The next morning Ethan woke up with a well-rested body that was well-matched with his current mental health. He gave a content smile when he noticed Leyla was also awake and staring at him with stars in her eyes.

‘’Morning,’’ the half-elf smiled sweetly.

‘’Morning,’’ he repeated as he leaned to tug her hair behind her ear.

‘’You must be very proud of yourself,’’ she said, eyes warning for mischief.

When Ethan raised an eyebrow in confusion, she jumped over him, looking down among the sheets that barely covered her perfectly shaped naked body, ‘’Going into a brothel and sleeping with the musician,’’ she whispered with a sexy voice, guiding his hand through her tight, ‘’Touching the untouchable.’’

Ethan put his other hand on the back of her head and switched positions with a sudden attack. That got him a playful yelp from Leyla. ‘’I can say the same for you,’’ he whispered back with a smirk. ‘’After all, you are the first one I slept with in this world.’’

I bet Vince would say that she is the only one he slept with within centuries, he thought, amused.

‘’But you weren’t inexperienced,’’ she frowned, the confusion in her eyes turning into a realization, ‘’This wo- Mmhmm!’’

He sealed her mouth with his own before they went for another wild round. It was only hours later that he left the hotel with a goodbye and headed toward Zach, to his recently made daggers. Leyla was a bit sad about him leaving and having no intentions to live in this city, but they had already talked about this last night, and she was okay with it.

Ethan was humming a song by Marvin Gaye as he strolled the streets of Ehrendil. His whole body felt lighter like he just added another 20 stats to agility. Swiftly walking through the crowds, he watched the busy people without any mana fluctuations and wondered how many were hiding their cultivation and how many were just giftless. The popular skill for that was a mana skill that came at higher tiers. Likely, it also became a way of protection for the weak.

Zach had another customer when Ethan arrived, a handsome fellow dressed in what seemed to be a fancy bathrobe. Finishing his business quickly, the guy just summoned a small boat and flew away.

‘’I was meaning to ask, how much are those flying artifacts selling for, Zach?’’ he questioned, looking up.

‘’Depends. The carpets are the cheapest and go around 5 mana stones. That boat is probably around 50,’’ Zach answered with a loud voice while walking inside.

Ethan followed him behind before stopping to smack his forehead, ‘’Shit, I totally forgot about this one,’’ he said, fetching the spatial pouch of Alice. ‘’How about this one? Is it worth much?’’

‘’Let me see.’’ Zach caught the pouch and inspected it quickly before throwing it back. ‘’Nope, one of the worst ones. You can still sell it for 2 mana stones to an artifact shop.’’

Better than nothing, I guess. I could get another skill for it.

‘’Here you go,’’ Zach said, passing a case to him. ‘’As you asked, these murder tools could butcher anything below tier-5 and still hold their ground against tier-5s.’’

Ethan took and opened the case. The daggers looked even better than the ones he had in the VR. Playing with one of them, he noticed it was heavier than he expected. His 62 STR didn’t cut it; he needed about 10 or 15 more to use them with perfect efficiency. But that wasn’t a big issue as he would get there pretty soon.

‘’Perfect balance, great craftsmanship,’’ he praised with a wide smile. ‘’This material is really heavy. How is it compared to your wyvern claws?’’

Zach took one of the daggers to his hand and played with it, seemingly pleased with his work, ‘’It's a bit lighter, actually. They are this heavy because I got 2 rune enchantments on them. One for sharpness and one for heaviness. If it was the claws, I could’ve also added a bleeding effect.’’

‘’You make runes too? How about a self-repair rune for my armor? Can you do that?’’

‘’No, I don’t understand that stuff, but I got a buddy who does. As for self-repair, it’s a bit more complicated and would likely cost you a lot.’’

Ethan stored his daggers while pondering about what to do next. ‘’Alright. Let me sell that pouch first and think about it. If I don’t return by this afternoon, it means I won’t be around for a few months, but I’ll bring many tier-3 monster parts once I return. Then we’ll talk about runes and those flying carpets.’’

‘’Yeah? No problem. Remember to bring their cores as well. Don’t forget, everybody buys monster cores, but smiths pay the best!’’ Zach yelled as he traveled into the shop with brisk steps, already busy with other projects.

