Trading

Athelei was pleasantly filled with awe as he examined the small hill of poison-candy skeletons in front of him.

"This small corner of the universe is already filled with so many interesting things..."

After over an hour of repetitive work, Athelei had successfully transported all the Marinated Bones and stored them inside a secure cavity within one of the [First Kingdom]'s giant stone pillars nearby the ruined kingdom-city. Using Shop with two names had truly given him an unimaginable advantage when it came to logistics.

If he could level up Shop through such actions, then that advantage would surely grow exponentially.

But the Cosmic Interface didn't seem to allow him such a luxury.

"Now," Athelei muttered as he assumed a human form and spread all four of his wings. "I can simply leave a feather here so I can return when I need to."

As for whether or not a random underground beast would come across it, Athelei had no control over such a fact. He could only pray to Libra that his belongings are kept safe until he finds a better place to store stuff.

'If only I can learn of that Ogre Magus' techniques in concealing an area...' He thought to himself as he left.

With the High Orc army annihilated, and all of their plans buried with them, Athelei now had nothing to do besides his routine training and research.

The mysterious zone that the robed Ogre Magus and Lou'both had left behind was an area he could not explore with his current abilities. He had left a feather there though, so when he had ideas and free time in the future, he could experiment.

'Should I visit the nearby kingdom-cities?' Athelei smacked his lips as he wandered and pondered.

He had been able to memorise the maps that Hilvar and the High Orc army had been using, and thus he had a clear idea of what kind of region he was in.

'There are also quite a few beast habitats nearby... My tattoo still needs feeding, and I might find some useful material for it there. There's also Irene, who seems to be rather deep within a danger zone searching for more treasures to absorb... As for other acquaintances; Lisa is likely still studying, Lady Karire and Apple might be around Sky Cross, and Sister Yan is doing country things.'

Thoughts and plans filled Athelei's head as he walked and walked. Food and drink, as usual, was drawn from his legitimate transactions through Shop.

As the Adventurers began their treks into the [First Kingdom], the humans on the surface were loving the influx of new and unique resources they kept unearthing. Many Adventurer parties had been bringing along orange Users who had Shop just so that they could buy and sell on the go.

From the articles that Athelei had read, even the dangerous mechanical prototypes that marked those who touched it were being tossed around and traded.

Some people just didn't care.

For an extra coin, they would sell whatever they could.

And the buyers were those with varying desires.

Some wanted the mechanical prototypes for research, while others simply wanted them as trophies. Quite a few smiths and merchants wanted to see if they could effectively recreate them and put them up for sale.

What's more, was that those who had leadership positions in Illyas were very much interested in the advanced technology as well. Hundreds of quests had been issued, and Adventurers from all around the country were flocking to the [First Kingdom].

A horde of them would arrive in the next few weeks, based on travel times and whatnot.

This demand for treasure created a wonderful cycle that made orange Users even more important than ever before.

Athelei was obviously among those who were benefitting. Whatever the High Orc army didn't want, he would take. At times, he even took what they wanted if it was requested enough times on the Information Network.

It was one of the reasons why Hilvar felt that he was losing his mind. Though, that's what you typically get for having an ethereal and ghostly being constantly haunting you.

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"Hm?"

Hours had passed since Athelei began wandering, and since then, the angel had decided on a simple plan.

He had flown quite a large distance—which would've taken a few days on foot—as he traced back the High Orc army's footsteps. He wanted to visit Orc territories, as that was where his instincts were telling him to go.

Who knew that he would encounter a familiar face so soon?

"The One-Eyed Harbinger..." Athelei smiled as he felt the presence of Gusche through his wisps. "He looks exhausted. From what I remember, it is unlikely that he is an orange User given his previous transaction with the Careless of Aquarius. There is a small chance he is though... but now that I can see him like this, I highly doubt it. I wonder if he's interested in resupplying?"

Two words could be used to describe Gusche's current appearance: Starving and thirsty. To Athelei, the One-Eyed Harbinger looked like a man who had been wading through the desert for days on end.

