The group goes back to the house Julius built. Adam and Elise continued playing ping pong while everyone else was watching movies on the television. Once it got later, they all went back to bed. Julius kept watching movies throughout the night since he didn't need to sleep. Over the course of the night, more and more villagers continued to wake up. By the time the sun rose in the morning, all of the villagers had finally woken up. A villager came to Julius's house to tell the group the good news.
Marigold-"I'm so glad to hear that all of the villagers have woken up"
Julius-"I was worried it could have taken much longer"
Adam-"I don't think I could of stood doing ping pong any longer"
Elise-"You're only saying that because I won"
Adam-"I won more games than you did"
Elise-"You know the last round was all or nothing"
Adam-"I never agreed to that"
Elise-"Yes you did, you said 'let's go'"
Adam-"That wasn't agreeing to an all or nothing rule. Why would I agree to that if I was in the lead"
Elise-"Overconfidence, that's why"
Adam-"Aw look at you using big words"
Elise-"I hate you"
Adam-"Love you too sis"
Joe-"You know, there is something I've been confused about today"
Julius-"What is it?"
Joe-"It's felt strange not doing anything crazy. That's how it usually was for me before but now it feels strange"
Damion-"You're bored?"
Joe-"Yeah, it sounds weird though"
Adam-"I've kind of felt that too. Ping pong was fun, but it kind of lost it's gusto"
Elise-"Honestly same, I wanted to get back to adventure"
Julius-"I guess we did just go from constant action to relaxing"
Marigold-"I feel like you're all not focusing on the big thing"
Joe-"What?"
Marigold-"The villagers woke up!"
Joe-"Well, yeah of course I'm happy about that"
Elise-"Yeah, now that the villagers are awake we can go do other stuff besides waiting"
Joe-"That's not what I meant"
Damion-"But you just said you were bored"
Joe-"Hey I'm not heartless like you two apparently"
Julius-"Let's go see if there is anything wrong with the villagers that woke up. Hopefully they are all okay"
The group walks back to the same building as yesterday. When they arrived Gerson is standing at the front again.
Gerson-"So, you're back again"
Julius(in his head)-"This guy acts like an annoying game npc"
Marigold-"I heard everyone has woken up now"
Gerson-"It seems that way. And none of them know anything about Lucious, just like you all said"
Joe-"So does that mean, we're good?"
Gerson-"(sighs) I can't see you guys having done anything wrong. But I still don't trust you. There is more to be sorted out, but I guess it wouldn't make sense to keep you all here"
Adam-"So... we can leave?"
Gerson-"Well it's not my choice, but yes"
Damion-"If it's not your choice then why did you say we couldn't leave before?"
Gerson-"(scoffs) just go ahead and leave already"
Gerson walks off again.
Julius-"Well we are probably good to go, I think"
The group walks back to the house to collect their things to be ready to leave.
Elise-"That was pretty weird"
Joe-"Yeah what is up with that guy anyway. This didn't really have much to do with him but he was acting like he was in charge"
Marigold-"Gerson kind of puts himself in a position of village elder. He likes to keep the peace, although before this the village was pretty peaceful"
Julius-"So is he the actual mayor?"
Adam-"Elven villages typically don't have mayors"
Julius-"Oh I see. Although it's not like everyone here was an elf"
Elise-"A lot more races of people have begin intertwining into other villages"
Adam-"Pretty sure that was chairman Atlas's idea"
Julius-"He really was involved in everything wasn't he?"
Joe-"From what I hear the world was a very different place before he became such a powerful influence. Supposedly he does everything he can to make the world a better place"
Damion-"Well he helped me out, seems like a good guy to me"
The group made it back to the house.
Marigold-"So you can dismantle the house, right Julius?"
Julius-"Yeah, but first I think we have belongings inside"
The group enters the house, Adam, Elise, and Joe all grab a bag that they carry with them that clothes and some other basic utensils. Damion also has a bag and clothes that was made for him by Julius. Marigold has some clothes and other items she took from her house to stay over. Julius didn't have any items.
Julius-"Well I think everyone has everything"
Adam-"Are you ready to take down the house?"
Julius-"Yep, we should definitely all step outside first though"
Joe-"What would actually happen if you took it down with us inside of it"
Julius-"Nothing... probably"
Joe-"Probably?"
Julius-"Well we are all going to be outside the house so it's fine"
Marigold-"Wait hold on"
Julius-"What? Forget something?"
Marigold-"No, but there is something I wanted to ask all of you"
Adam-"What is it?"
Marigold-"So, if you all remember. Lucious used specific ingredients for that chocolate he made to enhance his magic. I have a rough idea of where at in the forest he got them. I'd like to go there, I want to find out if anyone else is using those same components for equally or even more heinous things"
Julius-"That makes sense. Even if we don't find anyone there, maybe we can round up the materials he used and destroy them. Unless they are important to the ecosystem of course"
Adam-"Maybe we don't go destroying nature because of some people's misuse of it"
Julius-"It's probably just some mushrooms or ferns or something"
Marigold-"I do have to warn you though, while Lucious mentioned there were dangerous monsters there"
Elise-"I'm in"
Adam-"How dangerous though?"
Marigold-"He wasn't specific"
Damion-"Lucious survived that forest. And we killed Lucious so we should be more dangerous that those monsters"
Marigold-"Again! Stop mentioning that here"
Damion-"Sorry"
Marigold-"So, you're all willing to help?"
Julius-"I think so, and you're coming with us right?"
Marigold-"Of course"
Julius-"Well I'd be happy to help you out"
Adam-"Me too"
Damion-"Sounds good"
Joe-"We'll be able to handle those monsters, it is our job as adventurers after all"
Elise-"I'll pummel whatever gets in our way, whether it's monsters or people"
Marigold-"Well let's go, but I'm sure it won't take us too long to find it"
Julius(in his head)-"Well if she can't find it I can just hover around it the upper atmosphere to locate it"
The group heads out of the house while Julius dismantles it. All of the atoms used for the house are returned to the surrounding area as plants, rocks, and soil. The group begins to exit out of the village. Along the way they talk to multiple villagers whom were happy that their friends and family had woken up. A couple were still suspicious of Julius's group. Including Gerson who stared at them grumpily before continuing to avoid them.
Meanwhile.
Squad captain-"Alright listen up men!"
A group of adventurers stands ready like soldiers.
Squad mates-"Sir yes sir"
Squad captain-"Our job is to rid this dark forest of all monsters. This place is crawling with dark magic so it must be eradicated before it continues to spread! (Yelling) ARE YOU READY!?"
Squad mates(yelling)-"SIR YES SIR!"
Squad captain-"Let's do this then!"
The adventurers run into the forest. After a while suddenly many loud screams can be heard from the forest. None of the adventurers exit the forest. Suddenly the forest starts to grow slightly larger.
End of chapter 74.