Chương 98: 95. The City of Wolk

The wagons slowly came to a stop in front of a line moving toward the entrance of the city. The scents around him were mixed: alchemical plants, spices, and the stench of travelers who'd been on the road for too long. Adolin kept track of the mana signature coming from within the city. The signature continued growing in strength, its presence encompassing a huge area around the city and constantly expanding. Master Eldritch had stopped conversing with him after noticing his lack of interested in the small talk.

The mana signature was unnatural; it came from a formation or spell that spread the signature around like a beacon. The magic behind it was intricate, and the number of people who could sense it would be very limited. He guessed that only people from his own world could recognize it, and maybe someone with an incredible Mana Sense, like Maya, or a powerful archmage. The beacon was announcing the signature of the Demon King, Eurynomos. Adolin poured more mana into Mana Sense.

He'd kept the spell active at all times since the ambush by the archmage back at the Count's estate. His Mana Sense flooded the part of the city closest to him, but there was no sign of Eurynomos.

"You good?" Master Eldritch asked, bringing him back to reality.

"Yeah, just got distracted." He took in his surroundings through Mana Sense. The line in front of them had over thirty wagons waiting. A few stands were set up along the line, behind them, fires burned as the shopkeepers cooked skewers of meat. There weren't any buildings around the main road; the closest one was a hundred meters away from the gate. The line moved slowly, and the scent of fried meat filled the air. Soon, they were waiting beside one of the stands selling food. Adolin felt his stomach grumble.

His last meal had been a few hours ago, and it had only been some boiled porridge.

"Hungry?" Master Eldritch hesitated before nodding. Adolin jumped from the wagon and moved toward the stand selling skewers. The wooden stand was small, filled with skewers of meat and vegetables. He didn't recognize most of the vegetables or even the meat.

"Six of your best," he said as he stopped in front of the stand. The smell of the meat only made him hungrier. The girl behind the stand studied him for a moment.

"Any preference?" she asked. He didn't know what he wanted, or what exactly he would even get, but he wanted to try everything he could. Dareth's memories of food were also limited, since the boy's financial situation had only afforded him old bread and, on some occasions, tasteless porridge.

"A mix of everything," Adolin said after a few moments of consideration. Just looking at the food was already making him hungry. The girl gave him a knowing smile and disappeared behind the stand, toward the fire. The wagons behind him moved again, but he ignored everything and focused on the mana signature he was still searching for. He was going to meet the Demon King whose actions had caused his death and the deaths of his party, while also giving them another chance in a different world.

A world that was much better than their previous one. There was also the fact that Eurynomos wasn't really to blame for everything that had happened back then. There was a part of him that didn't want to meet Eurynomos, but there was also a small part that did. He wasn't sure why, but since he still couldn't find him through Mana Sense, he had enough time to decide what he wanted to do.

"Your order." The girl's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. She was holding a wooden platter filled with skewers. Adolin took the platter and stared at the skewers. They were mixed, with a piece of meat followed by a vegetable, repeated until the wooden skewers were full. They were also covered in some kind of dark glaze that smelled savory and sweet. Just looking at them made his mouth water.

"Delicious," he muttered.

"Thanks."

"That will be one silver," the girl said. He glanced at the platter and suspected he would have to return it, so he took two silver coins from his inventory and placed them on the stand.

"For the platter, and a tip." The girl hesitated.

"That's too much." He shook his head and started moving toward the gate.

"Thanks!" she shouted from behind him. It took him a few seconds to catch up with the first wagon, and he quickly climbed up. He was hungry and didn't want to wait. Putting the wooden platter between them, Adolin dug in. The meat was juicy with a nice char, while the mix of vegetables had a unique savory flavor. Master Eldritch dug in a few moments later as well. While they enjoyed the food, the wagon moved closer to the front of the line, with only two wagons ahead of them.

The guards were talking with the merchants; after slipping them a few coins, they were allowed to enter the city. Soon, the guards came to inspect their wagon. Master Eldritch was still nibbling on a mixed skewer when the guards surrounded the wagon.

"Papers," one of the guards demanded. Master Eldritch took out a parchment from a small chest beneath his feet and handed it to the guard with a smile. He didn't utter a word and simply continued eating. The guard growled, but after reading the paper, his expression changed. From confusion to fear, all the way to despair. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Sorry, Master," the guard said.

"You can enter." The wagon continued moving, and Adolin glanced at Eldritch.

"What was that?" Master Eldritch was on his last mixed skewer. After he finished chewing, he said, "The paper has the seal of House Morcant, and the guard was waiting for a bribe."

"Revel's family controls the city?" Adolin asked. Eldritch nodded.

"Their territory begins from the farm we stayed at and stretches all the way to the frontline." As they passed through the gate, Adolin studied the entrance. The area around him was filled with guards, and he focused on the insignia on their armor. It depicted a white wolf with patches of grey along its body, its head raised as if in the middle of a howl. He liked the design.

"This will take some time. Feel free to explore the city." Adolin nodded and climbed down from the wagon. He looked behind him and noticed Lira and Clay moving up the line, so he decided to wait for them. Exploring a city alone had never been a fun experience for him. Afterward, he planned on locking himself in a room again… yet he had a feeling the Demon King would take that away from him. Thinking about it, he did owe the bastard a beating for reincarnating him in the body of a coinless kid.

"Hey," Lira said.

"We decided to explore the city for a bit. Care to join us?"

"That was my plan as well," Adolin said, and they entered the first street that looked worth exploring. The street was lively and filled with people. The atmosphere in the city was gloomy, but the people hid it quite well. It took him some time to notice it.

"Where are Revel and Blaise?"

