The rest of their journey was far more mundane, with only an ocasional attack from either a group of predatory, eyeing their extra horses or some random foolish group of goblins, salivating over the bounty this particular convoy could bring. Rex did the expected, blowing them away with the blood needles he had revealed in their fight against the mercenaries, then proceeding to drain the corpses of their blood once that was done. When asked by Alurial about the reason his casting seemed to be so easy, when compared to her fire magic, Rex explained that blood was part of ones body, thus not subjected to the adverse effects of the worlds mana that inhibited casting. It was for that exact reason there were no spells an individual could cast that created sea of flames of earthquakes that could devour cities with ease. The world itself was against such displays of power. But at the same time, one could reach extreme levels of power and speed by hardening and empowering their flesh with mana infusion. Still, the destructive power of magic was obvious, making it the greatest power at most levels, only being overshadowed by the pinnacle body reinforcing masters who could shrug off the fireballs and other offensive magic dirrected their way with copious amounts of mana infused in their bodies, making their defenses incredibly potent, even if for a limited time.

What Rex did not speak about was his own way of strenghtening his body, as wellas the true power of the concepts he wielded, since it seemed to be knowledge that this world simply did not have, saving his own special advantages for himself and whoever he decided to share with. He was all too well aware of the ficklness of people, leaving him with the need to observe and understand his current and future companions for a long time, before he shared any of his own special skills.

At the end of the day, mana capacity and controll were the skills that trully seperated the absolute best of this world from the good, average or the meh fighters and mages of this world, no matter which discipline one chose to start with, since even mages focused on body enhancement, though with elemental properties, once they reached a certain treshold of power. A simple lumpo of element, trown at their adversaries, could take one so far.

Eventually, they reached their goal, quite a few plumes of smoke rising in the air as they aproached a rather large wall. Their 'aquired' additional horses moved calmly in a rather organized line behind the two carriages, making their group look quite odd, all things considered. Horse merchants ussually had notably different compositions after all. Still, as they aproached the gray, four meter tall wall, only a few odd glances were dirrected their way from the men patrolling the wall.

"State your business!" Asked a guard by the gate, armoured with a set of chainmall armor, a rather large pike and cumbersome shield, his visor lifted to provide a better field of vision while he did not have to engage in battle.

"Bringing adventurers over as part of a job." replied one of the coachmen.

"And the horses? Dont seem like something a group of adventurers, fitting in two carriages would need."

"Some fools decided to ambush us during our nightly rest. Did not work out well for them." replied the coachman, earning a raised brow from the guard.

"You have what, six to eight men? Just what class of adventurers are you transporting?"

"Couldnt tell you, would not either. Want to risk your hide, then go and ask yourself. My job is to get them where they need to be."

"Problems?" Rex jumped out of one of the carriages, his gaze sharp and not very friendly. "We are itching to test out the dungeon, so hurry up."

"Y-yes, my apologies." stuttered the guard, Rex's gaze making him slightly uncomfortable and even a bit scared. "There is a small toll that needs to be paid upon entry. Five copper coins per person, the coachmen excluded, since their guild has a standing agreement with our city." Noticing the sign, stamped with what looked to be city lords seal, stating the same, Rex withdrew thirty copper coins and dropped them in the hand of the guard.

"Six person group. Thirty coppers." he stated in a cold, no nonsense tone.

"Wait just a moment sir." the guard replied, as he dissapeared inside the gate for a moment, leaving his pike and shield at the gate, returning just a minutes or so later, six medalions at hand.

"This here proves that you have entered the town legaly. Please keep them on at all times, since guards can ask to be shown it in case of some trouble. He have had some issues with the more shady elements of the world. Thieves and the like, who enter and exit the city through other means. This way of identifying allows us to at least somewhat reduce their numbers."

Rex nodded, and once he was sure that there were no enchantments on the medalions, or curses for that matter, since there were no runes or anything else similar on them, he wore one himself and gave the rest to the remaining girls, who proceeded to do the same, adorning their necks with them. Once the fee was paid, the gatekeeper gave a signal, and the gate was opened fully, allowing their group to pass.

Once inside, the first thing they did was find the closest merchants and after a while, they managed to sell off the extra horses they had on hand, earning quite a bit of money for the transaction. The two coachmen were also provided with a small part of the bounty. They had done their job well and Rex considered it to be a decent incentive for the two to keep their mouth shut regarding the things they saw during their trip, since only the parties destination and composition was something they were supposed to keep quiet about initially. This gesture, alongside a friendly note that he could be quite ruthless, if his hand was forced, served as enough of an ensurance.

