A Fateful Encounter

"James, take Liam to buy some stuff. Meanwhile, I'll go sell these kraken hearts to the merchant," Michael said before leaving the house first.

"Let's go..." James yawned, standing by the door.

Liam nodded and followed James. After stepping outside, he couldn't help but be surprised by how far the town was. The area around them was quite desolate. Maybe it was a way to avoid trouble at night. From afar, he saw the house that had been destroyed yesterday. The house on the ground had been completely wrecked, and occasionally, he could spot dried red pools. He shivered, feeling the urge to ask James.

"Do scenes like that happen often?"

Looking toward the ruined house, James responded casually, "Yeah..." but then he frowned a bit. "But lately, a lot more people have been getting into trouble... Could it be that they're just being careless?"

Hearing this, Liam couldn't help but feel uneasy. "I mean, when it comes to life and death, how could anyone be careless?"

James thought that was true as well. If he had the chance, he would look more into the issue.

"Maybe we should consider moving to a safer area..."

After chatting for a while, the two finally reached Atlas Town. The scenery astonished Liam. It looked just like the medieval ports he often saw in movies.

"Hasn't this place been destroyed?"

"Of course not... Do you think we'd still live here if it was still dangerous?" James added, "This is the area with the most merchants passing through, so we have to make the most of it... After all, the monsters only attack at night, right?"

"What about the merchants?" Liam mused, rubbing his chin.

"They've got money... Think about it—what could they do?" James shrugged.

Hearing James' vague answer, Liam frowned slightly.

"So they pay off the monsters..."

Ignoring Liam, James walked toward a nearby merchant.

The merchant, sitting idly, suddenly brightened up when he saw the two kids. With years of experience, he immediately adopted a friendly demeanor.

"Welcome... Are you here to buy something?"

"I want to buy a basic spatial ring. Also, get me some clothes and a sword. Oh, and..."

"Alright..." The merchant immediately laid out the necessary items in front of his young customers.

After browsing for a while, James selected what he needed. The merchant, looking quite pleased, seemed to be on the verge of tears, thinking to himself, "Looks like today might be my lucky day... Although, I'm not sure if this sale will make up for my investment."

"Hey... What's wrong with you? Just give me the total!" James felt strange seeing the merchant's odd behavior. He wasn't sure if this guy was mentally stable.

"Oh... I forgot..." The merchant snapped out of it and quickly started calculating.

"Your total is 5,392 silver coins."

"Fuck you... Are you trying to rip me off?" James growled angrily.

"Wait, wait... my friend, since you're my first customer of the day, I already gave you a 30% discount." The merchant calmly replied, as if he had dealt with similar situations many times before.

James' loud outburst attracted attention, but people soon returned to their business—this kind of thing happened frequently. From the merchant's wagon, footsteps began to emerge.

"Why so noisy this early in the morning?" A young man around 30 years old with short white hair yawned. His pale skin and ocean-blue eyes made him stand out. As he stepped out of the wagon, something in front of him made him fully alert.

"Could it be that kid?... I heard the Carter family said he escaped from their clan?" He scratched his head, thinking, "Well, that makes sense... If he hadn't escaped, he'd be dead by now..."

"Anyway, I should at least say hello..." The white-haired man smoothed his hair, smiled, and approached.

Liam cautiously stepped forward, trying to calm James down to avoid making the situation worse.

"Let's just buy me the cheapest things..."

Suddenly, a man with white hair walked over and spoke, "Hello there, young Carter... Long time no see..."

Liam, James, and the merchant all jumped at the stranger's greeting.

"You know these kids, Evans?" The merchant frowned, asking.

Liam was startled when he saw the white-haired man named Evans. He was surprised that the man knew him, though it was more likely that Evans recognized this body rather than him. For a moment, Liam didn't know how to respond.

"Damn it..." James muttered. This guy belonged to one of the major families, so he was likely acquainted with Liam, who was also from a powerful clan. Merchants often hired these people for protection. James realized he shouldn't have drawn so much attention. He hoped the situation would end smoothly.

"Don't be so tense... The way you look so clueless must mean you don't remember me... though we used to see each other all the time," Evans said with a smile.

"What do you mean by that?" Liam asked in surprise, though a bit anxiously.

"Huh?... Don't tell me you've already forgotten... It was the battle between you and Miss Oliver Smith... I was the referee for that fight." Evans seemed to slip into reminiscence as he continued, "I was really impressed back then... I'd never seen anyone in the same generation challenge her so many times... Even though you were beaten over and over, you never gave up... But after the last challenge six months ago, I didn't see you come back... I heard later that you ran away from the life-and-death trial... Makes sense though... A trial with only a 10% survival rate—who would willingly go into that?" Evans kept talking, seemingly unable to stop.

"He talks a lot, huh?" James whispered to Liam. He didn't expect someone from a major family to be so chatty.

"Ahem... I heard that..." Evans frowned slightly, having overheard the remark.

"Anyway, I've said my part... Now it's your turn." Evans said.

"Can we save this conversation for later? If you keep disrupting my sales, I won't hire you again..." The merchant frowned, noticing that most people had left after hearing the boys' true identities.

"Ah... My bad... Charge their bill to me," Evans replied with a grin.

"Alright, let's go somewhere else to talk..." Evans led the two boys away.

Liam nodded and followed. Meanwhile, James stood there, deep in thought. After they had walked away, James turned to the merchant, smiling.

"Did he say I could use his money?"

The merchant, initially disheartened by the loss of customers, suddenly brightened at James' question. The two of them then shared a hearty laugh...