Mixed Blessing System

After leaving the Frost estate, Lothur and Annaliese were soon traveling on a single horse, with her in front of him, controlling the animal, while he held onto her waist.

"Lothur, I am sorry for what my mother did to you. But don't do this. Don't leave the family!" She commented in a soft tone, but one loaded with her concern. "How will we see each other if that happens?"

He massaged her belly and commented. "I can no longer stay under the same roof as your mother, Anna... But we don't have to live together to find each other."

"Didn't we already do our things out of that place anyway?" He asked in her right ear.

"Still! We could go to the academy together every day! But if you leave my house, now that won't be possible anymore!" She insisted. "Not to mention that if you leave our home, there is no guarantee that my family will continue to allow our 'friendship.'"

He then calmed her down. "We will still have a chance to see each other at the academy, the Cultivation House, and elsewhere. Everything will be fine, Anna."

"Besides, I'll get a house in Peters City, and I'll be able to receive you with more privacy than in those other places we've been until now."

"That..."

"And my sister? You have taken away her purity, Lothur. You can't abandon her now!" She looked back, saying this with great determination in her voice.

He looked her in the eye and replied. "It is up to Viktoria to decide what she will do. If she agrees to come with me, then, of course, I will take care of her and honor my responsibilities as a husband."

"Sigh..."

'She was a fool!' Annaliese complained in her mind, feeling bad for having to suffer the consequences of Viktoria's actions.

So, the two continued talking about it for a while until they remained silent as they traveled down the dark dirt road ahead.

They were heading for Finn Mountain, the mountain range located in the province's heart, typically used by cultivators at the end of the 1st stage.

In this forested area, there were not only many animals but also beasts and special areas, which could be beneficial for the combat training of cultivators.

Some parts of this area were controlled entirely by wildlife, but there were also those under human rule.

Unfortunately, there was a fragile distinction between them, and from time to time, one side would take over areas from the other, creating problems for mercenaries like Lothur and Annaliese.

There were precious items under mining or even medicine cultivation in the human-dominated areas, which made it imperative to recover points when lost to the other side.

As such, missions like the one they were on were commonly released in the Cultivation House, where mercenaries could be contacted more easily with such problems.

Some warriors would train on their own in this area. But since Finn Mountain was huge, it could be challenging to rely only on people in training to fight the beasts in the area.

Hence, people like these two had to be called in, even though this was a good training area.

And as much as Finn Mountain was not that far from Peters City, much of that area was difficult to access, with parts that carriages could not pass, and humans had to make their way slowly.

Because of this, Lothur and his sister-in-law left on a journey that night and soon traveled much of the way to that area!

...

By dawn, Lothur and Annaliese had passed a small village in the mountains where they had breakfast.

In this place where the sheep grazed on the mountains, the green grass and the blue sky formed a beautiful sight as the two set off towards their destination, which was only a few kilometers ahead.

But as they were preparing to leave that village behind, an employee of the small coffee shop they had passed ran up to them, waving his big belly as he shouted. "Sir! Ma'am!"

"Wait a moment! I have something to tell you!" He said while hurriedly breathing, even considering that he had only run a few dozen meters.

"Hmmm?" Lothur looked back, curious to know what that was about.

At the moment, he was wearing his mask since he wanted to keep his identity a secret during this mission with Annaliese.

He would not wear such an item when he was alone with her, like during the trip to this place.

That fat man looked at Lothur's mask and Annaliese's angelic face. "You are going to fight in the mountains, right? Cleaning out one of the caves that have been taken over by beasts, right?"

This man had overheard Lothur and Annaliese's conversation while he had served them both food. So, he knew about the purpose of the couple in question.

Annaliese then replied. "Yes, we are on a mission to clean up one of the areas on Finn Mountain. Why did you ask us about this?"

He looked thoughtfully into Annaliese's brown eyes and warned. "Ma'am, there is something wrong in that place. It's not just ordinary animals or beasts behind the problem."

"This problem has been going on for weeks now, and several of the groups that came to solve this mission have failed. Some didn't even return, while others fled like crazy from that place..." He commented as he remembered how strange those mercenaries looked when they returned.

Some seemed so lucid and cheerful when they went to this mission in question, but when they returned, they looked like madmen escaping from the mental institution, scared to death.

And seeing how beautiful that woman was, he could not help but feel bad about allowing those two to leave without knowing little about what had happened so far.

"Oh?" Lothur opened his mouth in surprise. 'That's why the reward is so high...' He remembered the more than 30,000 bronze coins he would receive if he succeeded in this operation.

'But when I took this mission, it was meant for people at the 7th Transformation, the ideal level for me of that moment...'

'But now, I've moved up to the 8th Transformation, so I think Anna and I will be able to work this out.' He looked at her and saw her status.

[Name: Annaliese Frost]

[Cultivation: level 8]

[STR: 33.5] [CON: 37.5] [DEX: 36.2] [AGI: 34.5]

'Anna is already stronger compared to the day she absorbed the Soul Bone... That must be because of the talent increase she went through.' He realized how she had improved 0.5 points in each of her attributes.

He smiled from beneath his mask and commented to that man. "Thanks for the warning, my friend. But we are fine. We are stronger than those who came before us."

Annaliese smiled as she heard the confidence in Lothur's words. "That's right. The others before us failed, but we will solve that problem. So, don't worry, we'll be fine!"

"That..." Such a man who was only a mortal looked doubtfully at the two but said nothing more.

"Anyway, thanks for letting us know." Annaliese waved a hand as she said goodbye to that fellow.

She then controlled their horse along the uneven path in front of them, determined to complete this mission but also a little more attentive to the signs in her path.

Lothur was also more attentive, using his visual ability to observe the surroundings for traps or trouble.

"Uh? Are there people there?" He muttered as he saw something passing back and forth inside the cave they had just stopped in front of.

...