Gin sat in the lotus position facing Nhoka. At the same time, he created a tendril of his [Awareness] to connect to her mind in the same way she connected to his mind.
“Now our connection is twice as strong. We can communicate from anywhere while on the same floor. This would be considered a basic psychic ability. Some develop the ability to read minds, but most adventurers don’t like Psi users, so they carry enchanted items. To prevent that from happening.”
Gin smirked in realization.
“That’s why most Psi users either try to ignore me or read my mind.”
“It’s pretty lax in the tower, but outside it.”
She made an ouch face.
“You know what I mean?”
Gin had no clue what the outside of the Tower was like so he nodded in ascent.
“What about the third gaze?”
She looked at Phyla and she shook her head.
“I’ve never seen them but I’ve heard stories of mass murder. They are not good people.”
They planned to meet at the city gates in two weeks with their answer of whether or not they wanted to climb with him. More importantly, they need to find a team leader.
Either way, Gin resolved to look at the fact that he made new friends, and whether or not they decided to climb the Tower with him doesn’t mean he’ll never see them again. In the meantime, he wanted to orient himself with his new techniques and meditation practices.
It was late that night after they all left. He looked around his room, and the little get-together brought back memories of his brothers and sisters. As long as they were okay, he would be fine, too.
“Don’t worry about me, guys. I’m living a dream.”
He whispered.
He opened the Aquatic Dragon meditation scroll and began to study it. The scroll reviewed the basic history of meditation and how mages used it to replenish and bring focus to their Mana. All Monsters had different cores and lung capacities, allowing some creatures to withstand harsh environments.
Most monsters are born by circumstances in places swimming with concentrated Mana in environments that killed most creatures. Of all known creatures, dragons have the strongest hearts and control over magic, which is beyond comprehension.
Gin absorbed the information. The technique’s creator studied a Dragon in an effort to cure himself, but instead, he mastered his Energy and his Dragon form. There were notes on the Dragon’s gold curse on thieves and adventurers. The phenomenon is known as the Dragonblood curse.
Gin read that Dragons are among the most influential and intelligent creatures. Dragons only had children once every ten thousand years on the Blue Tide eclipse, which infused the atmosphere with thick mana energy at high altitudes where breathing was impossible for even birds.
Over the last five centuries, Adventurers found two dragons, and their gold spread throughout the land until it was too late, and the Dragonblood curse took hold. Dragons now have two offspring races: The Dragonborn, known as Drakes, famous for their resemblance to Dragons, and a new race called Dragonbloods, known as Weredragons. People with the ability to transform into Drakish creatures, the younger they are, the less they can control the turning or their hunger.
No one knew how the curse began because the central city of Esraynue hunted them secretly. After all, a Weredragon’s heart was valuable, but like all big secrets, more Dragon’s gold, and over several months, entire cities of people became Dragonbloods detail, but it was at least two hundred years ago there was a poem.
In shadows deep, where whispers fade,
Lies the tale of a dragon’s curse unswayed.
Gold coveted, a prize so bright,
But beware, for it comes with a deadly blight.
To steal from the Dragon’s hoard,
Is to invite a fate abhorred.
Less a day and less a night,
The curse takes hold, a dreadful blight.
Blood tainted, spirit twisted,
The bold are doomed, and by greed, they are enlisted.
Embraced by darkness, kin to the beast,
In the fold of the cursed, they find peace.
A dragon’s gold, a tempting lure,
But the price is steep, so be sure to be sure.
Beware the curse that waits within,
For once embraced, there’s no way to fight kin.
Gol’s history was another thing he had to research. He didn’t need a library; he needed a bookstore. Gin resolved to go to the find one after he met the [Broker] in the morning. The writer seems to have become dragon blood after taking tainted gold from a traveler. Dragonbloods aged slowly while slowly becoming full-fledged dragons. He spoke about the breathing technique, scratched out notes, and rewritten passages. Gin studied the notes for some time.
“It’s not like I stole gold from a Dragon. Practicing won’t hurt, right?”
He closed his eyes and began the meditation. The Breathing Method affected his whole body. He began to feel cold as his heartfelt slow. He struggled to hold the technique; however, it fell apart after only five minutes of meditation. He coughed and coughed until he spat mucus and began to sweat a white substance.
Gin tried again, but this time, he lasted three Minutes. It was not only tricky but sapped the warmth from his body. Then all the warmth went to his lungs, and the Prana swept into his well like a punch to the gut. The Prana expanded Gin’s blood, bones, and muscles created for the power filling his veins—the Energy like fire.
