Chương 49

On a spacious terrace, accompanied by the striking view of Niamaris, Ethan and Michelle were waiting for their orders to arrive. Most of the tables in the establishment were full, and the people who dined there were mainly young and high-spirited, creating a zestful atmosphere. Ethan gazed at the biggest free city, with people walking on its streets and flying in its skies. It had the same chaotic vibe as Ehrendil, but it lacked the subtle order the other managed.

Though to decide which one he liked more, he needed more time to live in them. Opening his [Void Mute], he covered their table and gave his attention to Michelle.

''So, tell me how you guys have been? Have our fellow earthlings started to adapt? Are there any plans for the near future?'' The barrier of the [Void Mute] was barely recognizable when one checked it with [Mana Sense] intentionally. But Michelle noticed that his voice sounded rather weird and raised an eyebrow.

''What kind of skill is this? What does it do?''''It's called [Void Mute]. For now, it only blocks sound coming in or out. Someone with a high tier could ignore it, but I'd know when the barrier is breached.''''Impressive! I'm guessing they don't sell this kind of skill openly?'' she said and pursed her lips with Ethan's nod.

''Well, much has happened since we settled in this city. People certainly started to adapt, but I don't know if that's a good thing. At the start, we were all frightened by being exposed and losing Ani's help, which caused all of us to be united and work together, but now, everyone has found something they are good at and started to question whether it was good for them to stick with our group or not.

After all, going back to Earth is not an option for the near future, and even if it was, I don't think many would.'' Ethan listened thoughtfully. He didn't particularly care about it, but still wanted the best for the people of Earth.

''Doesn't Leo give you enough benefits? Holding the group together with only sentiments and ideologies would only work for so long.''''The benefits we got are the same as any other mercenary group,'' Michelle said, shaking her head.

''And he started to focus on the locals even more. There was an incident a month ago. When Daniel got into trouble with the locals, Leo did nothing to help and said it was a punishment for his foolishness. Everyone knew that it was an excuse, that he was scared and didn't find it worthy to fight for Daniel. The poor guy is still in prison for something he didn't deserve. Because of things like that, everyone started to talk about how pointless it was for us to still be together.'''' Yeah.

That ship won't go far with a captain like that. Don't you have other people who are worth following?'''' Not really. In this world, someone worth following must be strong as well. Leo has high-grade talent, and he is a damn good fighter. We have only two top talents in our group, if you include Pete. Your buddy works really hard and should be at tier-3 after this hunting trip, but he isn't really cut out for being a leader.'''' And the other guy?'' Michelle gave a mirthless chuckle.

''It's our blacksmith, Abraham. He is still in the Niamaris. I'll introduce him to you soon, and you'll see why he can't be an option too.'''' Oh? Is he any good? I also need black–'' He stopped himself and removed the [Void Mute], looking at the corner of the terrace where a bunch of young people were talking loudly, and some of them were peeking at their table. He managed to catch some of the talk.'' Stop it, Jason. He looks dangerous,'' the blonde girl warned her tier-4 friend anxiously.''

I told you, he is only a peak tier-3. I don't believe his barrier could block my rank-2 [Mana Sense]. We'll soon know where this brat came from, and whether he's going to be a problem for you or not,'' Jason said with a confident smile and turned his attention to their table once again. Ethan locked his gaze with him. A [Shadow Spike] as small as a toothpick rose from inside his sleeve, traveled through a [Fabric Tear], and stabbed Jason's neck gently.

It was just strong enough to draw a few drops of blood and disappeared right after. Then, he offered a sunny smile with a frivolous wave. Jason's eyes widened with horror. He jumped to his feet, his hand holding his throat. When he saw the blood in his palm, his face lost color, and his hand started to tremble. Without saying anything, he hastily left the place, not even glancing at Ethan. The others at their table noticed this and ran after their friend, not sure if his injury was serious or not.

Only the blonde girl stopped by Ethan's table and bowed deeply.

''I'm terribly sorry for my friend's behavior. It was extremely rude, please forgive him.''''No worries. I gave my warning. What happens next is up to him.'' The girl stood straight and sighed in relief.

''I'm sure he won't do anything stupid. I'll talk to him again. Um, did you come here for the competition?''''Competition? Not really. What's that about?''''It's, ah, it's called Double Moon,'' the girl said meekly as she started to play with her hair locks.

''Every time the moons overlap, which is a week from now, all of the free cities hold a competition for their youngsters. This time the host is Niamaris, and people under tier-4 are coming from every other free city to participate.''''Oh? Interesting,'' Ethan commented, turning to Michelle.

