Krune was in a good mood to the point that he even saved a group of cultivators that was being chased by a demon python. He didn't kill the python, though. After receiving their thanks, he just said if they want to thank him, just be sure to let the wisps go in the future. He is almost 100% sure that they would still try to capture a wisp if they saw one in the future. But if at least one of them decides to keep their word, that would have been worth already.
Three days later, Krune finally left Katiu Forest. He already got a map from the cultivators he saved earlier and asked them to teach him how to read it. Wisps are indeed intelligent, after all. Krune had only to hear once to understand how to do it, now he is bound never to forget again.
His first task was to find the road to Kaley City, and thanks to the map, it didn't take long. There was a village beside the road to Kaley City. After arriving there, he found out that he didn't necessarily need to go on foot. Some carriages could be rented, and he could even join groups of cultivators that formed to go together.
Although the order in the country is relatively high, that was after one leaves the danger zones. Before passing through the immigration checkpoint, anything that happens inside the danger zones is not the country's concern. Otherwise, no one would need to sign the agreement when entering it.
To Krune's surprise, there was quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivator here. But after pondering a bit, he thought that it was to be expected. The reason that he rarely saw a Foundation Establishment cultivator inside the Katiu Forest is that the forest itself is enormous! One could see that by the fact that Krune, who had a speed comparable with the 5th stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, took over a week to leave the borders of the inner forest to the outside. Simply put, the foundation establishment cultivators inside Katiu Forest are spread through its range.
As a wisp, Krune knows that information is of vital importance, so he asked around where he could find it easily. It turns out that the mercenary guild branch was the best option. A lot of cultivators gather there to hire or to be hired as a mercenary. After walking a little, Krune spotted one five stores building on distance. One could see the enormous board above the entrance with a crossed bow and sword mark, the mercenary guild emblem.
Krune entered and went to the counter, there was a small queue there, so he had to wait quite a few minutes. While waiting, he paid attention to the people around him and especially their auras. Krune then could see that between every ten Foundation Establishment cultivators, at least one or two were demon beasts in their human forms.
'It seems like Gony and Casfer weren't lying, after all. It's very normal to see human form demon beasts around, as long as you can achieve your human form, you can walk between the humans.'
It didn't take long for his time to come. The receptionist was surprisingly a female demon best in her human form. He looked at her for a bit to see if he wasn't seeing things wrong, though. The girl noticed his absent mind while looking at her, and she had received this kind of look before. Although she is beautiful, she had seen quite a lot while working here, she knew that Krune wasn't looking at her because of her appearance. But because she was a demon beast just like him, she then gave him a smile and spoke.
"Little guy, it is still too early to flirt at the moment, you have a long queue behind you, leave it for night time."
She simply blinked at him after that.
Krune almost jumped. He noticed that he was paying way too much attention to the female in front of him. The people behind Krune heard that and laughed hard.
"Hey brother, sister Rany already has an owner. You better stopping having ideas about her."
"Aren't you cocky? To make us wait longer while you admire the beaut, can't you see we want to take a look too?"
Several other people also joked with him.
Today, Krune learned a feeling he had never felt before, he learned how to feel embarrassed. Although he knows what it is to be embarrassed, this is his first time feeling it himself. The more aware he got about his situation, the redder his face got.
'Holy shit, let me die, please!'
The sister Rany behind the counter just kept smiling, and she could totally tell, this is the first time this guy left the Katiu Forest. She loved to prank those guys, and today was no different. Unfortunately for Krune, he just got to be the target this time. Quite a few of those who were laughing knew about this too. Some of them even fell for that prank themselves. It really feels good to see others suffering what you suffered.
"Alright, everyone, you are scaring the rookie away. Sorry little guy, consider this your first leave baptism. I got a lot of first-timers like you before. Look behind you, that demon beast in human form five positions behind was just like you before. Am I right, Douly?"
She turned to a burly guy a few meters behind Krune. He was quite big and full of muscles. Judging by the spiritual energy around him, he is definitely a demon beast too, she then gave him a blink of an eye as well.
"Sister Rany, can we forget about that? It was years ago, it's time for you to leave me of the hook, don't you think?"
He felt quite helpless, why did he have to be the closest old victim from the past. He has now been dragged into the situation together. Rany just laughed a little more and turned back to Krune.
"Okay, what are you looking for here?"
Krune was feeling even more hopeless than the Douly guy. Still, he composed himself quickly. Krune is a wisp, and he will not lose his temper because of that. He will simply follow the flow, although he was still feeling quite awkward.
"Cough, cough. I would like to know the best way to go to Kaley City, the conditions on the way, and if I should go with a group of cultivators and demons beasts or alone."
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Rany just nodded, she receives quite a feel people and demon beasts in the human form requiring the same information every week.
"The safest way to leave the danger zones is indeed to go together with a group. But you better pay attention to the groups that form at the exit of the village. Some of them are not really going to Kaley City, they just want to rob those who join them on the way."
Krune wasn't surprised about that since he had already thought about this possibility. He even spotted two or three who looked quite suspicious.
"In that case, how should I chose?"
She replied, straight away.
"That's quite simple, can you see that not much people here are wearing a badge with the same emblem as the one outside above the entrance? Those are the mercenary guild badges. Although it isn't foolproof, it's hard to find a group of robbers with a mercenary in the middle.
She pointed to one of the corners of the building.
"Those there are all real mercenary guild members. See if you can find a group that is going to Kaley City, join them, and you should be pretty much safe on your way. Of course, robbers don't mind about others' status. Still, in general, mercenaries that have received their badges are stronger than those at the same cultivation level. So the bandits on the way usually wouldn't target them unless they are very confident."
