Ding—!
Ding—! Ding—!
In the dark room cloaked with shadows, the ringing sounds stirred Rhen awake.
Still groggy, he called out without thinking, "Who's there?"
"—"
He heard sounds which were barely audible, making him stand fully.
Zena, who had napped at the edge of the bed, turned to a ball of light and identified who was at the door.
"What's he doing here?" Rhen stretched, then peeked through the window with a slight tilt of his head. "And why so late?"
Still dressed in his fitted black shirt and black pants, Rhen walked to the main room and opened the door slightly.
He instantly saw the cheerful face of Nick.
"Boss, I have news for you."
"News?"
"Yes. I found a lead to that medicine of yours!"
Rhen's eyes widened with shock as thoughts rolled in his mind.
"Let's go now."
"Wait, let me explain—"
"You can explain while driving!"
Rhen darted into the dark main room and found his boots.
As he left, he caught a glimpse of the red egg that was slightly shimmering, making him smile more.
'It will hatch soon. Immediately it does, I'm out of this haven if Nick's lead is a bust.'
It may seem like Rhen is taking it easy, but he knew better than to act impatiently and mess everything up.
He closed the door, letting the magitech lock it for him.
Nick, at this point, just led Rhen to the carriage, oblivious to Zena's constant presence.
Crossing his fence and walking into the carriage, Rhen spoke through the walls to Nick.
"How and where did you find this lead?"
"I went around looking for connections for you, boss. I found a place that's likely to host a worthy medicine."
"Where's this place?"
"Eh erm," Nick cleared his throat. "That place is… the black market."
"The black market?" Rhen muttered, his ignorance making him unable to think of searching there for the medicine.
Although he rarely heard of it back in Talia due to the Union's absolute power, he had a vague idea from tales told in the slums.
A brutal place is simply what that place is — Rhen wondered if that was the same here. No actually, he knew it was the same.
[The black market exists everywhere. It is the shadow of the surface.] Zena stated in his mind.
[Not if the surface is so powerful, it gets rid of its surface.] Rhen said, his teeth clenching at the thought of the Union.
"Boss… Do you have a problem with the black market?" Rhen's vibe made Nick, who was outside, ask.
"No– Let's go."
"Beggars don't choose!" Nick chuckled as he increased the pace of their movement.
- - -
After passing various corners and districts Nick knew to conceal them, they soon got to a part of the Haven that was rapidly rising in temperature.
Before entering too deep, Nick dropped his carriage and beast with someone he seemed to know quite well, leaving them to walk the remaining distance.
As they were about to move, Nick stretched a cloak at Rhen, but he declined and used the inventory feature to equip the moonlight cloak, much to Nick's satisfaction.
Moving forward, Rhen saw, in the far distance, a long curtain of black smoke that reached for the boiling moon.
There were a few ashes landing here and there, reminding him that this Haven was actually near a Volcano.
Rhen had never liked being watched — whether by visible eyes or hidden ones. But the hidden ones unnerved him the most.
'I'm beginning to prefer the day since my perception range is reduced at night. Without concentrating, I can perceive up to 15 meters at night while I can perceive up to 25 meters in the day…'
Rhen thought further to distract himself from the discomfort. 'It also seems I have a small physical boost at day.'
Rhen rubbed his arms, quietly channeling ice to cool the searing heat pressing against his skin
The farther they walked, the fewer lampposts there were.
One could see the shirtless and barely covered people lying on the streets, struggling to survive.
"How sad…" Rhen heard Nick say. "Let's move faster."
After walking a few more meters, where the heat was very uncomfortable, they reached a kiosk at a dark corner.
A man Rhen recognized as a beastman, specifically a dogman, was sitting.
Lined up on his shelf were various battered weapons that didn't seem to be worth much.
Nick stood in front of this person and slid him the two silver coins Rhen had given him earlier.
"I'm back. Now, tell me about that medicine. Where can I get it?"
The dogman smiled as he looked down at the coins before looking up to the cloaked Nick and Rhen.
"Why are you sounding harsh, man? Heh, you can't blame me. This became valuable information within hours."
"The medicine," Nick said.
The dogman chuckled.
"A lot of people suddenly began requesting a rare medicine like you and it was managed to be found."
[A lot of people are looking for it? Why? Because the guild is looking for it?]
Hearing Rhen's open thoughts, Zena explained.
[Because you're looking for it. I really advise you not to underestimate your title as a Traveller.]
The dogman continued.
"The medicine will be auctioned two nights from now."
"How do I attend?" Nick asked.
The dogman smiled, throwing the coins in his hands. "10 of this."
Nick frowned under his hood, his brown eyes having a green glow.
"Do you take me for a fool? Five."
Rhen sensed discomfort and subconsciously touched the belt attached to his waist.
The dogman's instincts were naturally sharp and he knew not to test these two, especially the quiet one watching him like a fox.
"Deal. I'll need advance payment to process this."
Nick casually stepped back and whispered into Rhen's ear.
"Boss, do you have more of those coins or do you have like 20,000 En coins?"
Rhen nodded immediately, willed the small chest to appear under his cloak, and, now understanding their worth, covertly brought out five coins.
Nick accepted them and gave the dogman three.
"Come for the ticket tomorrow night."
Without hesitation, the two left.
"Now… boss, I hope you have a lot of money, because that medicine seems like it'll be worth a lot."
'Money…'
Rhen smiled. "That won't be a problem."
"That's great! I hope this ends successfully!" Nick chuckled. "I can already see an improvement in your smile."
"Is that so?" Rhen tiled his head slightly. "Anyways, I like to reward good effort and I appreciate you bothering to help me, say less of finding the dog fellow, so have these three coins."
Rhen had like 200 coins, so he was not worried. He had given twelve out now.
Nick expressed his gratitude and added, "But it's best you don't publically call beastmen by their animal counterparts, they don't take that well."
"Good to know. I'll save the creative titles for when they're not listening," Rhen mused, receiving a laugh from Nick.
Following the two walk as a ball of light, Zena was happy watching Rhen joke.
As they walked, Rhen grew curious and asked about the coins. Nick explained casually.
These coins were actually bones of ancient creatures that could be easily used for various things ranging from crafting items, hosting rituals or manufacturing magitech.
Rhen got a few more things explained to him while Nick picked up his carriage and returned Rhen home.
"Boss, I'll return with your ticket and further information tomorrow night!"
"No problem. I will be expecting you."
Nick waved goodbye, leaving Rhen to cross his fence and walk into his compound.
But as soon as Rhen crossed his fence, the smile vanished.
He felt it — a presence inside his home.
Which was supposed to be impossible — only him could open his door.
He reached the door and saw it was undamaged and still locked, which confused him even more.
He calmly opened the door and felt a wave of mana hit his face as he sensed the figure standing a few metres from him.
Zena immediately turned corporeal with a sword made of burning energy in her hand.
The room lit up instantly, revealing the figure's appearance.
Before Rhen could comprehend, Zena uttered words he didn't expect.
"I greet the most benevolent God."