''Did you know about that?'' For some reason, Michelle's eyes were radiating excitement. Only after hearing that did they dim a little as she rolled her eyes.

''Of course, I do. I live here.''''What's the prize?'' The blonde girl answered with fervor.

''They stopped giving rewards centuries ago. The chance to bring our families honor is more than enough. Not to mention, if someone with a poor background manages to impress others, they could get invitations from the big families.'' Ethan stared at the girl, speechless. Meanwhile, Beet, who had been sleeping all this time at the corner of the table, opened one of his eyes, causing the girl to flinch.

''This is my friend, Beet.'' He introduced him, gesturing with his hand.

'He has strong opinions about tournaments without prizes but will keep it to himself for now.''''Is… Is that so? Uh, hi, I'm Candice,'' she said, raising a hand warily. With the message delivered, Beet closed his eye again. Michelle sent a sympathetic look toward Candice.

''I'm Michelle, and this is Ethan. Don't mind him. He is new around here and doesn't know much of the traditions.''''No, I don't mind at all,'' she said, shaking her head, and saw that the waitress was coming over with their dishes.

''I should get going. It was nice to meet you. If you come to watch the tournament, we can talk more. I know most of the participants.''''It's a deal. I might check it out,'' Ethan said. Now that's a perfect place for Ani to gather some data about skills. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. With Candice gone, Michelle turned excited once again.

''Tell me, how long are you planning to stay in the city?''''Not sure, a week or two maybe. Why?''''I just can't wait to see the look on Leo's face when you cause more trouble,'' she said with glee.''Hey, what do you mean by me causing trouble? It was that guy who started it.'' Michelle laughed merrily.

''That was exactly what I said about the bar fight.'' The waitress filled their table with venison steak, bacon chips, baked beans, salad, and many more foods. Michelle had suggested most of it, and most of it had been ordered for Ethan. As the server left, Ethan opened his [Void Mute] once again, and they started to eat. Michelle extended her hand slowly to grab some bread near the sleeping Beet and managed not to disturb the evil prince.

''So, you can speak with… Beet?''''Sure I can,'' he answered, nodding.

''He is also rooting for you and Jasmine. If that's what you're wondering.'' Michelle's grip on the bread tightened as her ears turned reddish.

''I'm not going to hear the end of this, am I?'''' Not a chance,'' Ethan replied with a grin. After eating to their fill, Ethan asked Michelle to bring him to Abraham to sell some of his stuff and order a dagger and armor, but Michelle said Abraham's specialty is rather complicated, and it'd be better to go somewhere more popular. And so, they ended up in the blacksmith guild, a giant building with dozens of shops in it. Their first stop was the basement, where Ethan emptied out almost all of his storage ring.

Two more staff had been called, and after an hour of examination, he had been offered 45 mana stones in total. 30 of them were for his spoils from the 10th floor of the Wish Well only, and the rest were worth another 15. While the tier-4 cores sold for only 5 silver coins, the tier-5 ones were worth 2 gold; one could only imagine the disparity of wealth between low and high tiers. All in all, he now had more than 100 mana stones, and he felt damn good about it.

No commoner below tier-5 had that kind of wealth, perhaps except for the old adventurers. His trip to the Primordial Realm really turned the tide. Even better, he was considering this money as pocket change because he still had the Aether Bloom. Once he sold the extra elixir, around 500 mana stones would be waiting for him, and that'd be the time to buy some good stuff. Still, with his new finances, there was no need to wait until he reached the Mirasatra.

Getting some temporary equipment and one or two common but useful skills was no problem at all. After the transaction, Michelle led him to the upper floors to find a blacksmith. As they walked, she leaned toward him, hesitantly.

''Did you kill those beasts yourself?'''' Mm,'' he nodded.'' Just… just what tier are you?'''' Almost four.'''' Those colossal monster parts belonged to tier-5s,'' she stated, trying to keep her voice low.'' Oh? You noticed that?'' He teased with a slight smile and added after seeing how serious her silent expression was, ''What? Thinking about canceling the spar?'''' Hmph.

You're not allowed to use skills in the spar, and we'll use special bracelets to limit our physical strength,'' she said, more eager if anything.'' Sounds fun. Speaking of artifacts, is there something like a voice recorder?'''' Yep. They are called Memory Recorders, and the ones just for voice are quite cheap. Why?'''' For the job, of course,'' he said.

''We're gonna need one since we'll try to get a confession from the Fickle Neil.''''Fickle Neil?'' Ethan sighed.