There was no way to meditate without feeling as if his skin, bones, and muscles weren’t growing. As good as it felt, changing was still a concerning idea, and he was coming around to the idea, but he still wanted control of where his path led. Tired Gin decided to try again later.
He pulled out The Dance of the Dragonblood Songila scroll. Again, the name was Dragonblood.
The requirement to unlock the Songila technique was suicidal fighting a monster with the technique alone. Gin’s quest required him to defeat five opponents using a technique that he learned or created. Maybe the quest can be his practice for the real life and death battle. With a few practice runs, we can see what works and doesn’t help during combat. Plus, the southern Giratain is a trapping technique for fighting multiple opponents.
The final test will be the monster. Gin began by practicing the Kata, which depicted a warrior with a tail in the Kata. The tail acted as a counterweight, allowing motions that would leave anyone else vulnerable if practiced without one. The Dawncat armor’s downside is that the armor’s tail only moves on reflex for changes in the wearer’s equilibrium, like falling.
He used his telekinesis to move the tail for attacks, Which involved pulling himself away from wide-range attacks and Tripping his opponent. At this point, Gin was halfway thinking of getting an actual tail. Lara mentioned something about people changing themselves physically with help. Still, it wouldn’t be worth it if it involved hurting someone else. Gin practiced late into the night and studied the meditation method until he fell asleep.
The next day, his eyes popped open as he felt the familiar presence of a particular Psi user from the market downstairs. Gin immediately jumped out of bed, slipped on his clothes and mace, and calmly walked to the stairs.
The Inn’s lunch area was filled with people going about their business. The man Gin met in the market sat in a corner in nondescript clothing, sipping soup out of a wooden spoon.
“I do not believe I told you my name.”
The man’s telepathy grazes against Gin’s mind only because Gin let him. The man smiled. There was a tattooed symbol on his forehead that resembled a closed eye. He had bloodless white skin. To Gin, he resembled a vampire, but through his [Awareness], the man still had a heartbeat. What did he know about vampires? Even though he felt the malicious aura from the man, he seemed only to want to talk. Gin walked over to the chair and sat.
“Gin.”
“Oh, I know who you are, my
Lord.”
“I’m not a lord.”
The man ignored his comment.
“A few of our followers have been less than pleased with your display of psychic capability. My name is Sulvairth of the Dralidoc House the Third Gaze, and I must say that your ability range is quite impressive. Again, I must apologize if I offended you on your stroll through the market, my Lord.”
“I guess you’re not going to stop.”
Gin sighed and continued.
“Yeah, I’m not usually like that, but when I sense someone likes hurting people, I tend to get a little put-off.”
Gin paused and met his dead eyes.
“How many people have you killed?”
Sulvairth frowned as the conversation took a different turn than expected. Gin wanted to calm down, but something about how the man sat there. Maybe it was his class, skill, or how he acquired the ability, but it reeked of cold violence and pain to carry something like that with him and caused Gin to want to stay away from him. Sulvairth paused, his eyes watching Gin for a moment.
Gin realized that he had forgotten to wrap the cloth over his eye. Before Gin could say anything, Sulvairth began to speak.
“I wasn’t born in the house of the third Gaze. As large as the empire is, the continent is bigger, and there are villages in places not everyone expects. My village was destroyed before I knew my name. It’s amazing what people can survive.”
He paused as if gathering himself. He sat up straight and fixed his cloak. Nhoka taught Gin how to use telepathy. It was easy after he realized she used tendrils of Mana. Instead, Gin used a Tengril of his [Awareness] to connect to his target. Gin realized he could reject anything beyond telepathy depending on his opponent’s strength. Gin was close enough to lop Sulvairth’s head off if he tried anything, so Gin allowed it. Sulvairth continued.
“I used to be a slave. Do you know that psi users cannot roam in some cities? There are even classes that can detect us. Only if you are contracted under a citizen can you enter or live in a certain city. You’re not allowed to own a house or a business. My mother was one of these users.
Her ability was healing. That’s what I was told anyway. A guard she healed, and she wasn’t supposed to reveal herself, but he had his way with her. The next day, she packed her things and ran back home, but our village was difficult to find, so it took this guard hired by the contract holder ten months to find her. What do you think happened?”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“They destroyed it.”
