Talon bought the book without second thoughts. As soon as he did, a hardcover book appeared on top of the stone podium. He scrolled through the listings again and saw another book titled, ‘Things a Hero Must Know About the Infinite Realities’ for 20 System Coins. The book was posted by Round Red Doe, and the short description indicated it contained the experience and knowledge of the writer. Given the glowing name tag that Round Red Doe had, Talon knew this person must have a high status, similar to Frenzy Wild Wolf.
He decided to buy that and another book called ‘Details About the Hero System’ for 20 System Coins, posted by Western Dominator. The Silver Scales on both sides of the person’s name suggested that this was also a high-ranking hero.
Seeing that he had almost exhausted his System Coins, he quickly checked another page to see if he could get anything else useful.
‘Let’s check weapons,’ he thought.
The weapons page was filled with all sorts of weapons, most of which had abilities and were tagged as magical weapons, costing enormous amounts. He even spotted a magical longbow that cost over a million System Coins. Although the bow could reportedly kill a Saint in a single hit, Talon didn’t know what a Saint was. Even if he did, he couldn’t afford the magical weapon, even if he sold himself a million times over.
Following the system’s guidance, he discovered a way to search for items, filter through listings, and even set the page to arrange items by price, rating, purchase amount, and more. After playing around in the weapons page, he realized that he couldn’t afford anything there, as each weapon cost at least 50 Coins. He almost felt pain in his heart seeing that he only had 30 System Coins left.
“It seems I have spent everything I have.”
— You can claim your welcome package and spin the Fortune Ticket to see if you will get anything. You will also gain more System Coins by killing monsters and selling things in the Marketplace.
At this point, he noticed the blinking golden chest on the top right corner of his screen. He clicked the golden chest.
[3x Fortune Ticket, 5 Karma, 100 Coins]
He pressed the Gambling House icon, and the system revealed three options:
[Mystery Box Mystery Shop, 12-Item Wheel, Coin Lotto]
He entered the Coin Lotto and spent the first Fortune Ticket, gaining 20 System Coins. He spent another Fortune Ticket and gained 5 Coins.
‘Puh…bad luck…’
He looked towards the other two options. The Mystery Box Mystery Shop and 12-Item Wheel offered lots of goods too. The mystery shop allowed him to choose a type of mystery box, which could yield any item based on that type of mystery box. For instance, a weapons mystery box could contain any type of weapon, possibly even a magical one. But, the odds were low, and he risked getting nothing.
The same applied to the 12-Item Wheel, which had 12 items that refreshed every week but also had a big chance of landing a dud. It had even lower chances than the mystery boxes.
After thinking it through, he decided to go for the Artifact Mystery Box, which had better average odds than the other mystery boxes and far better than the 12-Items Wheel.
[Ring of Vitality]
[Grade: Preliminary] [Increases the user’s stamina, health, and core energy by 10%]A ring appeared on the stone podium, made of polished green stone with strange rune patterns on it. He found that he could wear it easily on his ring finger. The moment he wore it, he felt immediately refreshed.
‘That’s cool,’ he thought.
Seeing that his Coins had increased to 155 System Coins, he wanted to buy again but decided against it. It would be good to save this for a rainy day.
Finally realizing that he didn’t have anything else to do, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
‘Time to make those bastards suffer for their crimes,’ he thought.
He walked to the door and pushed it open. A blinding light covered him, and he disappeared.
---
‘The wind is cold,’ was the first thought that crossed his mind even before he opened his eyes. He was still in Moon Mist Woods, standing on the very spot where he died. He looked down to see the two footprints he left when he was carbonized. Ash and soot covered everywhere, and all the trees within a twenty-meter radius had been turned to coal.
‘Such power, such force,’ he thought, realizing just how scary the Sun Fire Mage profession truly was.
From what he could see around him, he knew the storm had just ended. He couldn’t tell how long he had been dead, but since the forest looked like it had experienced its destruction fairly recently, and the storm had stopped not too long ago, he figured he couldn’t have been gone for more than a few hours.
