Chương 54: Lower Your Gaze

Kyle folded the datasheet and placed it in his inner pocket. The two walked towards one of the empty sofas and sat down. Luke waved at one of the waitresses and ordered two orange-Milo fruit mixes before lying back on the sofa.

"This is so comfortable; the past few days in the caravan were so hectic." Luke stretched and leaned back on the sofa, closing his eyes to rest for a bit.

"Indeed." Kyle nodded as he also leaned back, his body sinking into the soft sofa, comfort settling over his expression. There was none of that sweat and blood smell on the first floor. Instead, an elegant, soothing aroma filled the air, causing them to slowly relax. He casually looked at the adventurers spread across the second floor, and a trace of amazement flashed in his eyes.

Everywhere he looked, dashing adventurers with expensive equipment were talking to each other while pointing at the crystal tablet-like item on each table. Each one of them had at least copper tags hanging on their neck or wrapped around their hand. Kyle even glimpsed quite a few silver and even a few gold tags.

'It feels like a completely different place.' He sat with that for a moment. After looking around for a while, Kyle's eyes landed on the tablet-like object on the table. He picked it up and closely examined it. It had four bezels, a button at the center of the bottom bezel, and a shallow groove about 10 centimeters long and 3 centimeters wide in the back. Kyle pressed the button, and it lit up.

'It looks almost the same as old tablets from my past life!' Kyle's eyes widened.

"Ah, that? It's an arcane slate, a very handy magic item for browsing quests and querying information about monsters, magic items, and the public maps." Luke was leaning forward, watching Kyle tinker with the arcane slate with an amused expression. He fondly recalled the first time he saw the slate himself. He was even more curious and excited than Kyle.

"Neat," Kyle said as he tried the functions one by one. They were all very convenient. After tinkering with it for a while, he placed it back on the table. Although it was very convenient, a tablet wasn't something unprecedented for Kyle, let alone one with no internet and such limited functions. As he sipped the orange-Milo fruit mix, Kyle couldn't help but think about his mother and nonhuman bloodline.

"Hey, Luke, is there a way to accurately gauge my bloodline? I want to know what kind of bloodline it is," Kyle said seriously.

"Hmm? I don't really know about that. You might have to try your luck at some magic academy. Though I don't recommend that. Not to mention that you'll be putting information about your bloodline in the open, you might also just run into some crazy mage who'll imprison and study your bloodline." Luke pondered for a moment and said.

"That makes sense." Kyle nodded. He was currently weak and had no background. There was indeed a possibility of being imprisoned depending on the rarity of his bloodline.

'It seems that I can only shelve the matter of investigating my bloodline for now, at least until I become strong enough.' As Kyle was deep into his thoughts, the slowly disappearing noises attracted his attention. Looking up, everyone was looking at the entrance of the second floor. Following their gaze, a team of adventurers stood there. Their equipment was better than anything Kyle had ever seen before, and their auras were nothing short of impressive. They were a team of five.

A hulking, armor-wearing giant over two meters tall, and a petite young woman wearing leather armor with two daggers hanging on her waist. A dark-haired male cleric wearing a luxurious white robe donned with gold threads. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. The final two were the ones that attracted the most attention.

A beautiful silver-haired elf wearing a mage robe and holding a long staff crowned with a dazzling blue gem, and a young man who looked like the personification of a raging wildfire. He possessed blood-like red hair and piercing crimson eyes; his heavy red armor gleamed under the light. Sheathed on his back was a massive sword, a lethal fusion of deep red and obsidian black. All of them had gold tags either hung on their neck or wrapped around their arm.

The adventurers on the second floor fell silent as they watched them walk towards a private box on the second floor. Kyle's gaze curiously followed; his eyes drifted between each one, briefly pausing on the elf before stopping the red-haired man at the head of the team. That man couldn't hide his cocky expression as he walked forward. His expression would become affectionate whenever he looked at and talked to the silver-haired elf. For others, including his teammates, his expression was nothing short of arrogant.

