hair back to his head, slowly put it on his head, and took it off directly if he thought the visor was in the way. His physical strength is good, and wearing this armor has little effect on his actions.
Tris tried to pick up the Skeleton Knight's weapon and re-equip himself, but as he reached for the sword, maroon rust appeared as if hundreds of years had frozen in a moment, and the weapon had unusually reached the limit of its lifespan, leaving a pile of rust completely gone.
Aldrich's gaze swept over the bow and quiver, as well as the short knife that the Skeleton Knight carried with him, all of which had decayed into ashes in an instant, except for the uneven and badly damaged arm shield, which seemed to have been preserved by the immersion of the battle.
It's better than nothing. Triss stepped forward to pick it up from a pile of ashes, and put his left hand through the clasp inside and over his arm.
Strangely enough, the shirt and trousers are displayed in the system interface, but the armor and arm shield are unresponsive and do not seem to be recognized.
In the distance, in the dead woods, gray haze rose from the cracks in the rotten bark, entangled with each other and gathered into a thick cover, as if to hide the evil of the behemoth.
Now is not the time. Aldrich turned and walked away, in the opposite direction.
Following the guidance of the mind's intuition, over the edge of the rolling hills, the edge of the black earth dotted with green vegetation, a delightful verdant landscape comes into view, the smoke lingers, the smell of burnt bread in the wind, and the mellow smell of ale, which is a thriving town or a densely populated village.
Aldrich was a little happy, and involuntarily quickened his pace, and when he passed through the woodland outside the village, a gray squirrel stuffed with nuts was still fighting with the pine tower, and when it heard heavy footsteps, it raised its head alertly, and saw the black armor, whose body was as stiff as ice, and immediately fell from the tree.
"Hmm!" Tris said without thinking, reaching out his hands to catch the little fellow, like a wooden clay bowl filled with wine and delicacies, and then gently placed it on the ground covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves.
The gray squirrel was stiff all over the body, only a slight breath in and out, indicating that it was not dead, Aldrich smoothed the fluff on the back of the little guy with the back of his hand, knowing that it was pretending to be dead, and did not silently expose the disguise, but slowly got up and continued to move forward.
After walking away, the gray squirrel lying on the ground pricked up its ears to confirm, and after a while, it opened its eyes the size of black beans, and spun around, and then spit out the nuts in its sac, sighed on the ground, and didn't even care about today's harvest, and climbed a green pine with its claws and feet, jumped between the dense branches, and soon disappeared into the depths of the woods.
The river flows through the small river outside the village, the crystal clear riverbed is covered with brown sand, and the mossy rocks can be seen everywhere, most of which are sunk into the water, and the surface of the moss is slippery, except for a few snails resting here, even the birds dare not stop. In the rapids of the river, the slender aquatic plants are straightened by the rapids, and from time to time there are schools of fish flowing down the river to feed among the aquatic plants, and the blue-gray dorsal fin floats out of the water, and in the blink of an eye, it dives to the bottom of the river, hiding in the crevices of the rocks.
At the stone bridge at the entrance of the village there were two statues of deer heads staring at each other, and the thick antlers were still hanging from the morning dew that had not yet faded.
Aldrich strode calmly into the village over the stone bridge, and on the left hand side of the higher hills were surrounded by a half-man's high fence, about a mile straight, and the shape of the terrain was like a bitten apple. On the right are crops planted along the river, divided into plots of various sizes by ridges, mostly fresh vegetables, but also fruits such as strawberries.
Looking up, the village not far away is actually a pile of wooden houses. The barefoot Tris chose the harder fields on either side, but he did not go far when he heard the brass bell ringing by the well at the head of the village, and then a group of farmers with pitchforks and rakes gathered and marched towards him in a menacing manner.
'This group of civilians is not well-intentioned. Aldrich stopped, his hands raised in the air.
This action stunned the farmer on the other side, and he was a little overwhelmed, so he could only slow down his pace first, and then the other party was alone, they did not lack courage to defend their homeland, but they had to find out what was going on first.
A respected old man stepped forward, and the farmer beside him was holding a straw fork to protect him, he looked at Aldrich who raised his hands to show no hostility, especially the face of an ordinary person who took off his face armor, and turned his head to say a word to the villagers, and then the farmers all put down their 'weapons', except for a few extremely stubborn people.
