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"Old man, Irma said you were digging tunnels for Pearl Hunters stuck in this area. Is that true?"

"Yes, they made us do it to make way for the roots. We didn\'t understand why they were doing it, but then we were horrified." The old man spoke slowly.

"Our village dug one long tunnel from the Hunters\' base to the jungle. I tried to find out why they were doing it, but each time I was threatened and ordered not to ask about it again."

"You ran the root into the jungle? Did you just leave it behind?" Osvald asked.

"Yes, there is an entrance to this tunnel in the jungle. It is near the lake, though many may have changed since then, as have the Beetles."

"Bugs?"

"They weren\'t there before, Cosmic Beetles started actively appearing a few days after we left the root in the jungle, the same time the Queen appeared."

"I see." Wain nodded.

"Hell, they knew that thanks to the energy of the root, the monsters in the jungle would get stronger, and the core zone would get power. That\'s pretty smart. Old man, I hate to say it, but you\'re seriously lucky that Wain and I showed up. Otherwise, the bugs would have gotten out of the jungle and killed you after a while."

"I understand that, and I thank you for that and for giving Irma a chance to be stronger. She always wanted to be able to make her own decisions and do what she thought was right, but every time there was a barrier in front of her that she could not overcome. She wanted strength more than anyone else."

"Huh, this girl is cocky and rough, but her fire was really hot."

"Is there any other entrance to the tunnel besides the jungle?"

"Yes, in the mine, north of the village. It was hard to dig, so we connected the tunnel to the mine and made the job easier." The old man fell silent and, after a while, said, "Can I ask you something?"

"That depends on your request."

"I have a hunch that there are several other small towns and villages in this area besides us, since there are definitely several roots, this wasn\'t the only one. The hunters wouldn\'t dig the tunnels themselves, they had someone do it. I want you to help them as you helped us."

"Old man, we don\'t do charity." Wain replied coldly.

"But..."

"Huh, old man, don\'t worry, we\'ll take care of the victims. I promise you that personally." Osvald patted the old man on the shoulder.

Wain looked at him intently, and Osvald shrugged.

"Okay." Wain sighed, "It\'s no big deal. Old man, have you seen the core? How many Soul Pearls are there?"

"No." The old man shook his head, "They wouldn\'t let me in, but I know where the entrance is and how to get to the core."

"Tell me."

"To the west, beyond the hills, is the base of Pearl Hunters, you can easily get there through the tunnel we dug. There is a huge tree not far from the base, that is the core. I think all the pearls are under the tree, where the roots come from."

"Are you suggesting we just break-in?"

"No, even you can hardly do that. The core is protected by a natural barrier created by a high concentration of energy, but there is also an outer barrier around the tree that the Hunters put up."

"So?"

"One day, I went to the chief to clarify some details, and then I overheard something by chance. They were complaining that their boss was making them spend a lot of energy every time to rebuild the barrier after a thunderstorm, since the top is the most unstable part of the barrier."

"You want us to get into tree territory through the top?" Osvald asked, "Is that possible?"

"I don\'t know. I can\'t think about it since I don\'t even have enough strength to protect the villagers and my granddaughters." The old man wilted, "I\'ve told you everything I know, and I hope it helps you, that\'s all I can do."

"Well, that\'s enough. We\'ll stay in the village for a while longer and then head for the core. Be ready to go home." Wain said, getting up and leaving the room.

"Don\'t worry, old man. You\'ve done enough, you shouldn\'t blame yourself. These people are only alive because of you. I was actually delighted when you endured the pain so the village wouldn\'t have a problem, even though you were wounded."

"Heh, maybe you\'re right. Anyway, I\'m a long way from my granddaughters."

...

Wain and Osvald didn\'t leave the village right away. Wain was wounded and needed to regain his strength. Osvald was bored, but he decided to stay since he thought the Hunters might come to the village again.

The villagers were kind to them, and Osvald appreciated it, he liked it when people responded with kindness to kindness and knew how to appreciate it.

While Wain was recovering, Osvald even began to train a small group of villagers. These were young girls and boys who were enthusiastic about Osvald\'s strength.

At first, Osvald didn\'t want to do it, he didn\'t like to train others except for a few exceptions, but he was impressed with their fighting spirit, and they quickly made impressive progress.

Everyone\'s strength was limited in this area, but Osvald\'s fighting experience was second to none, a better teacher than him was hard to find.

...

"Sister, here, you need to recover." Franzi went into Irma\'s room and brought her a tray of food.

"Thank you, that\'s what I wanted." Irma was hungry and flavorful, freshly cooked food was the best solution to this problem.

She grabbed a prime rib and began quickly eating all the meat off of it and moving on to the next one in passing with her juice.

"Did you cook this?"

,m "Yes. How\'s that? I tried very hard."

"Excellent, and thank you..."

"Don\'t mention it. It wasn\'t hard."

"No, that\'s not what I meant. Thank you for asking to help me... it was important to me."