Chapter 20: Slice of life

Beyond those brown eyes was a hidden layer—a layer of black and white. When the Frostzard Chief tried to pry into those eyes, everything turned black and white. No, rather, he entered an entirely different world, one with countless complex stories hidden within it.

A mountain range, devoid of any color other than black and white, appeared in front of him. On the peak of this mountain was a castle, a beautiful castle.

As if sensing that, his vision automatically zoomed, making the interior of the castle visible. In the middle was a huge throne carved out of stone, adorned with dull gemstones and gold. It looked as though it was not prepared for a human.

This giant throne was empty and mottled, as if it had been washed over by the ages. Suddenly, he felt that two eyes were staring right into his flesh, blood, and lastly, soul. It was a terrifying feeling.

"Master!" Suddenly, the shadow beside him shook his body slightly, bringing him back to reality.

"Haha..." A hollow laugh escaped his mouth. The shop owner was at the exit, saying the final goodbye. After that, he started talking to a toad.

This simple-looking male... hiss! I sensed a demonic aura within him!

Those two eyes were still etched in his mind. Taking a short deep breath, he walked toward Allen as his grip over the walking stick intensified.

"Master?" Getting no response from her Master, Shadow followed him.

"You sure are a funny toad, hahah." Allen gave a dry laugh, to which the Toad also joined him in the sarcasm.

As the Toad walked away, Allen sensed many gazes. A lot of prominent figures were present who wanted to talk to Allen—some wanted help from him, some wished to make deals with him. But no one dared to come near him.

'Haa, at least in this world I can be a big shot, even if not a strong one, then at least a mid-core big shot in this small place.'

At this very second, he felt a tug on his sleeves. He looked back in surprise, only to spot an old scaleless lizard.

"I want to talk to you." Though the Lizard's voice was very soft, almost everyone over there heard him. Though surprised, they quickly anticipated what would happen next.

'It's that old Lizard! Haa, is he that dumb?' One of the two red lizards saw this scene and sneered in his heart. He was waiting for a good show where this mysterious shop owner would just ignore the old Lizard, or better, outright mock him.

But fate often doesn't work as people expect it to.

"Alright, old man," Allen said as he gave a subtle nod. The feeling of a tight slap once again returned to the cheeks of the red Lizard.

On the other hand, prominent figures who were preparing themselves just to say a few words were surprised.

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'Maybe he is a chill guy.'

"Mr. Shop owner," the old Lizard started as a glint flashed through his eyes. Others also looked at this Lizard, awaiting to hear what was so important.

"I'm actually the chief of Frostzards."

The revelation of the Frostzard chief's true identity sparked chaos and disbelief among those present. The varied reactions ranged from outrage to skepticism, with some outright dismissing the claim as preposterous.

"This is an outrageous behavior!"

"What the hell did you say, old man?!"

"Haa, if you're the chief of Frostzards, then I'm the great ancestor of All Lizards!"

"Don't you dare to!"

All kinds of voices could be heard. Even Allen's facial expression slightly changed; this was no laughing or joking matter. Shadow, too, was a little dumbfounded. No truths mixed with lies, no schemes, no advanced plans—this wasn't the master she was used to.

Before Allen could say something, the chief placed two claws on the pendant with a red ruby, which had been concealed by the cloak until now. In a swift manner, he removed the pendant. This was followed by a blinding light that covered him.

WTF??!!

As the radiant light dimmed down, most of the species present there wanted to run away. A fearsome Frostzard, extremely large, appeared in their vision. His bulging muscles, those menacing teeth, the shining frosty scales; the red Lizard brothers almost fainted as they saw this scene. There were a few calm ones, but secretly, they also almost activated their skills. There was a possibility of battle—no, in fact, they were sure a battle would erupt here.

Immediately, pixels appeared in Allen's hands, forming a rifle pointed at the Lizard.

"Why have you come here?" Allen said, his grip becoming even firmer as he prepared himself to activate the teleportation ability of his Flashy Shoes.

Some were confused seeing that his lips were moving, but then realized that an invisible barrier blocking any sound was forged, most probably by the Frostzard.

"I don't come with any malicious intent."

"Then what is your purpose of visit? This used to be a no man's land, but now it's mine."

"No, as I said earlier, no malicious intent. I came to mend our relationship."

"Mend? How so?" Allen questioned as he raised one of his eyebrows.

"Well, I noticed that you're a true businessman. You just wanna sell your weapons, so how about this. We'll extend an arm of friendship, which you'll accept. We'll buy a heavy amount of weapons from you, and you will be allowed to expand your network of buyers," the Frostzard explained.

"But what if I disagree?"

"Well then, things will be somewhat rough."

"You're threatening me?" Allen's voice became serious. This was clearly a threat.

"No, this ain't a threat; it's a warning. Think of it, a large population within this area is of Lizards. Frostzards rule these Lizards. If both of us continue, though some Lizards might buy weapons from you, most of them won't. It is better to have a friend than a foe."

"But backstabbing friends are worse." Allen said with a smile on his face. Both of them looked at each other, but discreetly, the Frostzard was distracting himself, not daring to stare right into those eyes.

Finally, Allen sighed. "A partnership it is. But I would prefer not to shake hands on this deal."

"I knew you were smart," the Frostzard complemented as he wiped away his nonexistent sweat.

And thus began one of the strongest alliances in the whole continent, something that would shake the entire world in the future. But that was for later.

...

"Yaaawwwn! Today was really a long day." Allen stretched his body. Wearing the night dress, he stood in front of his comfortable bed.

"Thankfully, 1 hour in this world is equivalent to three hours in the Frozen One. Or else, my schedule would've been messed up." Saying this, he was about to jump on the bed, but then...

[Ding!]

[Successfully killed a peak Level 1 Frostzard]

[3.5 Exp gained]

[Hidden Mission completed]

[Hidden Mission: Kill 10 species of the Frozen World]

[Penalties: None]

[Reward: 15 Exp]

Punching his left palm, Allen gritted his teeth. "You useless good for nothing system, I knew it was you who was forgetting something!"

[Not my fault, there was an error in the server!]

With this, Allen's Slice of Life had come to an end.

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A/N: I would like to thank each and every reader who managed to read through that painfully slow and somewhat boring arc [Hopefully not]. Things will start to get interesting from next one onward, let's follow these characters!

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