This time without Renna’s help, he chose a fancy-looking artifact shop and entered while thinking why he didn’t check these places before as it was equally interesting as the skill shops. He discovered that the shop was much bigger inside, and there was every kind of trinket, from small rings and necklaces to giant flying artifacts that floated high up. There were also a few high-tier people shopping, which made Ethan question his choice of a fancy shop.

A male gnome with floppy ears startled him by appearing right behind. ‘’Welcome to Dragon’s Trove. Anything I could help you with?’’

A bold name I would say if I didn’t learn that there are no dragons in a lower realm. ‘’Uh, yeah. I want to sell this spatial pouch and look for some other artifacts,’’ he replied, taking out his pouch.

‘’Hmm, barely worth 2 mana stones,’’ the gnome said with a glance. ‘’What kind of artifacts do you need?’’

‘’I’m not sure. What are those accessories used for?’’

‘’Some boost strength, some make it easier to sense mana, there are all kinds, really. Like this one,’’ the gnome explained as he held out a necklace and sent his mana. His face got fuzzy, and although [Mana Sense] helped Ethan to locate him, it was impossible to recognize his features. ‘’It blurs your appearance and sells for only 1 mana stone.’’

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With sparkling eyes, Ethan asked about everything and anything until the friendly gnome started to twitch. The conclusion was rather disappointing, though, the STR boost was only 2 stats, and after one week of use, the ring would crumble. He didn’t even notice the boost on his [Mana Sense], and one of the best artifacts, the one that gave a [Mana Shield]-like ability, had a price of 300 mana stones.

The concept of money was good as gone back on Earth. Ethan only remembered some memories from his childhood, and he got used to asking for anything he desired from Ani. For a few weeks of community service, Ani even got you a new car, one of the nature-friendly ones, of course. Now he felt like a poor immigrant who got lost in the fifth avenue of NY and couldn’t help but think of alternative ways to get the shiny toys. In order to store an item in his ring, he only needed to touch and feel it with his mana. His [Fabric Tear] was the perfect crime tool. But who knew if there were runes for alarms or something like that?

No need to rush. First, I’ll speak with the runemaster, Zach's buddy, then I’ll do some research on which bastard deserves to be robbed blind and which houses deserve their ancestors' graves ravished. As an honest and upright cultivator, I can’t have a guilty conscience, he thought, satisfied with his self-righteousness.

As the frustrated gnome led him to the backyard to show him the best quality hammocks, Ethan saw a small wooden hut. ‘’Whoa. I was planning to order something like that. This is also for sale, right?’’

‘’Of course. It has four different runes; hardness, silence, dust removal, and spatial enchantment.’’

Ethan had to make a fist with his itching fingers as he entered the cabin. The inside of the tiny hut was 5 times bigger than the outside of it. There was a double bed, a lovely couch, bookshelves on the walls, a fireplace, and even a small bathroom. The shower and the fireplace naturally worked with mana. Everything about it was much better than Ethan had ever dreamed about.

Although reluctant, he still asked, ‘’How much?’’

‘’Only 50 mana stones.’’

Motherfucker, that's 500 gold for a damn wooden cabin, he cried internally, pretending that if anyone else called this lovely and cozy piece of heaven a wooden cabin, he wouldn’t have spat on their faces. ‘’Mhm, let's see the hammocks.’’

He left the Dragon’s Trove with two different items and many dangerous ideas. The skills he wanted were much more expensive than his mere 22 golds, so he went with the flow and bought a white hammock with premium material and a runed guitar, the cheapest one.

Even with his marvelous items, he had a wry smile on his face. I feel like a damn hippie. Where are the young masters who have death wishes? If I don’t kill some ridiculously rich kid and rob them, I’m afraid I’ll have to join Leyla and Alisha as an extra gig, he mocked himself as he made his way toward the adventurer’s guild and started to do some math.

Tier-3 cores were only two silver. To buy himself a nice flying boat and that wooden heaven, he needed to kill 5.000 beasts. Naturally, he would’ve progressed as he did so and high-tier cores sold for a lot more. Still, even at tier-5, he had to give his everything to buy those two items. What about the skills, armor, and weapons? Forget it. I didn’t come to this world to pay a mortgage and get a car with a loan. After I get my rank 2 skill, I’ll find a way to loot the scum of the aristocrats, he thought with cold eyes. They say that the slave trade is legal in the Union. Good, I hope those slave masters don’t disappoint me.