With the unnecessary things offloaded and their money bags noticably heavier, they moved on to find a decent inn to make as their base for the time being, eventually considering renting a small house for the party, depending on how profitable it would be running the dungeon. Since it was a relatively low tiered one, the profits were not expected to bea heavy, many hopefull and aspiring adventurers already grinding in the place. And yet, for those of a slightly higher caliber, as well as willing to take more risks, there was always a way. Delve deeper and slightly better stuff could be found, and when luck shines on a party, some trully expensive treasures could be found, even in a relatively weak dungeon as the one they are aiming at.

The most important reason to delve into dungeons however was not tied to the monetary rewards one could earn delving them. No, the greatest treasure was the chance to grow stronger, as with each kill ones body recieved a miniscule boost to their own flesh and bones. It was something similar to what Rex's drain could do, though on a much smaller scale, even when compared to his current, much weakened passive version. And it did not strenghten ones soul, as far as Rex could figure out. There was also a limit to how much growth could dungeons provide, as there were some hard caps for each place, as well as the people who were atempting to grow in such a way. Still, he was quite interested to see, if he could double dip with the empowerment, since his won uniqueness guaranteed that no such caps ever applied to him.

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They spent a few hours walking around the relatively small town, checking whatever inns they came upon, every time finding a few reasons they could not chose said place as their temporary base. As they walked around, they could take in the town. Its gray and relatively small buildings, with a dark brown single roofs, stood side by side. Small glass windows ensuring at least some light entered the buildings during the day. A few smelters that purified the metals they dug up in the bearby mine, as well as a large number of warehouses, belonging to numerous companies of merchants who bought up both unpreocessed and processed metals alike, then moving the macross the land and selling for profit.

Due to the nearby dungeon, there was plenty of shops that catered to specifically adventurers, selling or buying what one needed, or was willing to sell off. A constant chatter could be heard in the streets with numerous stalls, someone trying to get a better deal for whatever they had aquired during their delves. All kind of magical cores were lined on nemerous stalls, alongside monster parts or rare, mana infused materials, most of whom could be torn from some rarer monsters.

Eventually, they managed to find an inn that satisfied their needs called 'Luna's Garden'. It was run by a dryad. A green skinned woman with yellow eyes and light brown hair. Her clothes seemed to be woven from all sorts of leaves and moss, barely covering her light curves. A friendly, inviting smile adorned her face as she welcomed the group in the lobby of the inn.

"Welcome guests to Luna's Garden. How may I be of assistance?" the dryad asked once the group stopped in front of the counter, her eyes glancing over every member of the party in front of her, as if taking their measure, something Rex was sure she did. He noticed a slight tremble in her eyes as she 'evaluated' him, something she hid very well, thought not well enought to escape his sharp eyes.

"We are looking for a few rooms to acomodate us for some time." spoke Samanta "This is the best place we have found so far that fits our needs. We would need a room for the man and however many rooms necessary for the rest of us. We girls dont mind sharing our rooms either, if it makes it easier." she added.

"I am sorry to inform you that my establishement dont have enough rooms free at the moment to acomodate your party." the dryad smiled apologetically as she replied, though Rex could sense her wariness towards him. "May I suggest you try another establishement? There are many others within our humble town, thanks to the dungeon nearby, that could fit your needs."

Rex then moved closer to the counter and leaned on it "You are scared of me. I wonder why?" he then chuckled, continiuing "Now, the question is, will the monster that you percieve me to be, just ignore your audacity? Or will it take a note to repay it in kind. Tell me, little tree spirit, do you want to take that chance?" an evil grin spread across his face "I have heard that smart and civilised monsters dont shit where they sleep." his smile was now downright terrifying, so much so that it sent chills down the girls spine. He did not have to spell out the meaning behind his words, for they were obvious to all, creating a deadly silence in the inn.

"A shame things did not work out, lets find a place thats not full girls, shall we?" Rex suddenly spoke up, his demeanor and voice bright and light, creating a comical moment. A laugh errupted just moments after, Meru not able to hold it in. As she laughed, holding her sides, nearly falling to the ground, she squeezed out.

"Ha ha ha ha. Lords, stop it. Ha ha ha. You sure you are not a vampire? ha ha ha ha. Thats too devious."

"YOU KNOW????!!!!" in panic screamed the dryad, recoiling back to the far wall of the room, now clearly trembling in fear, terrified what will hapen with her now that the cat was out of the bag.