From the strange gaze of the farmer opposite, Tris found that the shield and armor were the reason for the dislikement compared to his stranger status, so he unfastened the lock, let the arm shield fall to the ground, and took off the hat and helmet, revealing black hair and black eyes, when the villagers faintly made a noise, but the old man stretched out his hand and motioned to hold it.
Finally, the pitch-black armor, when it was placed on the ground, the peasants cheered, and a sense of relief and lightness, all of which surprised Aldrich.
The old man walked forward, refused the protection of the zealous villagers, came to Tris, looked him up and down carefully, nodded, and said with heartfelt appreciation: "Young warrior, guest from afar, can you tell me the origin of this armor?"
Aldrich did not refuse, and briefly recounted the sneak attack of the Skeleton Knight until he was killed by him, including the disappearing weapons and mounts.
"That is, armor and shields are your trophies. The old man nodded slightly, and shook his head again, "It's incredible! You seem to be very brave, and you can indeed destroy the skeleton rider, but after all, you are just an ordinary person, why can you wear the armor that only the dead can equip with the power of death? Especially since it has not been purified, whether it is holy water, holy flame, or holy word, it can dispel the evil power of the armor. ”
Tris spread his hands: "I don't know about this, maybe it's because my constitution is special, my true identity is a knight of virtue, maybe the source of faith can protect me from harm." ”
The old man's face showed a look of surprise, "Knight! You said that your identity is a knight. O my reindeer, we have not had a knight in Oak Town for many years, and now it is your hand that guides him to us. ”
"Guidance!, perhaps. Aldrich did not object, after all, after a series of strange encounters, he did feel that in the dark, a will was guiding him on the right path.
"Come, please come with me to the town hall, for though I have no hesitation in you, the townsfolk must see you baptized in holy water before they can truly receive you. ”
"I have no objection to this special courtesy, please lead the way in front. Also, can I take my loot with me? The power of death contained in them may only be able to handle it. ”
"Don't worry, don't worry, Oak Town has accumulated enough holy water, and while you are soaked, I will purify the armor and shield one by one. ”
The old man turned and walked in front, and with his back laid out in front of Aldrich, he stretched out his hand and waved lightly, and two familiar farmers immediately ran over, obeyed his instructions, and walked behind him with his fork of armor and arm shield.
The peasants let down their guard against the unarmed Aldrich, and almost surrounded him and the old man to the synagogue in the heart of Oak Town, a ten-metre-high stone building with a stone sculpture of a reindeer with hooves raised in the doorway, and the dew dripping from the antlers gathered in a bowl-shaped pool of water cubit-diameter.
The old man asked the farmer to wash the dusty manger, fill it with fresh well water, and then let Aldrich lie down, scoop up the holy water from head to foot with a wooden cup, and the farmers were completely relieved to see this scene.
With permission, Triss got up and left the manger, put on a heavy robe like a sack, and wrapped it tightly around the ground, while watching the old man's every move, pouring holy water in a wooden cup over his armor and shield.
"Zilazila", a sudden series of explosions, like cold water poured into a hot oil pot and constantly exploding, the eyes can see simple lines on the surface of the black armor, and the gray smoke wisps continue to rise, and then quietly fade and dissipate.
That is, the power of death contained in the armor of the skeleton knight, which was dispelled by the holy water, revealing the metallic texture of black iron, but unfortunately the ominous feeling caused by the smell of killing, and the cold feeling of the armor itself could not be removed, which was also a helpless thing.
Aldridge saw that the purification ceremony was over, asked the old man for advice, and after obtaining permission, prepared to put the armor back on.
Just as he reached out to touch it, the system's operation interface suddenly appeared, but it looked okay, no one except him saw the ghostly screen menu.
"Fragile Skin (Purified), Level 5 Skeleton Knight Exclusive Armor, Refined Armor, Black Iron Texture, Defense +18, Adds 3 False Health Points. (Lifting the dress restriction for the living). ”
Then a hidden screen appears......
Defense level 5, defense 25
Life points are 12, and the maximum life points are 15
......
"It all looks amazing. ”
Aldrich made a pun, but apart from him, including the old man, no one could hear the hidden meaning behind the praise.