Krune nodded since it made sense. If anyone could join the mercenary guild, then it would lose its prestige.
"Of course, whether they will let you join their group or not will depend on your ability, but I advise you not to go alone. Even if you don't find a group of mercenaries, try to at least go with a normal group. There is strength in numbers, after all. As for the conditions on the way, well, basically it depends if there is a lot of bandits acting in that area or not. But anyone going alone would most likely be targeted."
Krune agreed. Although he can fight those at the 4th stage of Foundation Establishment in his human form, nothing can guarantee that he won't find even stronger ones. Even If he doesn't, it's unlikely that the bandits will act alone against him, and chances are that they will attack in groups.
"Thank you. Can you let me know how do I join the mercenary guild? I believe that's the best way to prove my abilities when joining a group."
Rany wasn't surprised with that question, but Krune in front of her seems pretty common. It's just that the little bit of hair that is appearing outside of his hood is colored. But she has seen a lot of eccentric people and demon beasts before. In the end, she simply believes that Krune probably won't pass the mercenary test.
"You can apply for the test here, and we have a mercenary test once a week. The last one was five days ago, so the next one is after tomorrow. The admission fee in thirty Rank One low-quality spirit stones for Qi Condensation contestants and 50 Rank One middle-quality for Foundation Establishment ones. But let me give you a piece of advice, the test is very hard, and you might get seriously injured. Also, if you fail, you won't receive your spirit stones back, so think well."
Although she thinks he doesn't have the power to pass the test, she can't stop him from taking the test either. The mercenary guild needs spirit stones to keep running after all.
Krune didn't even think for a second. Fifty middle-quality Rank One spirit stones are nothing for him who 'paid a visit out of courtesy' to several spiritual vein lakes. He passed the spirit stone and received a token in return. After that, Rany explained to him.
"This is your token with your trier number. After tomorrow, at 10 o'clock in the morning, the test will start. We have a few puppets that can adjust to one's cultivation level. Your objective is to fight all three at the same time. There is no need to destroy them, though. As long as you can resist until their energy runs out, it will be considered your win. Make sure you are at your peak condition. If you see you can't resist anymore, you just need to say that you surrender. The puppets will stop attacking immediately."
Krune nodded and then left the mercenary guild. He asked around where he could pass the night and found out that people usually stay in places called a hotel. After arriving there, he asked how much it is to rent a room for two days to the attendant.
"It is 50 silver coins per day, 100 total, meals not included. If you want your meals together, it's 70 silver coins per day."
Krune felt a little helpless since he only has spirit stones and no other currency. But he won't pay with spirit stones. Krune understands very well that spirit stones are worth much more. He then asked where he could exchange spirit stones for copper, silver, and gold.
"Do you know the mercenary guild? Right in front of it, there is another build managed by the country. You can exchange spirit stones there."
Krune thanked the attendant and went back to change his spirit stones. Around 20 minutes later, he came back. The exchange rate is one low-quality Rank One spirit stone for 10 gold coins. One gold coin is worth ten silver coins, and just like that, one silver coin is worth 10 copper coins. Krune exchanged 10 spirit stones, so the amount of money he has now should be enough to keep his daily necessities for quite a while.
After renting a room, he went upstairs and locked himself inside. It has been over a week since the last time he cultivated, so he will take his time to do it during the next two days. He took out 100 Rank two low-quality spirit stones and simply started.
---
Krune is really not fated with the words 'low profile'. He had no idea that his six Spiritual Energy Meridians are simply too powerful! There is a limit to how much spiritual energy you can take out of the spirit stones at once. Because of that, the rest of the spiritual energy was being absorbed from the air. In an instant, all the spiritual energy in a hundred meters radius disappeared! Such a thing alarmed the hotel's owner and all the cultivators that were cultivating in the rooms. No one could cultivate anymore.
Everyone started to gather in the lounge. After discussing, they found out that all the spiritual energy from around a hundred meters radius was converging in the hostel. They then complained to the hotel owner. Someone is absorbing everything. They wanted to talk with the guy who was doing it. But anyone capable of absorbing so much spiritual energy must be a late-stage Foundation Establishment at the very least. So they are afraid of irritating that cultivator.
The reason they asked the owner to help is that he is a late foundation stage himself. To convince this greed guy to leave some spiritual energy for everyone, the hotel owner brought the people together with him. When they arrived at Krune's room, the owner knocked on the door.
"Sir, please open the door, we need to talk."
He kept knocking the door, but there was no answer. It's not that Krune was ignoring him, it's because every time Krune cultivates, he immerses himself in his own world. Unless he feels the sense of danger, he won't move at all.
The owner kept knocking, but no one answered. He finally lost his patience and used his own key to open the door.
When everyone entered and noticed Krune in the middle of the room, they were alarmed!
They noticed that Krune is obviously only a 1st stage Foundation Establishment. Still, not only is he absorbing all the energy in a hundred meters radius, but he is also absorbing the spirit energy of those Rank Two spirit stones at the max rate! How is he doing that? This kind of absorption power is unprecedented!
Krune finally noticed something strange, when he opened his eyes, he almost jumped back. But then he remembered that the attendant of the hotel said they would come to inform him about that.
'Is there a need to use so many people just to tell me that?'
But then again, he remembered the weird customs of the humans and decided to ignore it. Krune chose to look outside, but it was still bright. He then looked back at those people and asked.
"I know your hotel was going to inform me. Still, isn't it a little too early for dinner time?"