“Indeed killed my mother and sold the villagers to a mining company, and the orphaned children were sold or rented. I would say adopted, but not many find happiness. I was beaten, burned, worked into unconsciousness, and then locked in a cold, dark, windowless room with thick walls. All because they were told my mother was a psychic. I was called a monster, mongrel, you name it, I was it. I was twelve until my system awakened, and I inherited [psychic: invisibility]. I knew no better, so I ran. They chased, and I fought.”
Gin stared at Sulvairth for a few seconds. He told the story as if he were just a bystander and had no emotional connection to the story. Yet the man before him was serene.
“How much of your story was true?”
Sulvairth laughed coldly drinking the last of the soup. He avoided eye contact. After a few minutes he responded.
“It’s a common story. Psi users are restricted and regulated. Strong psi user are known as psions because of their ability to protect those of us who need protection. I will not apologize for culling those who deserve it, My Lord.”
Sulvairth stood.
“I think that’s enough for our first official meeting. The third Gaze will always be open to you, my Lord.”
“Wait, if psi users are so restricted, then why hasn’t anyone tried to do anything about me?”
“Because of us, my Lord. If you ever wish to learn
more either here or on your next visit to this city, you are always welcome.”
“If I ever see you kill an innocent person, I’m going to kill you myself. I just wanted to get that out.”
Sulvairth bowed with a flourish and walked away.
“Spoken like a true psion.”
Gin stood and went back to
His room. Psi users were restricted outside of the Tower? People who can learn about your most private thoughts to someone without a defense for such an ability, paranoia and prejudice tend to take over. It was one of the reasons Gin had yet to try to learn how to read the minds of others. Instead, he developed an ability to determine whether someone was lying.
Through his [Awareness], he could sense a heartbeat or discover what a person says when they lie. Eventually it might become a skill. Gin opened his room door to hear the cracking of an egg. He ran into the bathroom to find a creature the size of a football trying to dig through the wall, except it looked nothing like the beetle. After buying the egg, Gin placed the beetle Larvea in the safest place he could think of without placing the beetle inside the Terrarium, and he narrowed it down to the bathroom.
Many would argue otherwise, but getting past his [Awareness] would be impressive. Gin stared at the supposed beetle resembling a giant peanut with legs. The little creature stared at him as if he were food, and Gin realized that it just might be hungry. Along with buying the eggs, the vendor gave us a few bags of frozen high-protein plant cubes. Gin opened his spatial storage, filled a bowl with food, poured nectar over the cubes, and stepped back.
The Razor Beatlas immediately began to consume the cubes, and Gin poured more into the bowl and watched. After a while, it was time to visit the Guild and talk to the [Broker].
“I’m sorry, Ada. I was hoping you could stay here and keep an eye on him. I’ll figure out a name after he gets bigger. How about Peanut? No, you won’t look like a peanut for long. How about June, like the summer? Yes, that should do.”
Gin left food for his companions to munch on while he was gone. He decided not to cover his eyes to see what would happen; so far, there was no information about vampires lying about. There was a different receptionist at the Guild this time. However, she led him back into the same room, but this time, the Broker was waiting for him with a big smile.
“Lord, Gin, welcome back. Do you have anything new, or have you not been outside the gates?”
“Just call me Gin. I’m not a lord. No, I’ve been training, but I’ll try to find something good when I do.”
“That’s good to hear. While you were gone, I had a few offers on. The Heart of the Lullaby Verdrinks: Would you like me to begin?”
Gin sat in the soft and comfortable chair. The receptionist returned with a glass of yellow liquid. Gin picked up the glass and looked at the [Broker] questioningly.
“Ah, it’s none alcoholic, and it’s also not blood.”
Gin sipped the drink and immediately felt more awake than he’d felt all morning.
“Wow. What is this?”
“It’s a higher version of the stamina potion. It’s called a Full Day’s rest potion. It’s a lot more effective than a stamina potion. The only downside is that you can only drink one every three days unless you haven’t slept in three days. One sip, and you’re ready for another prolonged battle, as you know. Most adventurers die because of lack of preparation, even some of the strongest. Our first buyer wants to give you one hundred vials for the chance to study the heart.”
Gin stared at the bottle.
“Tempting. Can I hear the rest of the offers before I decide?”
[Broker] Finser smiled and bowed.
“Very good.”
Something had changed about the [Broker] since the last meeting. He was a lot more deferential. Maybe it was because he would make much money from selling the heart. Finser continues.
