Brand and Lena had reached the Emas Tribe's village.
They were welcomed by the bustling streets. Canvases of vibrant red and yellow were everywhere. Some were installed to cover the stalls, some were hung on their adobe-colored houses.
"Those were the pride of the Emas Tribe." Lena monologued, likely as a consideration for Brand's amnesia.
"She's surprisingly nice?" Seraphine whispered.
'Maybe to make us drop our guard?'
For an impersonator, Lena seemed to know a lot about the village and the tribe as well.
Brand found that a lot of villagers waved at Lena, greeted her with warmth. They then return to their price negotiations at the stalls.
Overall, it was a prosperous village.
But Brand couldn't help but question what he saw.
There were machineries among the trading goods.
"The tribe has high advancement in technologies?" Brand whispered his question to Seraphine, hoping for some answers. He still trusted Seraphine more.
Seraphine giggled at Brand, as she understood his thought.
"There had been no suitable occasion to tell you this," Seraphine explained. "The world you transmigrated into was a post-apocalyptic world of advanced civilisations!"
Brand was sincerely shocked. All this while, he thought this was a medieval fantasy world from the monsters he encountered.
Not far from their spot, Brand found a rock standing tall and majestic. As they got closer to it, they reached a plaza filled with people, more than the vendor street earlier.
People were circling around the giant rock. With a closer look, there were chains around the rock, with text embedded on it.
"Those were runic texts," Seraphine explained to Brand. "They were binding runes, traced to seal something."
What was the rock? For it to be chained with numerous chains with a seal rune enhanced?
Villagers gathered around the monument, dancing in the plaza.
"The Gratitude Dance," Lena muttered.
They were dancing to express gratitude? To a chained rock? Was it some sort of deity?
Before Brand could think deeper about this, he found there were a few people staring at him, whispering in a low voice.
Brand had enhanced hearing thanks to his body modification.
"Traitor?" He repeated the word he heard to Seraphine in a low and soft voice. "Essen was a traitor?"
"Hmm, it shouldn't be," Seraphine replied without a hint of hesitation. This means she knew the background of this man when she recommended him to choose Essen's identity for his Espionage.
Brand couldn't help but think, things were getting messy.
At the same time, Lena greeted some of the villagers. They seemed to be her acquaintances, as they were happy to see her again.
"Lady of fortune, nice to meet you again!" The elderly woman talked to her.
"I have brought some silks to trade," Lena replied in a warm tone.
Watching this scene, Brand couldn't help but think.
What was the identity of this woman?
"Why was she so beautiful?" Seraphine whispered.
"Cut it out," Brand replied in his normal volume, prompting others to look at him with a weird gaze.
Brand ignored them as they had nothing to do with his situation. He returned to his thinking mode.
He practically confirmed she was hiding her identity. He also found her in the oasis with the weird goat skull.
But was he mistaken? Was she not the person in a black hood?
While Brand was feeling frustrated, three young men walked towards Brand and started to taunt him out of nowhere.
"Coward."
"Weak."
"Idiot."
Each of them started with one word, and stayed silent for Brand to react.
Lena heard them and mumbled.
"What the heck are these kids yapping about?"
For Lena, who was a Level 20+, the three young warriors who were around Level 7-8 were like kids in her eyes. Except the one beside her.
'That guy was a madman.'
One of the young warriors pointed towards his missing finger.
"Eaten by worms?" The guy taunted.
Brand pondered and checked the missing finger. Lena, who overheard them, started to feel uneasy and quickened her conversation with the elderly woman.
Unfortunately, even the elderly woman was intrigued by the youngsters' confrontation.
"It got snapped by a dragon," Brand replied.
Lena was surprised at the remarks, while the other bystanders started laughing.
"Making excuses. If it were a dragon, you would be ashes by now!" The largest of the three jeered at him.
"The dragon went easy on me." Brand calmly retorted.
Brand paused and then started to return the taunt.
"Enough yapping," Brand grinned. "Man talks with fists."
He pulled out a bone, pointed toward the three young warriors.
"Come after me at once." Brand taunted.
"This guy who abandoned the expedition started to act tough after missing for two years?!" One of the warriors shouted in anger. He started to charge at Brand, while the other two were still observing from the sidelines.
"He seemed to know some history of Essen?" Seraphine remarked. The little angel only showed some hints now and then.
She probably knew Essen's story, but she never told him fully. Staying true to her role as a guide.
Brand nodded in silent. He would find out eventually.
He'll tackle the problems one at a time. Starting with beating the shit out of these guys.