Early in the morning, Zane explained the contents of the letter to Cecilia, who took the news much more lightly.
"What are your plans?" she asked curiously.
"My first thought was to move to a farther city as soon as possible. However…" Zane scratched his head. "I found out that we are broke."
Just the transportation ship going to the nearest city would cost about 50 magic crystals. Lodging and preparation would probably cost another 50 magic crystals.
Zane looked at the swords on the floor. "Although war is a terrible thing, it could also be an opportunity for us. The winners, most of the time, are the arms manufacturers."
Cecilia shook her head, looking at Zane. "Aren't you afraid that you will get caught up in this war?"
"We just need to secure some good funds. If there is any sign of it getting worse, we will leave right away."
Cecilia nodded.
"Also, we need to focus on finding a way to breakthrough Ascendancy. We are still too weak. With the current chaotic situation, it is best to increase one's strength."
…
Inside the city, near downtown, the Grey Streets, the underground market.
The innkeeper provided directions to the underground market. The area was filled with many homeless and poor demi-beasts. Trash was everywhere, and the stench was strong. However, one could say the streets were booming with all kinds of people. Many unregistered weapons and herbs could be found everywhere. If one searched carefully, they could find places offering assassination services and the like.
Zane, in a hooded robe, went to one of the shops and casually placed the steel swords he had made on the counter. A feline demi-beast shopkeeper, noticing the quality, was surprised.
Smiling at Zane, he said, "The quality of these swords is excellent. Did you craft them?"
Zane looked at the shopkeeper with a strange expression.
"Apologies, I didn't mean to pry. But the craftsmanship is exceptional. I would say even the top crafters in the city would struggle to match this. You can only find this kind of quality from a Dwarven master blacksmith here."
Looking at the weapons on the counter, he said, "I will buy them for 30 magic crystals each."
Zane looked at the shopkeeper and shrugged. "It seems you are not serious enough. I will just go to the next store."
"Wait!" the shopkeeper called out, stopping Zane. He hurriedly added, "60 magic crystals each!"
"150 magic crystals!" Zane bartered.
The shopkeeper was confused. "Are you crazy?! It's not worth that much! 61 magic crystals."
"140 magic crystals."
"62 magic crystals."
After a while, after heavy bargaining, Zane sold them for 75 magic crystals each.
The feline demi-beast shook his head, ultimately giving up.
…
Zane also sold some of the swords to other shops. He was right about one thing: the whole city was gearing up for war. The demand for weapons was high, and prices had risen accordingly.
After selling most of the swords he had crafted, Zane was ecstatic. He had about 2,500 magic crystals in his storage. After buying more crafting materials, he began searching for various ingredients for his alchemy, leaving him with 800 magic crystals. He also purchased maps and necessary survival items, just in case.
Suddenly, when he turned into an alley, he found a dozen demi-beasts staring at him with malicious intent.
The ox-headed one pointed at him. "That's him! He was selling those weapons all over the shops!"
When the others heard it, they became exhilarated.
"Boss! We hit a fat sheep!"
"After we get his stuff, can we play with him first?"
"Boss, the last one died too quickly! This time let's take our time!"
A demi-beast goat, with a large scar from its horn to its mouth and exuding a dark aura, held up its saber and pointed at Zane, grinning. "Human, this is your worst day! Kneel and drop everything you have. I promise you, your death will be swift."
Zane did not respond. He identified all of them and was surprised: their cultivation levels were all Awakened. Most were in the range of level 11 to 15, while the goat with the scar had the highest level at 18.
Looking at his remaining unallocated stat points, he commanded his interface, "Add 40 stat points to Strength and 40 to Agility."
Strength: 107 → 147
Agility: 102 → 142
After adding the stats, he could feel the newfound power. He looked at each of them and calmly said, "We don't have to do it this way. Just let me go, and you won't have to regret it later."
When the demi-beasts heard Zane's words, they laughed uncontrollably. In all the history of the Grey Streets, they had mercilessly cut down anyone they considered easy prey. Most of them, being Awakened, had killed and pillaged even small towns. They only feared the Ascendants; even the city guards were wary of them.
One spoke, "Look, you are here in the Grey Streets. Even if you come from a big background, no one would know you were here just now."
When the demi-goat saw that Zane was not moving, he said, "Seems you won't cooperate." He smiled and laughed. "That's great! We want it that way!"
The demi-goat started walking toward Zane with his branded saber.
Meanwhile, Zane exhaled and pulled out his sword. Suddenly, sword aura was released. Although he didn't know how to use Aura Blade Strike like Cecilia, he could release sword aura. Then, Zane activated Level 2 Slaughter Mantra.
When the others felt the killing effect, they stopped, and fear began to grow in their hearts. Their bodies felt heavier. Zane could see they all had debuffs, reducing their stats by 20%. The slaughter aura had evolved from a cultivation mantra to a more active effect.
Even the demi-goat began to feel the pressure from Zane and considered backing off. Knowing when to retreat had kept him alive this long.
However, the group heard Zane speak: "Blood Berserk!" Suddenly, a red mist enveloped him. His eyes turned blood-red, and his muscles tightened intensely. A sudden, crushing pressure forced the demi-beasts' bodies to the ground. Without a doubt, they felt they would die if they stayed any longer.
"RUN!"
But before they could move, Zane had already reappeared next to the demi-goat. The next thing it knew was a sword slashing toward its side. With all his might, it tried to deflect, but the sword was too heavy.
The force sent it flying sideways, with ribs and internal organs bleeding. It couldn't believe what had happened; it was a level 18 Awakened, yet one hit had incapacitated it.
Zane did not stop with the first demi-beast. He moved to the second, an ox-like creature. His sword sliced vertically; the ox tried to defend but found the strike too fast. Its body was cut in two before it could react. Zane's next victim raised a shield in defense, but his second attack cut off its arms and legs, followed by a stab to the face.
The others were horrified. They wanted to help but realized Zane was too fast. In the end, all met a grim fate at his sword.
Meanwhile, the demi-goat who had witnessed everything lost all hope. It wanted to laugh and cry simultaneously. It had big dreams and could have lived longer—but why had it met the monster in front of it?
Zane walked toward it with his bloodied blade. He saw the demi-goat's face had lost all light; its eyes were bulging and stiff. He assumed it had gone crazy and died.
"Just in case," Zane said, flicking his sword. Then a head rolled.
Looking at his body, Zane can feel the overwhelming strength he was releasing.
'Status'
Strength: 294
Agility: 284
Perception: 83
Constitution: 86
For the first time, Zane felt that he confidently kill anyone below the Ascendant level once he is on Blood Berserk. With his strength nearing the Ascendant level, he can easily one hit anyone up bellow level 20. His mind also thought a possibility to kill another wounded transcendent.
However, suddenly, he felt a very heavy sensation with his body falling to the ground, his eyes almost passed out. But with sheer will, he forcefully smacked his head with his right hand feeling the pain once again. Passing out in this alley with dead bodies will surely lead to trouble, worst killed by robbers.
Although, few minutes only passed, the Blood Berserk skill ended prematurely. Checking his body, he knew that it was his constitution that was lacking and couldn't keep up with the muscle strength requirements and agility.
After resting for a breaths, he made sure to loot as much as he could, taking all bags and weapons. He double to triple checked to make sure he hadn't missed anything.
Soon, Zane began running away from the scene and back to the inn.