He looked towards the southeast, the direction taken by the team. The plan was to keep going in that direction until they reached the town of Eryndor, and then head towards the Ironflower Duchy from there. Eryndor was located between the Ironflower Duchy and the Lupin Mountain Range. Apart from scattered villages, it was the only large town in the vicinity. Due to its remote location and the fact that Fort Avarack was situated in the Lupin Mountain Range, there was almost no threat in the region. It only had to deal with the occasional bandits, dire wolf packs, and goblins, making it quite peaceful compared to the rest of the kingdom.
The Lupin Mountain Range was at the northern edge of the Kingdom of Aurumia, which owned the territory from the south of the Lupin Mountain Range down to the southern coast of the Lye Continent. This made the Kingdom of Aurumia one of the southernmost kingdoms on the Lye Continent.
Talon started to head towards Eryndor. With a caravan, the journey from Fort Avarack to Eryndor took two days on average, and another three days from Eryndor to Ironflower Duchy.
As he walked, he had only one concern: Would the Verdant Brothers hurt his sister? As he thought of this, he discarded the thought again. Everyone knew he grew up in the orphanage. Due to Vaila’s illness, she barely left the orphanage. Apart from those living in the orphanage, barely anyone would even know she existed. Even if they suspected this because he visited the orphanage a lot, there was a bigger chance they would just think he was going there to greet his old pals.
With this train of thought, he felt calm. Besides, the brothers were probably on their way to Ironflower Duchy to deliver their lie. He was sure they wouldn’t dare steal everything they were told to escort. They would probably steal a part of it and blame unknown bandits for ‘ambushing’ the caravan during the storm.
Talon felt this was very likely.
‘My thoughts seem to be moving faster,’ he noticed. Ever since he awakened his Mind Hunter profession, his mind had felt…freer and sharper.
Talon didn’t reach Eryndor until the next day. Even with the Ring of Vitality keeping his stamina up, he still had to rest a couple of times. Thankfully, he didn’t encounter any threats during the journey. There was a good chance that Eren’s massive attacks had chased away all the predators within a kilometer radius, but he couldn't be sure.Eryndor was a large town protected by five-meter-tall stone walls. Guards patrolled the walls, and a few ballistas were mounted for defense. The town gate, made of oak wood, was only shut during bandit raids and at night. Since Talon arrived just before noon, the gates were still open. Outside the town, open fields stretched out, with farmers busy planting crops. Talon stood just behind the tree line, watching the farmers go about their business. After what happened to him, it would be foolish to appear openly in town. If anyone recognized him, the Verdant Brothers would soon hear about it, even if they weren’t currently in town.‘Risky, too risk
Talon had been an orphan for as long as he could remember. His parents were unknown, and he was found on the doorstep of the Holy Mother Church’s orphanage when he was a baby. Growing up in the harsh nvironment of the orphanage, Talon was maltreated by the caretakers and often abused by the older children. This forced him to become self-reliant and strong-willed.During his time at the orphanage, Talon met Vaila, a young albino girl who quickly became a target for bullies as soon as she arrived. He remembered how weak and frail she had looked back then. Vaila was six years younger than Talon, and he soon took on the role of her guardian, beating up other kids who tried to bully her and giving her his share of food when there wasn’t enough.Later, Talon discovered that Vaila was afflicted with a strange disease that not only rendered her physically weak but also meant she wouldn’t live past sixteen years of age. He had heard stories and legends of magical elixirs and artifacts that cou
Talon popped his head into the room through the small crack of the door, only to see a dozen eyes staring at him in fear. But when they realized it was Talon, he could almost hear them exhale the breath they had been holding. They all knew Talon; he was once an orphan here too. They just never expected to see him in the middle of the night. Since the orphans never left the orphanage, none of them knew about the news circulating around town that Talon had died during a mission. When Vaila saw that it was her sworn brother, she smiled and ran towards him. He opened the door and accepted her hug.“Where have you been?” she murmured, her voice shaking.Talon smiled and patted her head. He was glad she hadn’t heard about his apparent death yet. It would have been heartbreaking for her. After all, she was only thirteen and could barely take care of herself if he died.He broke off the hug and stared into her bright red eyes. “We can finally leave.”His words shocked her as she didn’t unders
