Chapter 95: The Festival’s Boon
Although the name was a bit garish, the flyer itself looked surprisingly professional.
At least it was printed, unlike the hastily scrawled flyers from Karina and Stina.
“What does… your association do?” Bai asked, handing the flyer back.
“Ah, you don’t know?” Dorothy looked surprised.
She had approached Bai and Eleanor because she had a good feeling about them, and because they looked like they might be interested in joining an association.
But she hadn’t expected them to be completely clueless.
“…I’ve never encountered your association before, so of course I don’t know,” Bai said, blinking.
Dorothy cleared her throat and explained the beastkin’s association system.
It was similar to the human mercenary guilds—or professional knights—a place for unaffiliated individuals to band together.
But unlike the Empire’s loose regulations, the Savage Lands’ associations had a long history, with a well-established system of rules and regulations.
There was even a central association headquarters, where all associations had to be registered.
Of course, registration had its benefits. The headquarters provided opportunities for smaller, weaker associations to acquire resources.
And for larger, more powerful associations, it was a way to expand their influence and power.
Currently, over a third of the Savage Lands’ industries were controlled by various associations, some even holding sway over entire tribes.
Of course, Dorothy’s association, as the name suggested, was a more… casual affair.
Small, with no real assets, just a close-knit group of friends.
In fact, the reason Dorothy’s friend had gotten into trouble with the Blood Spider Patrollers was because she had been defending a member of their association.
And Dorothy, by association, had also been targeted.
She had been looking for new members, and had taken a chance on Bai and Eleanor.
After learning about the associations, Bai quickly shook her head. “I’m sorry, but we’re not interested.”
They weren’t planning on staying in the Wild God Altar for long, and Eleanor would likely be returning to the Bewildering Forest soon.
And besides, Bai had no interest in joining a group of strangers, especially not beastkin.
“Alright. My apologies for bothering you,” Dorothy said, not pressing the issue. She had just been trying her luck.
“However, there is one other thing,” she said, pulling out another flyer, this one much more ornate. “I didn’t think… they were actually going to hold a festival…”
As she had mentioned before, the so-called “festival” in the Wild God Altar was usually just a celebration in the core area.
For those on the outskirts, it was just another excuse for the Blood Spider Patrollers to extort money.
The Wild God Altar, and the Savage Lands as a whole, was a place of strict hierarchy, where the strong preyed on the weak.
The powerful grew stronger, while the weak were exploited, their path to power cut off.
Unless one was exceptionally talented, there was little chance of advancement.
“So?” Bai asked, taking the flyer.
“In a few days… Queen Arachne has decided to unleash a massive burst of bloodlust. We can go to a specific location to train. The concentration is said to be ten times greater than normal,” Dorothy said, her voice filled with excitement. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Queen Arachne rarely grants such a boon. I thought you might be interested.”
“A boon? And at a specific location?” Bai frowned. This sounded too good to be true.
Eleanor’s expression also turned serious. Bai’s intuition was rarely wrong, and Eleanor, having read many novels, knew that such “boons” were often a prelude to some sinister plot.
“Yes, yes. It’s because of the festival. It’s to welcome the return of the Wild God,” Dorothy continued.
“With the Wild God’s return, the altar will be overflowing with bloodlust. It would be a waste not to use it for training. Otherwise, we would never have such an opportunity.”
“A festival for the Wild God’s return? I haven’t heard anything about that,” Bai said, looking at Eleanor.
She had been the one gathering information. Had she missed something?
Eleanor was also confused. She hadn’t heard anything about a festival. The information had been tightly controlled.
“The news just came out today. The whole Wild God Altar is buzzing about it,” Dorothy explained. “I saw you two hadn’t been out, so I came to tell you. The association thing… was just an afterthought.”
“I see…” Bai nodded. That made sense.
But they didn’t use bloodlust for training. This “boon” was useless to them…
That was her initial thought, and she was about to refuse.
But then, an idea struck her. She couldn’t use it, but her magic circle could.
She had been worried about not having enough energy for the teleportation circle.
But now, with a concentrated source of immense bloodlust…
The magic circle could absorb any type of energy. The one she had used to enter the Tide of Madness had been powered by Isabelle’s.
She could use a spirit-gathering circle, and an amplification circle, to channel the energy, to power the teleportation circle to its maximum capacity.
And then…
She had made her decision.
“Miss Dorothy, may I ask you a question?” she said, looking up at her.
“What is it?”
“If one wanted to join your… association, what are the procedures?” Bai asked, blinking, a hint of embarrassment on her face.
After all, she had just refused her offer.
She wasn’t yet shameless enough to do such a thing without feeling a twinge of guilt.
“Huh?” Dorothy was stunned, at a loss for words.