As they passed by their table, the red-haired man's eyes met Kyle's. His eyes held nothing but disdain and contempt. Seeing that Kyle hadn't lowered his gaze, the red-haired man's eyes narrowed, glowing a faint orange tint.

"Hmph!" His snort carried scorching mana infused with malice. Kyle felt the world around him shake, his vision blurred, and his face turned abnormally red; blood seeped out from the corner of his mouth. That simple snort had vibrated his internal organs, internally injuring him. Kyle coughed up blood, his face filled with disbelief as he watched that team walk inside a private room and close the door behind them, not even sparing him another glance.

"Hey, are you okay, Kyle?" Luke quickly stood and anxiously checked on him. He quickly pulled a health potion from his bag before helping him drink it.

"Cough, cough! Ahem, I'm fine." Kyle violently coughed, taking a few quick breaths and gulping some of the potion before he finally felt better. His heart was pounding. He never felt so powerless. The nearby adventurers glanced at them before coldly shifting their gaze. This wasn't unusual for them. Kyle silently looked at the closed door of that private room, his mind a jumbled mess. He had so many questions, but in the end, it all coalesced in just one word.

"Why?" Why did that guy suddenly attack him? This was the first time he saw him; they didn't speak to each other, and he didn't even know his name. They basically had no grudge, so why? Luke fell silent; his gaze drifted to the private room, filled with anger and powerlessness.

"That's how that guy is. His name is Kael Redwyn, the leader of the Crimson Sword party and one of the strongest adventurers in Velkaris. He's a known arrogant and impulsive guy." Luke paused, seemingly remembering something. He looked around for a moment before whispering,"I heard that he's the illegitimate son of Count Velkaris. So even though he had done many outrageous things, he still hadn't faced any punishment.

Of course, another reason is that not only is he among the strongest in rank 2, he also possesses the hidden class [Flame Knight]." Luke hesitantly looked at Kyle's young face before finishing.

"He's also just 22 years old." Kyle silently took this in. He leaned back into his sofa, his eyes slowly turning cold.

"That doesn't answer my question. Why did he attack me?" Kyle somberly asked.

"This… Probably because you looked at him in the eye. That arrogant guy hates it when people that he considers lesser look at him in the eye," Luke hesitantly said.

"Just because of that?" Kyle asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, just because of that. No other adventurer looked him in the eye besides you. That snort was basically telling you to lower your gaze." Luke nodded somberly.

'Just because our gazes met? That snort rattled my internal organs!' Kyle felt rage bubbling in his heart.

"I thought attacking someone inside the adventurers' guild was strictly forbidden?" Kyle said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, you could complain to the guild, but I don't recommend doing that. In the end. Due to his status and the fact that you were lightly injured, he won't receive much of a punishment. The outcome would be you offending him, and you'll be in deep trouble," Luke seriously said.

"Just take the loss, man." After a few seconds of silence, Kyle slowly leaned back in his chair. It was only now that he remembered that this world ran on might and influence. The strong and noble could ruthlessly humiliate the weak with no consequences. The only thing that ruled was strength. However, strength wasn't constant. It could change. Kael was stronger now, so he could humiliate him as he pleased, but once Kyle became stronger, the tables would turn.

'I'll remember this.' Kyle noted this grudge down. …… In the private room. Kael looked at a map stretched on the table with crossed arms. The elf mage, Vivian, was pointing at one of the points on the map as she talked.

"After investigating, I can basically confirm that this sunken island was one of the giant golem manufacturing hubs during the reign of Emperor Neos." Her voice dropped slightly as she mentioned that name.

"The island was sunk during the final abyss war at the end of the fourth era, but the factories and manufacturing hubs shouldn't have been fully destroyed. There should still be many salvageable golems."

"If we can find some manufacturing blueprints, we'll be rich!" Light shone in her eyes as she spoke. Kael nodded upon hearing this.

"Very well, I'll arrange the ship; you deal with the rest." He proudly said. Kael looked tenderly at Vivian before casually waving for the rest of the party to prepare for the trip.

"Tell the others to prepare; we'll set off in two days." Kael and Vivian continued planning their route and supplies. Kyle never crossed their minds. Not even once.