Chapter 29: Heart City, Searching for an Inn

In the crimson desert, Livia sighed while gazing at the brilliant moon, her furrowed brows slowly relaxing. With a beautiful smile, she said, “Director, was it really alright to leave him alone? We could have helped him further.”

Hearing this, Sage smiled fondly, as if recalling distant memories. “This is how Old Master taught his disciples. After handing us a few things, he tossed us out into the world.”

“Your experiences are your master; I am only your guide.”

“Those were his words.”

Facing the jeweled sky, Sage gradually closed his eyes, recollecting the wonderful past.

Livia glanced at the mellow smile gracing his lips, perceiving the joy within. She mimicked his posture and said knowingly, “It has been a long time since I have seen you this happy, Director.”

“Hmm,” Sage responded.

A minute silently elapsed.

While accompanying Sage’s silent remembrance, Livia suddenly jolted in surprise as she sensed something. Her amethyst eyes widened in shock, “Director, you…”

At this moment, a rumbling shockwave suddenly emerged from Sage, blasting away with tremendous force.

The sparse clouds in the sky were swept away like parting curtains while the enormous sand dunes collapsed like a house of cards. A mighty earthquake erupted within the desert as an apocalyptic storm covered the brilliant moon.

The crimson sand formed a semi-spherical crater, extending rapidly with the powerful shockwaves. In just a matter of seconds, the crater reached hundreds of kilometers, and displayed no signs of stopping.

Explosive lightning resonated with the earthly tremors, producing a deafening cacophony exhibiting nature’s might, threatening to rend the hearts of any witnesses.

Thankfully, with Livia’s strength, she remained unaffected.

The mountain of crimson sand below had already disintegrated, leaving her floating in space. Beside her was Sage, exuding an earth-shattering aura.

Livia tried to articulate her previous words, “Director…”

“Livia, you are right. Today is a very joyous day. So joyous that I wish to share it with the world.”

Sage’s booming voice resounded throughout the region, his previously gentle eyes now exuding a piercing suppression. The ever-present gentle smile still remained, but now reflected a ghostly malevolence, startlingly harmonizing with his dark blue eyes and flowing silver hair.

Foreseeing the inevitable, Livia steeled herself and said, “Director, by transcending within Dawnstar, you have already alarmed numerous powers. Various forces will soon arrive here to interfere, and even attempt to eliminate you. Allow me to contact the Old Master and request other reinforcements.”

“No need. Let us test the progress of our friends from Dawnstar! As for the Old Master, with his abilities, he will learn of this regardless!” Sage answered fearlessly, ignoring the destructive phenomenon to gaze into the distance.

Following his gaze, Livia perceived several boundless auras racing over. She sighed helplessly before smiling valiantly, displaying a heroic confidence.

“Looks like the guests are already here. Let me accompany you in today’s festivities then.”

...

Heart City, as a subsidiary of Arcane Heart University, was incomparable to a peripheral metropolis like Everlite City.

Sprinting on the dark grassland, bypassing a small lake, Ain eventually reached a wide, well-maintained highway heading straight for Heart City. The illuminated highway wasn’t busy at night, yet the traffic wasn’t sparse either.

Numerous spirit masters advanced on either side of the clearly demarcated highway.

There were low-hovering rovers of various sizes, spirit masters riding fluxboards, spirit beasts serving as mounts, and even numerous pedestrians like Ain.

This simple scene already trumped Everlite City where roads didn’t extend out of the city.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Ain, fascinated by the sights, was following the highway when the sky suddenly emitted a low rumble. He glanced up curiously, “The night’s pretty clear. Doesn’t look like it’s gonna rain…”

Strange weather phenomena were common in this world. There would be similar unexplainable events at least once a month. After a brief glance, he ignored it and continued his journey.

As a Rank-1 Spirit Master, his physical capabilities surpassed regular humans, allowing extended sprints.

Soon, after following the highway for a while, Ain finally entered Heart City.

That’s right. He entered just like that.

There were no inspections or lengthy wait times. Spirit masters just casually cruised into the city.

“Is there no inspection here?” Ain wondered to himself, carefully walking through the city gates. Unlike Everlite City, the main gate here was wide open with numerous guard stations visible at incremental checkpoints.

The robust metallic city walls reflected a menacing aura. Various symmetrical grooves littered its entire surface, serving as a testament to its lethality. The walls no doubt hid deadly weapons and lethal devices capable of curbing any potential threat.

As Ain continued on, unique buildings began sprouting along the highway as it morphed into smaller roads heading in varying directions.

The colorful scenery he’d witnessed inside Everlite City unfolded before him once again, albeit at a much grander scale.