"Sorry to dissapoint, but there are no vampires here." Rex shrugged his shoulders at the dryad. "Did you sense an overabundance of life energy?" he then pulled out his blood sword in progress, pointing at it. "Could it be you sensed this little thing?"

Now, seeing the object that was obviously radiating the life energy that had alarmed her held in the mans hand, she visibly relaxed, clearly having made a mistake and now aware of it. "Still, were I an actual vampire, was what you did a smart thing? like I said before, I dont think such creatures would fail to notice the things I did and leave you alone, purely because you knew too much." His question did cause the dryad to flinch, now clearly aware of her own mistake, as she deflated even more, so much so that a small sniffs could be heard from the woman.

"Look at you. You made her cry." Scolded Ria, quickly moving over the counter and pulling the dryad into a hug, gently caressing the brown hair. "There, there. Its gonna be fine. Ria here will reprimand the bully. There is nothing to fear here."

"Hey, on whose side are you? It was her who was trying to chase us- perfecty fine probable clients- away, even with a lot of empty rooms." complained Rex in fake anger, clearly visable from the smile on his face. He was not at all angry at Ria, the woman was overly sweet to cute little things.

"I believe it is her right as the owner of of the place." Ria spoke back, but Rex did not hesitate to reply.

"IF, that was the case, I could not argue, but that is not the case, is it now?" his gaze focused on the sniffling and crying spirit, only for a sound of door opening, earning their gazes. Through came a carbon copy of the dryad in Rias embrace, though with much greater curves and demeanor that screamed- motherly. The same light green skin color, same light brown hair and yellow eyes, though with curves that could light a lire in most mans loins. Her slightly swaying waist movement as she walk made her all the more alluring.

"Ow my. Did my little Lunaria cause a mischief once again, not able to deal with it till the end?" A sweet and soft voice resounded from the elder dryad, as she reached Ria and little Lunaria. She bowed towards Rex and the girls, at the same time flasing a nice cleavage to Rex, intentionally or not, he could not tell, but apreciated it all the same.

"I apologise for rude behaviour. As the owner of the place, I should have thought my peopole better. Allow me to make amends by offering you a discount on the services you seek, should it still be desired . I would understand if Lunaria had offended you and you decide to take your business elsewhere." she stayed as she was, her head bowed in apology.

"Its fine, its fine." quickly spoke up Samanta "No harm's done, since our companion gave as much as he recieved. And we would still like to get some rooms, if it is all the same to you. A room for the man, and the rest of us dont mind sharing."

"Certainly." replied the mother, raising her head and smiling amiably. "Lunaria, apologise to our guests will you. you still need a lot of training in life aura reading before you can properly use it to evaluate our possible customers." as she spoke, she had already moved over to the counter, flipping through a journal of sorts, looking for something. "Ah, yes. I can offer a room for three, one for two and then a room for the man. Will that be fine?"

"Yes. That will be great, thank you." replied Samanta. the rest of the registration went smoothly, with Light's oak aquiring their lodgings for a few days at the minimum, with a note that they might need to extend their stay for longer, should some of their plans not work out as well as they thought. little Lunaria eventually apologized, though now she was openly glaring at Rex, his monster act clearly not being apreciated. He did find it to be a well executed leason, one the young dryad was in a clear need off. Luna, the elder dryad pulled Rex aside and profusely apologized for the actions of her daughter, imploring him to not mind the younger girl too much. Life in a safe place has spoiled the youngling quite a bit, nevertheless, Lunaria was her daugher as she loved her too much.

"Such a wounderfull mother." Rex nodded with a smile. "Do not worry. If your daughter causes too much trouble, I am sure we can come to an arrangement that pacifies my possible anger without any drastic measures necessary." His eyes roamed over the body of the woman, his intent clear, earning a slight blush from the mature woman, who nodded in understanding. Rex was not some incredibly handsome man, his looks quite average, His life aura however, even without the blood sword in question was impressive. And for dryad's, that was a much greater attraction than ones physical looks. For all intent and purposes, to Lunas eyes, Rex was stunningly handsome creature, and had Lunaria not mistaken the blood sword for the signs of him being a vampire, thus not properly seeing Rex in all his glory, Luna was sure her daugher would be swooning all over him right now.

Luna could only sigh in relief, thanking the scatterbrained personality of her daugher for the current situation. While she herself was incredibly tempted, as a fully grown and experienced lady, she had the will to restrain herself, but a rebellious teenage girl, falling head over heels for the incredibly desirable man that decided to stay in their inn? Yea, that did not sound like a promising script for a string of proper and smart decisions.