Ronan

"You are…" Jasmine trailed off as she took in the countenance of the old man who just entered the tavern and was looking towards her with a smile.

"We meet again, missy!" The old man said in high spirits and took the empty seat beside her.

Raymond scowled inwardly as he remembered where he had seen the old man before.

It was the scammer!

His long grey hair that matched his stubble and his wrinkly face was unmistakable. This was the guy who had filled Jasmine's head with the thoughts of death so much so that she had jumped in the crevice during the fight with Mobi.

Though, Raymond was sure that she would have done that nonetheless.

However, that thought didn't lessen any of the anger he felt towards the old man.

'Is he here to collect the money I owe him?'

"Who are you? Can't you see this table is occupied?" Raymond said harshly. "There are plenty of empty tables here."

"Haha, young man, you're acting sucks!" The old man laughed, his green eyes alight with amusement. "You're like an open book in front of me!"

"Really? Then tell me what I am thinking right now!" Raymond spat.

"You're thinking about how to avoid paying the money I am owed," The old man chuckled.

"Cough! What money? I, Ray, am an honest man. I don't owe money to anyone!" Raymond uttered with such confidence that even the old man believed for a second that he was talking with the wrong person. "If I did so, may the heavens strike me down!"

"As if that would work! I clearly know what you're capable of, young man. You can stop your acting." The old man snorted.

"If you know what I am capable of, maybe it would be in your best interest to leave us alone!" Raymond threatened.

"You wouldn't kill an old man like me. After all, your upbringing wouldn't let you do that," The old man whispered. "Hehe, not only your powers, but I also know Ray is only your nickname!"

"I see, you've chosen death…" Raymond clenched his fist harder and glared at the old man. Not even people from his own empire knew about him. This old man must have been spying on him for a long time to know everything he knew.

"Were you stalking me, old man?" Raymond hissed. "Is that why you followed us till here? Why show your face now, eh? Do you think you can walk out of here alive?"

"Haha, nothing of those sorts. I live here. This is my home." The old man spread his arms wide. "My name is Ronan and I am an elder of the Elven Council of WhisperMoon Forest!"

"I have no intention to stalk you! That would be the high priestess's job!" Ronan laughed. "She is quite taken with you, you know?"

"Hmph, stop lying! Where are your pointy ears if you're an elf?" Raymond wasn't going to believe the words of a scammer.

The food arrived while they were bickering and the elven waiter instantly bowed towards Ronan as soon as he saw him.

"See? Everyone respects me. Isn't that proof enough?" Ronan asked. "Do you still need to see my pointy ears?"

"Tch, I don't care! Just get out of my face!" Raymond had enough of the old man. He had no interest in why he was here anymore. "I have better things to do than argue with you!"

"Well, even if you're acting like a brat, it was nice to meet you again, Raymond." Ronan chuckled and walked out of the tavern.

"Ray, who was that?" Lyla asked curiously. It was rare to see Ray agitated so much.

"He is a scammer but acts like he knows all the shit that's going to happen!" Raymond tutted. "He even told me that I was going to die very soon." He recounted the incident where he had met Ronan to Lyla.

"I am still alive and kicking. That old man is a liar." Raymond had yet to forgive him for sprouting lies back in the Capital City. And the old man hadn't done himself any favours by showing up here out of the blue.

"Keep an eye out, Lyla. He might be stalking us from the shadows." Raymond was still unsure how the old man knew about his identity. And the fact that he knew about his little stunt with the heavens spoke volumes about his capabilities as a spy.

Even Raymond found it absurd for the old man to escape his senses while spying on him.

'Whatever, there is no point in hiding my real name in this place where my family holds no influence.' Raymond shrugged and started eating his breakfast.

———

-Dark Slash-

-Thud!

A giant tree that was flailing its branches around like arms and trying to strike at the trio was cut in half as a dark slash left Lyla's sabre.

Treeman.

A rather strong magical entity that is specific to this place. It had a towering body made of dried and gnarled wood, making its appearance ugly.

Except for its massive branch-like limbs, it had no other specialties that made it dangerous.

Its movements were slow as a snail and its attacks were predictable, which made it a pretty low level beast.

However, having to collect ten of its cores was proving to be more difficult than they initially thought. The creatures knew how to blend in with the surrounding flora, making them harder to find.

Raymond dug into the trunk of the fallen Treeman and took out a core the size of a cherry and sent it into his pendant.

"Lyla, how does the Mana Replenishment Pills work for you? I mean, does it take too long to recover your mana using those pills?" Raymond asked as they walked deep into the forest in search of one last Treeman to finish their mission.

"Mmm. It depends on the grade of the pills and the level of your cultivation. The pill only provides you with unrefined mana which is tainted by its surroundings and the rest depends on how much faster you can refine it." Lyla recalled her lessons. "Though, the pills given by the empress were of Mid-grade. So, it would only be useful for a Martial Greatsage or below."

Raymond nodded, there were two reasons as to why the pills didn't work on him. Either his core was too damaged to refine mana quickly— this is what he believed to be the most sensible answer or his mana was too advanced for the pill to work.

Contemplating over the recent events, Raymond wasn't quick to dismiss the second possibility. His mana was special and he had just found out how special it was this morning.