"They left some time before us. Revel went to her estate to take care of some things, while Blaise went to his family home to see them," Clay said.

"He's from this city?" Adolin asked. Clay shrugged.

"I don't think so, but he has a shop or two here." In front of them was a weapon shop, and Clay strode toward it like an excited kid.

"Let's check this one." Adolin watched as Lira followed Clay into the shop. It had a nice-looking front, with a large glass window displaying a dozen weapons. Looking at Clay, Adolin felt quite bad about how he'd acted back in the dungeon. During that time, memories of his old life—the bad parts—had kept resurfacing constantly, even before the Class Selection. Maybe the blessing had been preparing him to take the trial, or maybe it had all been in his head.

It didn't really matter what the issue was, as he wasn't looking for an excuse. It was already in the past, and he couldn't change anything about it. He needed to make it up to Clay. How he was going to do that, he wasn't sure. A few ideas circled in his head. Teaching the boy sword arts from his old world—the same ones Luc had created… Yeah, that was it. That would be enough to increase his strength considerably, as that was the boy's goal. At least, that was his guess.

He could also be wrong, but he couldn't go wrong with making the boy stronger. Adolin entered behind them. Inside, the building was much warmer than outside, with a rhythmic banging coming from the other side of the shop. The smell of oil and smoke filled the room. A display case stood in the middle, while the walls were lined with weapons. There was one section closer to the shopkeeper that had staffs and wands for sale, kept behind a glass case.

Clay and Lira were chatting with the shopkeeper as the man showed them some of his goods. Adolin walked toward them and listened in.

"…Wyvern Slayer, made from the bones of a wyvern, dragonsteel, and a few more ingredients that Master Elyric doesn't want revealed."

"Can I hold it?"

"Of course," the shopkeeper said as he handed the sword to Clay. Clay studied the blade, turning it in his hands before giving it a few swings to test its weight.

"It's perfect," the boy said.

"It suits you," the shopkeeper said. Adolin stopped behind them and simply observed. He had no interest in weapons, and from the glance he gave the staff section, there wasn't anything there he would use.

"The price?"

"Three hundred and twenty gold coins," the shopkeeper said. Clay tilted his head and studied the blade again.

"I know it's Master Elyric's work, but that's still too much for this piece." The shopkeeper was silent for a few moments, stroking his chin.

"I can do two hundred and fifty at the lowest." They went back and forth before the shopkeeper finally agreed to sell the sword for two hundred gold coins. Adolin had to admit that Clay was pretty good at bartering, which he found strange. The boy came from a noble family.

"Are you interested in this?" Clay asked as a dagger appeared in his hand.

"Dungeon dagger." The shopkeeper's eyes almost glowed at the sight. It was the dagger they'd gotten from the dungeon. Now Adolin was interested as well. In the end, Clay traded the dagger for the sword and even got an additional fifty gold coins from the trade. They left the weapon shop and continued exploring the street.

"I'll get your share when we settle in," Clay said.

"I'm not in a hurry," Adolin said. The boy didn't say anything, and it looked like Adolin was going to get his share later today. He had been broke for so long, and now gold was coming in from everywhere. Starting with Edrin and the deposit to his guild account that he had yet to check. The compensation from the Count was worth much more than Adolin had originally thought. His mood had changed after learning how much everything was worth.

The mana potions were valued at ten gold coins each, mostly because of their high purity. The mage robe that he had yet to wear—because he had kind of forgotten about it—was valued at over three hundred gold. Along with the coins he'd received, the full value of the compensation was over seven hundred gold. They explored the city for an hour before getting close to where the beacon was located, so Adolin had to split off from them.

"I'll join you at Revel's estate later." He said his goodbyes before moving toward the next street, using an illusion spell to hide himself from the people around him. From there, he cast an invisibility spell and pulled all of his mana back into his core. Then he used Flight and flew toward the beacon. The beacon was located on the roof of a building near the center of the city. When he got closer, he realized the building was the Adventurers' Guild. He slowly landed on the roof and focused on his Mana Sense.

The formation was located in one corner. It was a brick… A single brick covered in formation circles drawn in red. Was that his blood…? The Demon King was something else… Adolin was left speechless. It took him a few moments to get over the whole situation and analyze the… brick. It was a high-tier formation with an enormous amount of mana stored inside it. The formation itself wasn't capable of absorbing that amount of mana, at least not in this location, which meant Eurynomos was coming back daily to refill it.

That was his theory, considering Eurynomos had started from level one as well after arriving in this world. If he'd somehow gotten a head start, then he'd just been lazy. His best guess about the formation was that the Demon King was signaling for his sages to find him. There was no reason to destroy the formation, so Adolin took to the air again. He had no idea where Revel's estate was, and the best way to find it was to fly over the city. It was also the easiest way to familiarize himself with the place.

Keeping his stealth spells active, he flew slowly above the city, studying the streets and anything interesting he came across. Specifically, the food stands and restaurants that gave off mouthwatering smells. There were four of them he intended to visit before leaving the city. He was finally rich enough to do whatever he wanted. Half an hour later, he tracked down Lira's and Clay's mana signatures and found Revel's estate. Just as he was about to land beside it, he felt the same mana signature again.

It was approaching the city from the forest to the southeast. It was Eurynomos' signature, and he had the same formation on his person. Well, there was no reason not to pay him a visit. If they met in the city later, there would probably be a lot of collateral damage. So Adolin used a spell that worked just like the formation, spreading his own mana signature outward. That was the best way to avoid the collateral damage. Eurynomos' signature stopped moving for a few moments before suddenly speeding toward the city.

He was basically flying. Adolin chuckled and poured more mana into Flight, speeding toward his signature.