''You don't even know the nickname of the guy you've been following for a week. Honestly–'' The shop they were passing by was displaying a few weapons in the front, and one of them caught his eye. A red-colored short pole. It stunned him on the spot, leaving him speechless for a moment. Michelle patted his shoulder gently.

''Are you okay?'' Ethan blinked his eyes and came back to reality.

''Yeah. Sometimes, the more you avoid thinking about something, the more life shoves it in your face, you know?'' Without waiting for an answer, he turned to the opposite side and walked to a different store.

''Come, I like this one's vibe.'' Michelle took one last look at the red pole with a frown and followed him to the store. The place almost seemed abandoned. The broken glass at the window was patched with duct tape, the wooden floor had small areas that started to mold, and there was a blanket of dust everywhere except the pathway from the entrance to the table at the back, where an old man was sleeping with a wine bottle in his hand. Ethan inspected the old weapons hanging on the wall with interest.

There were all kinds of artifacts, some imposing, some wicked, and some radiating mana; all looked like relics of old times. He reached for a dagger and picked it up. Its design was pretty similar to Devi's, but when he tried to send his mana, nothing happened. Curious, he even made a tiny wound on his finger, but it quickly became apparent that it was just a regular cold weapon with a delicate style. Still, its balance was perfect, and its weight was even heavier than his old daggers.

Taking a small earring out of his ring, he held it close to the dagger and sent his mana into it. With a gentle breeze, all the dust around him was pushed away with force. He watched in awe as the sorry-looking dagger turned into something magnificent. Sadly, all that cheap earring was capable of blowing the dust away; in a short time, the store was filled with dust flying around, followed by two consecutive coughs, one soft and hushed, the other hoarse and sickly.'' What the hell are you doing!?''

the old man said between coughs.'' Sorry about that,'' Ethan said, covering his mouth with his cloak.

''I think this place might need some cleaning?''''You think? Well, thank you for the observation, genius! Did you come here to tell me this?''''No, I want to buy this,'' he said, showing the matte black, slick-design dagger. The old man narrowed his eyes to look at the dagger and shook his head.

''This place is not a store. It's my workshop. And even if it was a store, why the hell would you choose to shop from here? Are you a dimwit?''''Oh… I still want to buy it though. It's time for it to see some action, don't you think?''''Definitely a dimwit,'' the old man murmured.

''Alright, it's yours. Now get out.'''' Like for free?'''' Yes, for free. You may get the hell out now.'''' But I still need armor.'''' Damn it! What part of 'get lost' you don't understand?'' the old man yelled as he threw his bottle, which narrowly missed Ethan. With no other choice, Ethan left the shop with Michelle in haste, but the old man yelled from behind.'' Hold on!'' He went for the messiest corner, and after throwing a few items left and right, he picked up a small orb-shaped metal object.

From the entrance, he tossed it to Ethan.

''For the little fellow.''''Wow. Thank you, sir. About my armor–'' The door of the workshop slammed with a bang, and the last hanging glass pieces fell to the ground.''What a kind-hearted man!'' Ethan exclaimed happily as he started to inspect the metal ball. It didn't take long for him to figure out that it was a spatial artifact. Quickly removing his mana, he lifted it up to his shoulder, where Beet was gazing around, bored.

''Send your mana to it, buddy. It's a gift from the benevolent grandpa.'' When Beet sent his mana, the small metal ball liquified and started to move on top of Beet's skin, until finally taking the shape of a tiny necklace.'' What is it?'' Michelle asked, getting closer.'' A spatial artifact. I was afraid that Beet wouldn't be able to use one until he got much bigger.'''' Why is it only you two are getting gifts? What about me?'' she asked, sulking.''

Grandpa must've seen the goodness inside our hearts,'' he replied, nodding to himself.

''He is probably some kind of sage. Gifting priceless artifacts to the worthy heroes he meets, creating karma threads everywhere.'' They went to another shop for Ethan's armor and learned that the old man was the son of the current guild leader. A decade ago, after his wife caught him in bed with seven dwarf women, he got dumped and became a grumpy alcoholic. Ever since then, he stopped creating new artifacts and chose to wallow in misery. Nevertheless, Ethan believed that it was just a cover story for the sage.

From the shop, he ordered two custom-made leather armors with a fortifying rune on them, each worth 10 mana stones. He was told to come pick them up in three days. They left the blacksmith guild to head for the hairdresser, but before that, the boy with the flat cap found them. From the look on his face, Ethan was able to tell that he was onto something good.