Rowdy taverns exuding an ancient charm, large shops conducting profitable trades, restaurants and eateries releasing delectable aromas, and numerous other buildings were like persistent weeds, present everywhere.

Ain even spotted a branch of the Spirit Master Association, alongside other official agencies such as the Spirit Cultivator Union and the Artisan Union. These were just one of their many branches within the city.

As he’d witnessed in Everlite City, Heart City’s outskirts possessed a bold and rambunctious quality, a nod to the spirit masters’ adventurous spirit. The inner city was expected to be more orderly and solemn, reflecting a contemporary scene.

Ain committed these sights to memory before entering an inn called Welcome Home Inn. It was already night and it’d been a long time since he’d gotten any rest. He eagerly awaited investigating the storage ring as well.

After passing through the sturdy wooden doors, Ain approached the innkeeper in the entry hall. “Hello, I want a room for the night.”

The chubby innkeeper, leaning into a big chair with his shiny bald head, glanced at Ain before responding nonchalantly. “What kind of room do you want?”

“The cheapest one.”

“Alright, that’s one aether crystal for a night.”

Ain frowned upon hearing the price. What’s an aether crystal?

Seeing Ain’s shifting expression, the innkeeper misunderstood.

“Listen kid, I can tell you’re one of those new spirit masters entering Heart City to attempt Arcane Heart’s recruitment. It’s the same every year.”

“Now that you’re here, you need to forget about whatever prices you’re used to. Here, everything’s more expensive.”

“You should know that Heart City is a subsidiary of Arcane Heart. It’s basically controlled by the University. Do you know how powerful the spirit masters in the University are? Let me tell you, in the entire Federation, there aren’t many places safer than here.”

“So take my advice and get used to these prices fast. Not everyone’s as patient as me.”

The chubby innkeeper finished his piece, chugging a bottle to quench his thirst.

Ain took note of the innkeeper’s words, but the problem still remained. He’d never heard of aether crystals, and naturally didn’t possess any.

After pouring the entire bottle down his gullet, the innkeeper noticed his silence and added, “Look here, kid. You can’t stay here without paying. If you need to find cheaper inns, just head down that alley. The entire road’s full of those dusty inns.”

“I have to warn you though, their service isn’t as good as mine, and neither is their security.” The chubby innkeeper mentioned while pointing at an alley out the window.

“Thank you.” Ain thanked the innkeeper and left the Welcome Home Inn while pondering.

If even an inn wants aether crystals as payment then I urgently need to know what they are.

That being said, the innkeeper was probably trying to scam me. He knew I’m not from here and wanted to trick me with high prices.

Ain’s past living conditions assured his familiarity with scams. He’d witnessed numerous scams, and even partaken in a few unsuccessful ones.

Returning to the street, he glanced down the empty alleyway, spotting a worn-down sign lit across on the other side. It was another inn, appearing a little inferior to the Welcome Home Inn.

Mixing one lie with nine truths is a scammer’s principle. Looks like everything else he said was correct.

With slight impatience, and the unwillingness to waste time, Ain swiftly entered the short alley.

However, just as he reached halfway, a mass of sticky spiderwebs abruptly attacked him from the side!

A tremendous force instantly pushed him off his feet before pinning him against something metallic.

At this point, Ain hastily reacted by summoning Nox. As Nox appeared with a flash, it immediately dove into his body.

Possession!

Ain’s left hand morphed into a large menacing claw, a sign of Phantom Claws. With his fingers acting as sharp blades, he awkwardly slashed at the viscous spider webs as they limited his arm’s mobility.

“Hahaha! Just give up, ya brat! There’s no way you can destroy these webs at Rank-1!”

Amidst Ain’s desperate struggles, a thin man appeared from the side, laughing at him in ridicule.

While persistently slashing at the spider webs, Ain realized how he’d been caught off-guard.

The adjacent buildings had side entrances into the alleyway!

These side entrances were preceded by two meters of empty space, creating hidden pockets of space in this narrow alley. Under the cover of darkness, these spaces were hidden from view, perfect for an ambush.

Viewed from the outside, the alley appeared empty. However, in one of the hidden pockets, Ain was stuck against a thick metal door, struggling to destroy the sticky webs binding him.

After fruitlessly slashing at the spider webs for a while, he realized the redundancy of his actions and stopped. Despite their viscous appearance, the webs were unusually resilient. Furthermore, he was likely outmatched based on his opponent’s words.

“That’s right. No need to struggle. I won’t kill ya if you simply do what I say,” asserted the thin man as a giant black and yellow spider jumped from the wall, right onto his shoulder.

The spider clicked its mandibles with savagery upon sensing Ain’s gaze.