Entering the Guild, he looked for the friends of Nuvian but didn’t see them. Without delay, he bought a barrel of Ehreneer from the sweet and dangerous bartender and stored them in his ring. He paid seven gold coins for it and left with five gold coins which he saved for food. That meager money was enough for more than a hundred dishes. At least this nonsense economy doesn’t starve its people, he thought as he turned to leave.

‘’You in a hurry?’’ the bartender called. ‘’Let me buy you a drink.’’

Ethan stopped himself before looking over his shoulder. ‘’Yeah? Why not?’’ He went and sat in his old spot. ‘’I forgot to ask your name last time. I’m Ethan.’’

The bartender passed a glass of beer to him with a smile. ‘’They call me Bob.’’

That’s one way to not say your name. He took his cigar case and passed it to Bob, who took one and smelled it.

‘’From old Zach?’’ Bob asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Ethan nodded to confirm. ‘’Old, though? He seemed pretty young to me?’’

‘’Hmph, that's because the old bastard dyes his hair and beard,’’ Bob cursed with amusement as he lit his cigar. ‘’He got at least a decade on me, but he still chases the baker’s daughter.’’

Chuckling, Ethan felt that he found good teasing material for his charismatic blacksmith and pressed for more information. The crowd in the guild was thin at this hour, there was also another girl helping Bob, so they chatted in a relaxed manner for another hour.

Some people were looking for party members, and one of them even asked Ethan, but he politely refused as their destination was the opposite way to the pocket world he was heading and also a few months of a trip. Watching the other parties, he wondered what had happened to Oliver and the others. Even if they somehow stuck together and helped Alice to grind on the way, they should’ve arrived by now.

‘’Bob, you must know a lot of people in the city,’’ Ethan noted as he sipped his beer. ‘’Who do you think are the worst kind of people, but they still get away with it? Any piece of shit that I must be wary of?’’

Without lifting his head, Bob continued to clean the counter with his towel. ‘’Oh? You must have a bad idea.’’

‘’Nah, you misund–’’

‘’Don’t do it.’’

Ethan stayed silent for a second. ‘’Why?’’

‘’You know what they say, battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster,’’ Bob said, lifting his head to look at Ethan with kind yet piercing eyes.

Though surprised, he smiled nonetheless, ‘’But we all battle with monsters,’’ he jested, gazing at the crowd.

‘’Don’t be a smartass boy,’’ Bob chided, returning to his business. ‘’You know what I mean.’’

Ethan stayed silent for a few more seconds. ‘’What if I’m already a monster?’’

‘’Then you wouldn’t have hesitated.’’

Ethan watched the busy bartender with a vacant look for a while before taking out an old watch from his ring and staring at it. He gently caressed its surface with his thumb. A time between a moment and ages later, he raised his head and sent the watch back to his storage. Standing up, he gulped his drink.

‘’Who rides a fucking boat in the air anyway?’’ he asked Bob and smirked. He looked younger and full of energy with a glimmer in his eyes. Tossing five gold coins to the counter, he turned to leave before shouting, ‘’Next round’s on me!’’

Even though Ethan left the guild with cheers and was in a good mood, he didn’t drop the caution. He blinked through some alleys in case someone was following and made his way to the Plenty Potions with watchful eyes. To his bad luck, the little devil was outside of the town. He left a message and gave her herb basket to Misa before leaving the city through a different gate than he entered.

After half an hour of walking, he saw the evil prince who was waiting for him on a tree branch.

‘’Oh, fuck off! I didn’t even enter from this gate last time. Let alone that you can’t possibly know when I’ll be leaving, how could you guess my direction?’’ Ethan protested in disbelief.

Beet looked at him quietly. He was slowly scratching his chin with his scythe, acting like he had more important issues than bothering himself with Ethan's questions, like pondering about the life of a demon lord after the hero died.

They both turned in the same direction at the same time, and Ethan cursed under his breath. It seemed like his concerns about Nuvian’s friends weren’t unfounded because they were coming for him along with a tier-4 cultivator.