“A private buy offered. Two hundred and thirty thousand credits.
Lord Krovin from the Mirage Blade School wishes to offer three items from his private collection, which is quickly close to three hundred thousand credits.
Gin chuckle.
“Okay, this ridiculous amount of money, you haven’t even checked if it’s real yet..”
“Oh, I took a sample before you left and had it tested. That creature had high amounts of psychic Energy. A few of the buyers wanted a chance to study you. Some believe you might be a psychic yourself, but you are a guild member, ensuring your privacy and protection. If anything were to happen to you, that would mean trouble for them. But you are a private seller. Nothing to worry about.”
Gin tried not to react and took another sip of the potion.
“Continue.”
Finser was also severe at that moment as if promising Gin his protection. Finser nodded.
“The last offer comes from our head alchemist she said in the quote.”
“Get me that heart, and I’ll give him anything he wants, just not my rare.”
The voice paused.
“How about he tells me what he’s looking for, and I’ll see what I can do. A favor from one of the top alchemists should be worth something..also one hundred and fifty thousand credits.”
Finser smirked as if he had done something he wasn’t supposed to. Gin was sure the voice on the other side of the recording didn’t know she was being recorded, and it was a good thing for him, so it was a good idea to take this win. The problem was if she backed out of the deal. Gin considered the list of things to buy and decided on the three martial arts scrolls. Not that he wasn’t happy with what he had, but he would never turn down a new skill.
“Does she know about rituals?”
“To my knowledge, Alchemists deal with ritual ingredients all the time. I do believe Lady Marshall would be able to work something out.”
If the Lady were a half-decent alchemist, she would know about Aecatas or the ritual that caused his arms to go up in flames.
“Okay, I agree to her terms.”
Finser blinked.
“Okay, um. One moment.”
He was gone in the blink of an eye, and the room was empty. Gin was expecting to sit in an actual auction with people, not something so private. Maybe he missed the actual auction.
Finser popped back into existence.
“Lady Marshall has begrudgingly accepted the terms of her deal. As an alchemist of the Guild, she must adhere to our privacy rules and regulations. She resides on the third floor. Follow me.”
“Hey, what happened to the auction? I mean, the rest of the people and the items?”
Finser stared at Gin For a few seconds, and then the realization flashed over his face.
“Large events are held once every few weeks. One happened just before you arrived. You should be able to find better items at a higher level. Trust me, you missed nothing worth your time, my lor. I mean, apologies.”
“It’s fine. Why do you keep calling me Lord?”
Finser twitched, then turned to face Gin. He held up one hand and turned his ring as if the volume had been muted.
“I want you to know I am on your side when it comes to making money. When you encounter something rare, bring it to me, and I will get you the best price possible. Then we will both become rich.”
He grinned and rubbed his hands together. He then lifts one finger.
“With that said, I must thank you for this opportunity, calling you my Lord. It is because only a psion could defeat such a being. I did what I could to keep your identity secret, but I feared it might not be enough. That was until I brought this ring.”
The ring was in pieces.
“I tried to measure your psychic potential, and you know as well I know what I found.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Finser grinned again.
“That is why I like you. We live in a strange time. May your enemies find no footing and tumble in your wake. Lord Psion.”
“There you go again, sounding crazy.”
Finser, the [Broker], hopped up the stairs like a rabbit. Gin pushed off the floor with telekinesis as he jumped, propelling himself to stop behind Finser.
“Here you are.”
Finser turned, bowed, and disappeared.
“Hey, wait?”
Then he was gone. Gin stared at the door, unsure if he should knock or open the door. He sensed a desk, bookshelves, carpet, and a fireplace. Someone small sat behind the desk, flipping through a large book. The window behind her was open, and two small statues were on each side of her desk. One faced towards the window, and another faced the door. The reason Gins [awareness] locked onto them was because they had a ton load of power. The statue facing the window was suddenly also staring at the door.
“Don’t just stand there, come in.”
Lady Marshall’s voice was beautiful compared to the recording. Once Gin opened the door, he realized he was staring at a woman barely out of her thirties.
“Don’t just stand there, come in, sit down.”
Gin stared at the statues.
“They won’t hurt you unless you come here to hurt me. They are for thieves and assassins. I’m guessing your Gin? You’re a lot younger than I expected.”
Gin pulled the chair a few inches back and sat down.
“Do you have the heart?”
“Yeah, but I don’t see where you want me to place it; it’s pretty big.”