Talon’s shout was quickly followed by a roar from the trees. Small green men with elongated ears, half-dressed in leather, came running out of the forest with swords, spears, and clubs.“Goblin attack!” the leader of the escorts shouted while drawing his sword. The other adventurers sprung into action immediately.The convoy descended into chaos. Even Vaila woke up from her sleep, but since it was nighttime, she could hardly notice the true nature of their attackers; she could only make out their frames.“Talon, what’s happening?”“Stay in the cart,” he said, throwing a bundle of clothes over her.A familiar synthetic voice rang in Talon’s head, accompanied by a sky-blue translucent screen appearing in front of him again.---[Mission:— Kill at least 30 goblins. (0/30)— Kill the Goblin leader. (optional)Rewards:— 100 Coins per normal kill. 400 Coins per Awakened kill. 1000 Coins for the Goblin leader.— 1x Fortune Ticket.— 5 Karma]---A goblin jumped towards Talon with its short
Goblins are among the most rampant monsters on the continent, well-known for their impressive breeding capabilities, though truly exceptional goblins were uncommon. However, some goblins manage to outshine the rest, becoming leaders to whom other goblins bow. For monsters, especially goblins, bowing to greater power isn't easy, indicating that every single goblin leader is Awakened.Talon had heard of Awakened monsters before, but he had never encountered them since the regions around Eryndor were too peaceful, and most monster-hunting quests he had joined didn't involve Awakened monsters. This was his first time seeing a group of monsters with not just one, but multiple Awakened among them. The leader was a monster that had attained a perfect awakening of its profession, making it very awe-inspiring.Talon rushed through the chaos, swinging his sword and shooting out mental pierce attacks simultaneously. Goblins fell left and right around him.The fight between Master Eobard and the
“Argh!” The Wind Mage goblin screamed as one of its five enemies landed a strike on its back. It could feel the blood gushing out of the wound, feeling more tired after each injury. Waving its spear around haphazardly, it tried to retreat, but the five Talons didn’t give it a break. They rained down more and more attacks, leaving deep gashes and injuries on the goblin.The goblin kept retreating until it finally became too tired. Even the spear in its grasp felt as heavy as lead. It could barely lift it to fight, let alone swing it. Its raspy breath could be heard from behind its helmet.“Cowards!” it roared in goblin tongue, but the Talons only looked at it with amusement. This enraged the goblin. If it were to die, it would rather die in a glorious manner.“For the King!” the goblin roared as it rushed towards the Talons. It spent every ounce of energy left within it to swing the spear, but after being blocked a couple of times, one of the images caught the spear and thrust its swor
The Aerindel family had ruled the Bluefeather Duchy for over 500 years. Duke Aerindel, a man of immense power and influence, stood as one of the most formidable figures on the continent. The duchy itself was renowned for its abundant gemstones, a high population of awakened wildlife, rich silver mines, and expertise in animal taming. It was a place steeped in history and adventure, one that Talon had heard many tales about, especially since Master Eobard's bloodline traced back to this region.As their caravan approached the outskirts of Bluefeather Duchy, a multitude of other caravans came into view, drawing the attention of Vaila. Her bright red eyes sparkled with curiosity as she watched the bustling activity around them.Every now and then, she peppered Talon with questions, which he answered with a patient smile.After fending off a goblin raid, the remainder of their journey had been remarkably peaceful. The caravan had managed to preserve their numbers, and apart from a few inj
The Kingdom of Aurumia was a competitive place, evident in the behavior of its noble families. Nobles constantly strived to outshine their peers. Earl families tried to outdo other earls, and dukedoms aimed to surpass one another, all under the watchful eyes of the Royal family. Even Talon, in the remote town of Eryndor, had heard tales of this competition from traveling bards and minstrels.Since Luth came from an Earl family in the Bluefeather Duchy, Talon guessed that this young noble might be more willing to answer his questions if he knew Talon was from a rival territory. He might even answer just to spite the Ironflower Duchy. Talon’s hunch proved correct."Hahaha," Luth laughed out loud. "I knew you must have been from that backward region when you didn’t even know what a Warrior was. Ironflower is truly the home of blockheads. No wonder."After satisfying his ego by insulting Talon’s hometown, he finally replied, "In the world, a Knight is neither high nor low. So, it is relat