2024-05-28 18:10:44Talon joined Pontus and, using Pontus’ token, they entered the inner city as a trader and his assistant. Unlike the outer city, the inner city was cleaner but just as lively. The roads, paved with cut granite, impressed Talon. They were wide enough to hold five carriages side by side, allowing the heavy traffic to flow smoothly.
The duo soon found a spot that satisfied Pontus, and they set up the stall. Talon got to work, attracting passersby with some of the goods. Within the next hour, he managed to secure several sales, convincing Pontus of his hard work. Satisfied, Pontus positioned himself on a high seat behind the stall to attend to customers.
As the moon rose, Talon returned to the stall. "Hey, boss."
Pontus enjoyed being called that, and Talon saw no reason not to take advantage of it. "Yeah, tired already?"
"Not yet, just hungry. Can I get something to eat? I can bring yours along as well."
Pontus nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm, that’s alright. We’ll be here most of the night, so it’s best to eat now. Here..." He handed Talon a few silver coins. "Get us something to eat from a nearby inn."
Talon accepted the coins with a smile and left. Pontus didn't worry about Talon running off with the money; without a token, he wouldn’t be able to leave the inner city.
***
Talon opened his mini-map again. The red dot was several streets away, so he walked in that direction.
Ten minutes later, he reached his destination. The target was inside an inn, apparently planning to lodge there for the night. Talon entered the inn and ordered a meal and a mug of ale. He was surprised to see that the mug was made of glass. 'The inner city is truly the place for the rich,' he thought, recalling that even the inn in the outer city didn't use glass mugs.
As he ate, he confirmed the target was still in his room upstairs. After finishing his meal, he carried his mug of ale and walked to the upper floor. The bartender was too busy with customers to notice him.
He walked through the corridor until he reached the target's door. Taking a deep breath, he knocked hard. At first, there was no response, but then he heard clothes rustling and footsteps approaching. The door opened slightly, revealing a tall man with deep brown eyes and coarse black hair.
“Yes?” the man asked apprehensively.
Talon’s adventurer instincts kicked in. Bang! He kicked the door, sending the man stumbling backward and the door swinging open. Talon rushed into the room, closing the distance before the man could regain his balance.
The man swung his hand, materializing a shard of ice that flew towards Talon. He blocked it with the glass mug, breaking most of it before the shard hit his right chest. The ice slowed after hitting the mug, preventing serious damage, but Talon could feel the ice spreading from the wound.
Pa! He stabbed the man's throat with the mug’s handle. From the moment he entered to the counterattack and the stabbing, everything happened within three seconds.
The man’s eyes bulged in shock. He grabbed Talon’s wrist, trying to stop the mug from going deeper into his throat. Talon didn’t give him a chance. He held the man’s head with his left hand and pushed the mug deeper, causing a gurgling noise.
After ten more seconds, the man lost all strength and collapsed, blood staining the carpet. Talon stood over him, the shattered mug in hand and blood dripping into the crimson pool.
“Mission accomplished.”
The synthetic voice rang in his head again.
“Do you wish to return now?”
“No,” Talon replied.
“You can request a return at any time.”
The voice fell silent. 'Shit! The bastard was Awakened. The fuck?' Talon hadn't expected his first mission to involve an Awakened. He had no abilities of his own. If not for the well-built body and his experience as an adventurer, he couldn’t have killed the man so quickly. If the battle had lasted even a minute, the man would have won.
Relieved, Talon noted the man seemed to be in the Preliminary stage of Awakening. An Advanced or Peak stage Awakened would have been unbeatable. 'Sadly, there are no ifs and buts in a battle. The victor is the victor, the loser simply accepts the status quo.'
He dropped the mug shard and closed the door before ransacking the room. The mission stated that the man was trying to open a door to Egermont’s domain using a talisman. If he left it, the danger wouldn’t be averted. Better to destroy it.
He soon found the talisman in the man’s inner pocket. It looked like a medal with strange inscriptions. The unemotional voice confirmed, “Congratulations on finding the Summoning Talisman of the Abyss Cult.”
Satisfied, he pocketed the talisman and left. Immediately, he felt dizzy and his breath came in cold mists. “Damn it.” 'Even a weak Awakened is no joke.' He could feel the ice crawling under his skin towards his lungs, making deep breaths difficult.
Pushing himself forward, Talon reached the bar and paid for a packaged meal before leaving. No one noticed his injury thanks to the man’s cloak. The ice attack made bleeding impossible.