She glared around the room as if it betrayed her.
“I see. Well, what is your request?”
“I’m looking for information on someone or something named Aecatas?”
The Lady froze.
“That is privileged information. Where did you hear that name?”
Gin tried not to look too interested, and his gesture suggested he didn’t care: he shrugged.
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m here. Someone I know obtained a rare ability called something about Aecatas. He wanted to know about this.”
“Stop saying that name.”
The [alchemist] growled.
“If he was bad news?”
The Lady stared at Gin for a long minute, as if she had stepped into something she wanted no part of but was stuck. His shoulders relaxed, and then she gave him a fake smile to hide her discomfort.
“This being is a lord of the abyss. One of the children of Relantalia, which makes him a minor god. Most gods are not very understanding. If your friend did something this being liked and got something out of it without dying, then I’d say your friend is one lucky little bastard.”
She frowned.
“He still has his soul, right?”
Gin’s eyebrows rose.
“I? Would I be able to tell?”
“Pale skin, hunger for flesh, things like that.”
“No, definitely not.”
“Good. If your friend gets something powerful for almost nothing, then he’ll be hearing from him.”
“What if his legs caught fire and burned away only to wake the next day with, you know, new legs.”
“Interesting. It’s not an artifact, just new legs. That’s so strange. What exactly did your friend do?”
“He was too embarrassed to tell me. He doesn’t. I mean, he didn’t want to talk about it.”
“Uh-huh, well, it’s an equivalent exchange. Your friend might have killed something in a certain way, plus location caused some kind of reaction for the system to recognize what he did as a ritual, and then his feet burned off. It’s a painful gift; the flames are a test of worthiness. This god probably expected your friend to die from the pain, but it’s still a gift. There shouldn’t be any overreaching effect. Is there?”
“Well, that’s what he said the changes might be spreading.”
“Well, that’s not a bad thing. Your friend is becoming more. Tell him to pop by anytime for some study. It might be activating a dormant bloodline.”
She stood abruptly, walked over to a bookshelf, lucked a small book, and tossed it on the desk.
“Ritual basics for an alchemist. Your friend won’t die—well, not from that. Now, I’m guessing you wanted a specific type of potion in exchange for the heart. Follow me; we should definitely get this over with.”
She stepped into a circle with carved characters on the wooden floor.
“Take a breath. Most people get a little turned around after the jump.”
Before Gin could respond, his world turned upside down, spun him around a few times, and spat him out. It was absolutely terrible, and then he almost puked up his breakfast. Gin closed his eyes and prayed that the food in his stomach stayed where it belonged.
He opened his eyes and found himself standing in a shop. Behind him was the front door. The Lady Marshall was waiting by a door, staring at him as if in no hurry, but her eyes were somehow yelling at him. Gin took a breath and followed through his [Awareness]. The door was filled with magic runes. The back room had shelves filled with potions, all labeled Healing potions had their own wall, and the rarer, the fewer shelves potions had. She walked into another back room.
“Come, come.”
Gin walked into a room, and the first thing that hit him was the smell of recently cleaned blood and various natural oils masking the scent of death. The room was a butchering room for raw ingredients. In the center of the room was a giant wooden slab similar to a chopping board.
“This is good enough.”
Gin opened his spatial compartment and pulled the heart onto a giant wooden slab.
“Now, what else did you want from me.”
Gin was notified that he received one hundred thousand credits.
“My questions.”
“All of that was general knowledge. All I did was give you a diagnosis.”
“Okay, then I was curious about tails. Can you guys create tails? I’m just curious.”
She looked up in thought.
“There is a creature called Akn that attaches to a host and functionally becomes a tail, but other than that, I could direct you to the [Flesh doctor] court. They sell odd things like eyes, horns, feet, arms, and possibly tails.”
“That’s I didn’t know about that.”
“Yes, people don’t talk about that sort of thing.”
“I guess I’ll have to leave that favor on the back burner for when I truly need it. I’ll buy five Days’ rest potions and five healing potions. Do you have one of those stone-skin potions? Do you have anything that protects against poison gas?”
“If you find something interesting, bring it to me first, and we can make a proper deal.”
“Sorry, Finser already has a deal, but I’ll ask him to put you at the top of the list.”
She smiled.
“Very good.”
Finally, Gin bought five antitoxins, five healing potions, five days of rest, and five minor acid potions. The Lady also gave him books on summoning and rituals.
