"Alexander was truly and utterly confused by what had just happened, but before he could process it, the world spun in his eyes, and he passed out once more.

"Ha, in one try and you didn't give up. It seems I don't need to use the backup. You did good, kid, you're strong-willed, but it seems your body is lacking. Well, that's to be expected in these times of peace."

As Alexander opened his eyes, he saw dawn filtering through the cracked window. Before he could question if all of this was another dream, the voice chimed in,

"It's not dawn but dusk; you were passed out for almost 7 hours."

Even though he wanted to question it, Alexander did not and just accepted the existence of the voice as well as the system.

‘Ok, thanks,’ Alexander said internally.

Though he accepted the existence of the system with his logical brain, emotionally he needed some time. So he did not engage in more pointless talking.

Getting out of his room and downstairs, he still found the place quiet and tranquil, as no one had returned yet.

Just as he was about to sigh in relief, the voice chimed in, “Well, now let's start. How much money do you have saved up?”

This sentence literally shocked Alexander as he made “what the fuck” eyes.

…

More than 7 hours earlier, even before Alexander woke up,

At the place of the ruin,

The entire area was barricaded with bright yellow ribbons forming a perimeter, while uniformed officers in crisp blue patrolled the vicinity.

Inside, men in lab coats were scuttling about between the hastily set-up tents, their faces tensed. The tent set up beside the biggest pile of debris was also the largest.

But the main chair was noticeably empty as the city lord did not come; on the right, the site was occupied by an old man with truly curly dirty hair and a very long white coat.

He was talking to others in the room who were all big shots without a doubt, some wearing decorative military uniforms, some with exquisite business suits, some with long flowing robes with air twisting around them.

But they all had one thing in common: they all had the mark of age on their experienced visages. Well, except one that is. Among the men seated there was one man who was around 6 feet 1 inch with blonde hair and no more than 28 years old, with a pristine blue suit, seated with them, amiably sipping his coffee as he made small talk. Even though he was young, every person here seemed to enjoy talking to him.

“S….s….sir,”

Suddenly, one of the apprentices of the man with the curly hair who was observing the strange, small crashed areas around the collapsed building on a screen screamed out in shock.

“What? What happened?” The man with the curly hair screamed back.

“Sir, this crashed area, with the drone analysis, I'm sure it was done by someone stamping on the ground.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“So what? I can completely crack 200 meters around me if I stomp hard enough,” one of the old men with flowing long robes said in annoyance.

The young apprentice gulped down and then, without saying anything, started drawing lines among the crashed areas.

At first, everyone was confused, but soon their eyes widened in understanding, especially the ones with the lab coat and the ones who were truly old.

On the other hand, the young blond man had an amused smile on his face as he looked on.

Once the lines were drawn, it was easy to see what it was: a rough map of important and almost heart-like places in the universe. And all the places that were crashed were prosperous and well-known planets' positions.

So, in other words, whoever trampled on the ground to make it, his message was clear: he was trampling on the whole universe!

“That's not all. From analyzing the corner crash points, I can confidently say the man intended to do more but…”

“Ha… ha… ha… ha…”

The young apprentice did not get to finish his sentence as almost everyone in the tent burst out laughing.

“Who… ha, ha, who does he think he is?” one said.

“Probably some drunkard,” another chimed in.

To be honest, this was a laughing matter when you think they, the elite of the city, were discussing some drunken cultivator.

Even though the blond young man did not burst out in laughter like the others, a slight smile also hung on his face. Suddenly, a huge man almost 8 feet in height, clad in a black coat, entered the tent and handed the blond young man a tablet.

As he leaned forward to say something, everyone knew this was the blond man's right-hand man and also his bodyguard, so no one paid any heed. As this would be rude and not respecting his privacy. And with this boned man's method even if they tried they would fail to obtain any usful info.

"Did you destroy all the evidence?" The blond man whispered back.

“Yes, sir.”

The blond man amusingly looked at the tablet where a blurry and distorted video played, showing the back of an average young man trampling on the ground.

...................

“Why in the world do I need to buy live stock?" Alexander muttered to himself as he strode down the bustling road, his destination fixed on the market where he was to purchase livestock, as per the peculiar instructions of the voice.

A few moments earlier,

"Money, why the fuck would you need money?"

"Come on, I am your ancestor, boy. Language."

"Who cares? Tell me, why do you need money? And before you answer, let me tell you I don’t have any, anyway."

"Don't fib, boy. Even the poorest have a bit stashed away. This is necessary; you need livestock. As for the reason, it's a surprise."

"I did have some saved up, but…" Alexander began, his voice trailing off as memories of wasted funds and that night flooded his mind, bringing a pang of regret.

"Spent it all on gambling or wooing a girl, did you?" The voice chimed in, but then softened as it sensed the turmoil in Alexander's heart.

He turned silent, towards understanding the mental and psychological pain he was far, far ahead of anyone in the world.

After some time passed, Alexander sighed on his own accord and took out the necklace, as he told everything to the voice.

‘Ha…ha…ha’

But contrary to his expectation, the voice started laughing as if mocking him.

‘Come on, boy, just this much. Ha…ha…ha…you truly are a softie. Ha…ha…ha…’ It was as if the voice could not stop laughing, making Alexander go red in embarrassment.

‘Just go to the market and sell the necklace, it should fetch a good price.’ After some time, the voice said, laughter still lingering in its tone.

And this led to now where Alexander was going to the market nearest to him to sell it and with that buy some livestock, or according to the voice whichever animal or creature was cheap.

His parents or brother still did not return, so he had to lock the house while coming here. It did not take him long to reach the bazaar; it was truly lively, especially as today was a holiday. and after searching around for a bit Alexander found a well-decorated shop for jewelry.

Just as he was about to enter it.

The voice raged out, ‘what the heck, did you not learn anything.’

Alexander was at this moment both frustrated and confused,

‘ha, you next generation are all complete fools. Never enter a flashy shop like this. They are good at swindling people so they have a flashy place in the first place, and not to mention to maintain this flashy appearance they need more profit which means less profit for anyone doing business with them.’

Alexander stopped and thought, though he did not want to admit his inferiority but thinking, it made perfect sense. He reluctantly turned back and started walking deeper, as per the voice's instruction. The marketplace was bustling and bustling at any given time, not to mention this was an unexpected holiday. So today it was extra busy.

Under the flashing neon and golden lights, people were milling about, vendors were shouting, inviting, and stating their prices. Some were chatting, but among them, Alexander ’s eyes were mostly attracted to the couples, of which there were many, too many. Some held hands, some danced, smiled as they ate, some even gave their shoulders to one another.

Alexander could not help but think that could have been him,

“Focus, boy.”

Suddenly a shout from the voice jolted him awake as he hurriedly stopped; he was just inches away from getting pasted by a car.

He shook his head to clear it, and then started moving forward. Everything was not for everyone; he consoled himself.

According to the voice, he needed to find a shop in a corner or some kind of abandoned place, or in the deeper parts.

No matter how much he wanted, he did not look at the surrounding people, as at this point he was in a restaurant area and all around him were couples of all ages, even those much younger than him. Looking at that would only make his heart hurt.

But after moving some distance, he suddenly stopped as he heard a familiar voice.