He half-ran, half-walked back to Pontus.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 123: Things Worse Than Obedience
Night settled softly over the Aerindel estate, draping its towers and courtyards in a wash of silver light. The palace was asleep. The Duke’s wing too, mostly. Except for one room. The air inside it was thick — herbs, oil, and the faint sting of smoke that had nowhere to go. Shelves crowded with jars. Old things in old bottles. Some of those oils were worth more than gold; he treated them like sacred trust. A wooden altar sat in the middle, plain and worn. Unlit candles surrounded it. A cushion, gong and beater sat at the base of the altar. With an ornate mirror at the head of the altar, inscribed with fading illegible scripts, reflecting his tired visage. Alaric knelt before the altar, the cushion pressing against his knees, and began grinding herbs in a small dish. The sharp scent filled the air. From the shelf, he chose a vial of royal-blue oil — Regality, the name etched into the glass — and dipped his ceremonial knife into it. His voice was steady when he began the chant. T
Chapter 122: Orders and Pursuits
The morning air was cool and thin, carrying the sharp scent of pine and frost. Magnus stood where the faint traces of a campfire still lingered—ashes smudged across the earth, footprints pressed deep into the dirt. “They left an hour ago,” he said after a brief pause. His hand lowered from the air, a ripple of faint blue light fading from his eyes. The magic of his Discerning Mage profession died down as he completed the reading. Brythan crouched nearby, brushing his fingers along the edge of a boot print. A faint, silver aura shimmered around him—wild, unsteady, but powerful. The air around him felt heavier than before. “An hour,” he repeated, straightening with a grin. “Good. We can still catch them.” Magnus gave a small nod, though his gaze remained on the trail. Around him, the rest of the group waited quietly—Xara leaning against her spear, Merisa sitting on a fallen log adjusting the straps of her armor, Renard scanning the tree line with mild impatience, and Raeve crouched
Chapter 121: Camp
The night was quiet except for the soft crackle of the campfire. Smoke drifted lazily into the air, carrying the smell of roasted meat and wet grass. Talon sat close to the flames, his back hunched, eyes fixed on the fire as if it held the answers to his thoughts. The Lupin Mountain Range loomed around them, tall and dark, its cliffs swallowing what little moonlight slipped through the clouds. They had been on the move for three days straight. Apart from brief stops to camp, Talon hadn’t slowed down once. Veyra had followed silently, sensing his mood and deciding not to poke at it. He hadn’t spoken since they left Bluefeather Duchy. Not when they crossed into the mountain range. Barely when they felt the dangerous presence ahead. He just kept walking, expression stiff and distant. Now, that oppressive aura had faded to a faint pulse, like the heartbeat of something enormous sleeping deep within the mountains. It didn’t make her feel safer, but at least the night wasn’t trembling w
Chapter 120: The Fort Under Shadow
The demons drew closer, a living tide of claws and wings, when a figure stepped out in front of the horde.At first glance, he looked almost human — tall, lean, his posture unhurried — but even from kilometers away, the soldiers on the fort’s walls could see the wrongness in him. His fingers ended in long, black claws, and his eyes glowed faintly red like embers hiding in ash.He raised one clawed hand.Another guard on watch, still gripping his telescope, froze as the demon’s arm slashed downward. There was no sound at first, just a blur that tore through the air like the wake of a scythe. The pressure alone made the wind around the fort’s wall twist violently.“—That’s an attack! Incoming!” the guard shouted, voice cracking. His trembling hand fumbled for the horn. Almost instantly, a presence crashed down from the main keep like a hammer.A heavy gust swept through the fort’s walls as a man landed beside the terrified guard,
Chapter 119: The Savage Highlands Stir
The journey from Bluefeather Duchy to the Lupin Mountain Range took three long days. Talon didn’t rest except when night forced him to. Even then, he slept lightly, like a blade kept half-drawn. Veyra followed a few paces behind him most of the way, keeping silent. She could tell — he wasn’t just angry. He was barely holding himself together. The few times they stopped to camp, he said nothing. He cooked, ate, and packed up again with mechanical precision. His eyes didn’t rest on the horizon or the stars; they only looked forward. The air around him felt heavier with each passing day, and Veyra didn’t need her bloodline senses to feel it. He was a volcano walking in silence. When they reached the outer ridges of the Lupin Mountains, the wind grew colder. The trees here were tall and thin, and the fog clung to the ground like smoke after a battle. Veyra paused, eyes narrowing. Her instincts screamed danger. Something in the mountain’s depths felt wrong — not an ordinary monster, bu
Chapter 118: The Whirlwind Summons
The scent of sweet tea and garden roses filled the air in the Duke’s courtyard. Musicians strummed soft strings in the background while laughter and polite chatter drifted from the tables. Magnus sat at the center of it all, shoulders straight, smile fixed, eyes dull. He wasn’t sure which he hated more — the syrupy tone of noble small talk or the fact that his mother had set him up for it. The Duchess, in all her enthusiasm, had decided today was perfect for “introductions.” Which really meant: parade your son before eligible daughters. Across the long table sat a line of young women dressed in spring colors, each sneaking glances at Magnus between bites of pastry. A few giggled. A few whispered. Magnus wanted to disappear. He gave polite nods, exchanged a few rehearsed pleasantries, and pretended to listen as Lady Mirielle explained her love for harp lessons. His fingers twitched beneath the table, already counting seconds. He needed an excuse. Any excuse. And then it came. A f
You may also like
Billionaire's Luck System
DarkGreey23.0K viewsThe Successor System
Khay Phynom 58.9K viewsLord Of The Ultra Billionaire System
Author_Danny23.5K viewsWulin : Martial Heroes
Keikokumars22.8K viewsAlmighty Dominant Caspian Grey Hastings
Mh_Ummi (Styles)1.4K viewsThe Record of The Journey to The Peak
Fiction Stars1.6K viewsMy Rich Medical System
NOVEMBRE5.5K viewsLifeline Protocol: The Exiled Doctor
Stanterry142 views