“Those books are general things to know so your friend doesn’t accidentally get himself in trouble with something a bit more greedy.”
Gin bowed.
“Thank you.”
“I should be thanking you for new research material.”
She bowed.
“Do you know where the bookstore is around here?”
“Ah, the bookstore is actually around the corner from my shop. My students need a place to study, and traveling across town is inconvenient.”
Gin thanked her again and walked outside the shop, far from the market. He hadn’t seen this side of the city before. There was a shop that read pelts and furs and a carpenter with many offers, from chairs to papers. Then he saw a three-story, unassuming bookstore building that one would overlook unless they weren’t looking for the place.
Gin saw a man with four arms flipping through two books. The man reminded Gin of the statue he bought in the marketplace, except this guy had albino skin and wore a fresh purple suit, in contrast to a books store that had seen brighter days. The bookstore had several desks for readers, and there was a female warrior in a green cloak and her friend sitting around a desk while she read her book slowly. Her friend snored. Gin bowed.
“Good day, sir. I’m looking for a few books.”
The bookstore owner stopped flipping through his book and looked up.
“Of course you are. Manners are the cornerstone of many cultures and the mark of a tactful adventurer. Well done. My name is Samir. How can I help you?”
“Gin, I’m looking for books on the history of Gol, Dragons, Dragonbloods, and Bloodlines.”
The bookstore owner folder his lower set of arms behind his back.
“The history of Gol is fractured. The authors sometimes die, and information is written by different writers. I can think of three books that are quite informative, especially Dragonbloods. Still, the Great Houses and Guilds keep that bloodline information for members. The adventurers guild may be able to help you.”
Gin knew that the bookstore might not have anything on bloodline, but he had to ask.
“What about abyssal creatures?”
The bookstore owner smiles.
“Would you like to read while you’re here or purchase the books?”
“Purchase.”
“Wait here.”
In the meantime, Gin looked around and noticed that the girl asleep was staring in his direction, fully alert as if a bomb had gone off in the store. Gin looked behind himself and tried to ignore the big guy, who was asleep and now also staring, clearly an adventurer. He walked into an aisle that translated to All-time Fiction from A to Z.
Gin walked into Isle D. There wasn’t much book cover art, so he had to pick each book with an exciting name and read the summary. Reading and watching anime was how he hid from most of his bullies. He flipped through a book called Travels of the Renard the Twin-tailed Fox volume three. He looked around, but all the one and two volumes were gone. His [Awareness] tracked to adventurers, but they never left their seats.
The bookstorekeeper stepped around his counter, placed a small stack of books on his counter, sat down, and opened the book he was reading, indicating that he was in no hurry. Gin picked up another book called From the Mud by
Xavison Heringgel was the only book with volume one he had found. He decided to keep the book and leave. He didn’t like the way the big guy stared at him. By the time he reached the desk, the two had already left the bookstore.
“That will be seventy either hundred credits.”
Distracted by his [Awareness], Gin paused.
“You mean seventy-eight credits, right?”
Samir frowned.
“Oh, no, add the zero. These are books of study; since you are an adventurer and these books are from a well-respected author, you get a discount.”
Gin wanted to try haggling just because the books were so expensive, but Samir didn’t look like the type of person to lie. His facial expressions were pure respect, which took the fire out of him. Gin paid the credits, hid in the corner, and placed his books in his spatial compartment.
He returned to the Inn, and it was time to start training and preparing for whatever was outside the city gate. Through his [Awareness], he found the two adventurers in the bookstore as they followed leisurely, not that Gin was in a hurry.
He made a left into an alley and waited. They slowly walked out of the crowd and stopped at the edge of the ally. He audibly sighed and flashed his adventurer’s badge.
“Good day, fellow adventurers. How may I help you?”
The big guy opened his mouth, but the girl pushed him back.
“We saw your fight at the Shell. Thank you for taking care of Bart.”
She glanced at her friend, and then she spoke.
“We wanted to know if you were looking for a team.”
Gin began to smile and explain his predicament.
“So you won’t know until then?”
“No, sorry. I’ll be training and going hunting in a week. Meet me at the gates.”
He gave them a subtle glare, turned, and walked away. It didn’t take him long to find the Inn. Gin paid for an extra two weeks and delivered food to his room. Then, he placed the Terrarium on his bed grabbed everything he owned, and dropped them into the Terrarium along with Ada and June. It was finally time to focus on leveling. He entered the Terrarium.