The group stopped at the edge of the circular clearing, not daring to rashly approach the ancient tree that had swallowed the carriages and bones.
Right after, the roots on the surfaces of the surrounding trunks began to loosen one by one.
Ten palm-sized black wooden badges fell from the crevices, landing among the decaying leaves and stone cracks.
The wooden badges did not remain still.
The thin roots tangled in the stone cracks wriggled gently, pushing the ten badges toward different people.
Zhou Yi was the closest and instinctively bent down to pick one up.
But Reece beat him to it, pressing his scabbard against Zhou Yi's wrist.
“Don't touch things recklessly.”
Zhou Yi immediately yanked his hand back, looking embarrassed.
“They're just a few badges, aren't they?”
“Even the tree roots here can eat people,” Reece said, sweeping a cold glance over him. “How do you know these badges won't?”
Zhou Yi opened his mouth but ultimately didn't dare to reach out again.
Xu Zhiheng did not participate in the argument.
He waited for a moment, and once he was sure the wooden badges showed no signs of attacking, he flipped over the one closest to him through his sleeve.
On the front of the wooden badge, three characters were carved: 【Acting Caravan Master】.
Xu Zhiheng's gaze lingered on the word “Acting” for a moment.
Not the Caravan Master, but merely the Acting Caravan Master.
This meant he might temporarily command the caravan, but he might also have to bear all responsibilities in the absence of the true Caravan Master.
Xu Zhiheng did not immediately tie the wooden badge to himself. He merely pinched its edge through his sleeve and looked at the others.
“They aren't aggressive for now. Let's confirm everyone's identity first.”
Damon frowned. He disliked Xu Zhiheng's natural assumption of leadership.
But with the current situation unclear, rather than continuing to stall, it was better to understand the rules first.
He used the edge of his shield to flip the wooden badge that had landed at his feet.
【Guard Captain】
The others also began checking the wooden badges near them one by one.
Severn received 【Lantern Bearer】.
Ryan received 【Lookout】.
Reece's badge read 【Cargo Escort】.
Su Xiaoman was 【Caravan Physician】.
Zhou Yi flipped his badge over, and when he saw the words on it, his face immediately fell.
“Porter?” He turned the badge over and over to inspect it. “Why is it manual labor?”
Ryan chuckled and said, “Suits you well.”
“Like hell it does!”
Zhou Yi raised his hand, wanting to smash the wooden badge, but when he looked up and saw the roots slowly slithering around like snakes, he withdrew his raised hand.
The wooden badge Milo received was narrower than the others.
【Witness】
He stared at the word on it for a long time.
Witness.
These words made him instinctively look up at Rena.
Ever since Grey Oak Village, he had said so many times that he wasn't lying.
Yet everyone only thought he was cowardly and panicked, spinning story after story just to shirk responsibility.
Now, he finally had an identity that could preserve the truth.
Even though there were no instructions on the wooden badge, he could guess that this identity was definitely related to “witnessing the truth.”
In front of Kolo was 【Pathfinder】.
She picked it up, glanced at it, and tied the wooden badge to the inside of her cloak.
Milo couldn't help but ask:
“Aren't you worried there's something wrong with the badge?”
“I am,” Kolo replied bluntly.
Milo waited for a moment. “And then?”
Kolo looked up at the ancient tree in the distance that had swallowed the bones and replied:
“Worrying won't solve anything.”
Milo was left speechless.
He didn't like how Kolo always spoke so simply and bluntly, but looking at the slowly wriggling roots around them, he couldn't find a reason to argue.
And most crucially, the treant and the dangers Rena had warned them about were all real.
This proved she hadn't fabricated everything from start to finish, but it didn't prove that every word she said was true.
A terrifying thought suddenly popped into Milo's head.
Could it be that the grey mist and the castle that night really existed, and the treant really existed too...
...but he had been affected by something during his escape, causing him to misremember parts of what happened?
But if he had only misremembered a part of it, how could the anomalies on Rena when she appeared be explained?
Milo gripped the wooden badge tightly, cold sweat gradually seeping from his palms.
If he really had misremembered, then he was the one who had brought everyone back into danger.
Milo suddenly didn't dare to look at anyone else's face.
It was as if the moment someone asked, “Are you satisfied now?” he would become the undeniable culprit.
The final wooden badge was pushed to Rena's feet by the thin roots. There were only two words on its surface.
【Guide】
Literally speaking, she should be the one responsible for leading the way.
But the problem was, she knew absolutely nothing about this domain.
It would be fine if she just took a wrong turn, but this place clearly wouldn't let things slide with a simple “we went the wrong way.”
The other wooden badges only gave them an identity; there were no rules, nor did they tell them what would happen if they violated their duties.
Isolde looked up at the ancient tree.
Deep within the trunk, decayed carriages and broken crates were crammed together, with skeletal remains tangled among the roots, some still bearing long-decayed wooden badges at their waists.
They were clearly not the first group to enter this place.
Perhaps the previous 【Guide】 had already tested the price of taking the wrong path for her.
Isolde's temples throbbed slightly.
Was this treant dungeon actually this complex?
How on earth did the people in her past life beat it?
Or had no one ever cleared it?
Rena was just about to bend down and pick up the wooden badge.
Milo seemed to suddenly remember something and took a step forward ahead of her.
“Wait!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he froze.
Rena slowly looked up at him.
Cold sweat broke out on Milo's back. His right hand instinctively reached for his hand crossbow, but remembering the blade she had pressed against his throat, his fingers froze mid-air.
He wanted to back away, but as his gaze fell on that 【Guide】 badge, he forced himself to stand his ground.
“Before this... did you really never see this?”
Just as he finished speaking, several people around them turned their heads.
Rena stopped what she was doing, straightened up to stare at him, her expression displeased.
“What do you mean?”
Milo gripped the 【Witness】 badge tightly.
Even though his palms were completely slick with sweat from anxiety, he didn't immediately claim Rena was lying like he used to.
Kolo had said that suspicion couldn't be used as evidence.
So this time, he only questioned the contradiction before them.
“You said you escaped from the treant. Before we set off, you warned us about the black mud, the pollen, and the roots, but you never mentioned these wooden badges, the road markers, or this trade route.”
His voice trembled, and his gaze tried to look away from Rena several times, but he ultimately forced himself to look her in the eye.
“If... you really made it this far, why didn't you know about any of this?”
At his reminder, the expressions of Damon and the others shifted as well.
Severn looked down at the 【Lantern Bearer】 in his hand and quickly frowned.
Rena had indeed mentioned many of the treant's weaknesses before they set off, but she had never once mentioned these identity badges.
Ryan also wiped the smile from his face, recalling carefully.
“It does seem a bit off.”
He shook the 【Lookout】 badge in his hand. “Something this obvious... surely you wouldn't forget to mention it?”
Rate on N.U.