"I can also take this opportunity to ask for his name..." Athelei let out a smirk as he donned a familiar face.

"It has been quite a while since Nikiri Mist has been seen by the public eye... The [First Kingdom] is a good place to leave traces. It is both quite logical, and also quite difficult to infiltrate."

Athelei recalled a certain group he had messed with back in Avina when it was still standing, "I wonder how those three Banishers are doing?"

The last time Athelei checked, half of their squad had been lost during the rebirth of Atlantis. Much has changed since then, especially with the discovery of the subterranean kingdoms.

He couldn't help but hope that he would meet them again.

'Perhaps I can steal another sword…' A tinge of playful evil flashed past his eyes before he began walking as Nikiri Mist.

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Gusche's exhausted appearance wasn't without reason.

The [First Kingdom] was truly a place hostile for humans. He hadn't slept in days ever since all of his Cloaks of Tranquility lost their durability.

If he did, he would be lost in insanity.

Food was scarce, given the barren landscape, and the water was filled with high concentrations of sulfur. Just being close to those areas made Gusche frown in discomfort despite his insanity.

Thus, he was currently a shivering mess. He was biting at his fingers so much that he might just have his own as dinner to survive.

He was hungry.

He was starving.

"Food... food... food..."

Listlessly, he could only put one foot over the other. He had no control over his footsteps. All he could do was activate his Tier I Skill, Bide in order to amplify his [Luck] at regular intervals.

He was a robot, listening to some subconscious command imprinted in his mind.

"Hello?"

A voice suddenly echoed out in the darkness.

The insanity and emptiness in Gusche's eyes disappeared in that instant. His dull expression turned sharp.

"Who's there?" He asked, squinting and assuming a vigilant pose.

Vwooosh!

A unique torch was lit at that moment, allowing Gusche to peer through the Baneful Shroud.

"You..." He couldn't help but mutter as he saw the beastly skin and glowing white eyes of the figure in front of him.

Clothed in rags with a sword much too extravagant in comparison hanging at his waist, a face that Gusche had once seen was there. It was the face of someone even he had found weird.

"Adventurer... Nikiri Mist?" Gusche fished out a memory that was almost nonexistent.

He recalled the man he had stabbed in his insanity and the wanted poster inside the Adventurer's Guild. There had even been an article sent to him through Exiled channels detailing this Nikiri Mist, and he found it intriguing how a Nightwalker could become such a being.

An enemy of both the Banishers and the Illum Spiritualists.

An existence who had yet to commit any crimes and yet was already on the list of Exiled.

That was Nikiri Mist, at least to Gusche.

"That is who I am..." Surprise could be seen on Nikiri Mist's face. "I never thought that I would be recognized by the One-eyed Harbinger himself. Was our first meeting fate, perhaps?"

"With the sword that you had stolen and the fact that your face had been plastered on the Adventurer's Guild's walls, you are more famous than you think..." Gusche flatly said as he sprung forward with his blade.

In the blink of an eye, Nikiri Mist was bisected into two together with his garments. A flash of milky white light caught Gusche's eye at that moment as he activated a ring that had been hung on his neck like a necklace. Swiftly, the light was sucked into the ring and forcibly dissipated.

Gusche felt his mind grow ever-so-slightly clearer.

"Using Mystic Patterns in the middle of greeting someone is bad manners, Mister Mist." A cold glint flashed in his eyes. "I know you're still alive. Come now, as long as you adhere to proper etiquette, we can talk."

In reply to those words, a playful chuckle rang out, delivering heavy contrast to Gusche's ice-cold tone.

"My bad, my bad," Nikiri Mist's bisected body reformed. A smile was plastered on his face as the beastly skin was sucked into some kind of ethereal symbol on his wrist. The grey body that Nightwalkers usually have came into a view at this moment as he grabbed a better-looking robe from the orange Cosmic Interface before him.

"I was here wondering if you are interested in an exchange. You should be low on supplies, yes? All I want is information."