Chapter Eighteen

A giant worm emerged from the vortex, its body beginning with a large circular mouth and small arms extending along its sides. It moved directly toward Elena, who stood her ground, intending to swallow her whole.

Elena quickly drew her daggers from her inventory and leapt away to avoid becoming the worm's meal. She channeled her energy into her legs, propelling herself high into the air before plunging the daggers into the creature's back.

Her plan was to create a long gash along the creature's body, stretching from its back downward. However, in an unexpected turn, the worm had already buried its head into the sand, attempting to retreat underground.

At the last second, before Elena could be buried alive beneath the sand, she leapt away from the creature's body, gasping for breath.

Alvin cast a glance at Meril's carpet, which hovered at a height that ground-dwelling monsters couldn't reach — meaning Tulip was safe up there.

He turned his gaze back toward Elena, who was now staring at a vortex forming nearby, waiting for the next creature to emerge so she could kill it. Fortunately, these monsters caused vortices to appear before surfacing; otherwise, predicting their locations would have been much harder.

They were massive creatures, but Alvin could spot plenty of weaknesses without even needing to read any information from the system.

He saw two options before him: either fight smart or fight hard. And although he enjoyed the thrill of bloodshed and watching his prey suffer, he realized that prolonging the battle under the scorching heat would only work against them.

So, he ran toward Elena, placed her on her flying carpet before she could even process what was happening, and patted the carpet three times to send it soaring into the sky.

While riding his own carpet, Alvin purchased several bombs, and as soon as he rose high enough into the air, he hurled them into the swirling vortices forming below.

"What if those monsters are the ones Elena needs to kill?" Meril shouted, making sure Alvin could hear her. He drew close enough to pull Tulip onto his carpet and gently embraced him, then replied, "Their information appeared on the system."

That was all he said, but Meril immediately understood.

"What does that mean?" Elena asked her in a puzzled tone.

— "The system doesn't provide information about monsters that are part of daily missions."

Alvin ignored the conversation between the two girls and focused on the child in his arms. Tulip still looked exhausted, even after being given a healing elixir.

Alvin brushed his hand across the boy's forehead to check his temperature — it was normal. He lifted Tulip's head gently to examine his features: the boy was frowning, his eyes shut tight with fatigue. What exactly was wrong?

"Maybe he's hungry!" Meril suddenly shouted, flying her carpet alongside Alvin's. Then she turned her gaze forward again.

That was actually Elena's idea — she had asked Meril to say it. Meril didn't really understand why there was so much silence between them. If they were willing to protect each other, why not just talk?

Alvin stared at Tulip for a brief moment, wondering if Meril's words were true. When he first found him, the boy had been eating a dead woman — so it was very likely he was still hungry!

Eating midair wasn't a good option; the carpet was barely holding them as it was, since it was designed for just one person. And below them, monsters roamed.

While Alvin was lost in thought, without him even realizing it, Elena whispered something else to Meril, who then relayed the message:

"Alvin, let's stop by the Emperor's statue. Its concrete base is large enough for us to rest on."

Despite the Emperor's deep hatred for the city of Noxara, he had still built a statue of himself here — just like he had in every other city of the empire. However, unlike the others, which were placed in city centers, this one stood alone in the desert, far away from the garbage dump.

Regardless of Alvin's aversion to seeing the Emperor's face, even if it was just a statue, there were more pressing priorities at the moment — namely, Tulip's hunger.

It didn't take them long to reach it thanks to the carpet's speed. The three of them landed safely on the wide concrete base, and Alvin was relieved to see that half the statue had been destroyed, leaving only the Emperor's lower half intact.

He set Tulip down beside him and quickly purchased a hearty meal. Thanks to his account, which was filled with coins, he chose the finest and richest dishes available. He then offered the steaming hot food to the wide-eyed boy.

"Come on, Tulip. Eat," Alvin urged.

Tulip stared at the food without moving closer. He inhaled the delicious aroma of roasted meat and vegetables, and a thin line of drool slipped from the corner of his mouth. Embarrassed, he quickly wiped it away with his hand and swallowed hard, still gazing longingly at the meal.

Elena approached them and gently moved Alvin's face away from the confused child. She picked up a small piece of meat and placed it in her mouth, saying,

"Mmm, this meat tastes delicious! I'm sure you'll love it!"

Tulip still didn't move, but there was a noticeable change in his wide eyes. It was clear he wanted to eat — yet something was holding him back.

Meril sat down nearby, determined to encourage him. She also picked up a piece of vegetable and ate it, exclaiming,

"I've never tasted anything this good in my entire life! Alvin should buy this for us all the time!"

"You're right. He's rich, we don't have to worry about money!" Elena added playfully.

Tulip was starving; his stomach rumbled quietly, yet he couldn't bring himself to reach out and take the food.

The atmosphere around him felt so strange. It had been many years since anyone had treated him with kindness.

He was scared — scared that all of this was a trap, a trick to make him lower his guard so they could kill him.

Alvin had been kind to him, bathing him and giving him new clothes. But that didn't mean he was a good person!

Suddenly, overwhelmed by fear that they might betray him, Tulip's mouth opened against his will. Elena gently placed a piece of meat into his mouth, softly saying,

"The food will be gone before you even get a bite."

Tulip choked on the piece. Alvin immediately patted his back several times to help him, then offered him some water.

"Are you okay?" Alvin asked with concern.

Tulip, still coughing a little, nodded unconsciously once he calmed down.

"You understand what we're saying!" Meril exclaimed in surprise, having previously assumed he couldn't.

"Of course he does. He's not a fool," Alvin said with slight agitation, which Meril found unwarranted.

"I didn't mean it like that. It's just... the Gypsies speak a different dialect than ours," she explained.

The two of them got into a discussion, each trying to prove a point Elena neither understood nor cared about. 

Meanwhile, Tulip took advantage of their distraction and began eating quickly before they turned their attention back to him.

Elena placed the water bottle beside him so he could drink if he got thirsty. The gesture made him tense; he slowly lifted his head to look at her nervously, but she gently lowered his head again, guiding him back to his food.

Elena frowned, startled by a sudden sound reaching her ears. Meril and Alvin also stopped arguing. 

It was a buzzing noise.

Turning around to where the others were already looking, Elena spotted distant figures flying toward them — barely visible at first.

Alvin drew his sword from its sheath; Elena quickly grabbed hold of her daggers. 

Meril, meanwhile, hugged the confused Tulip protectively.

As the strangers drew closer, they realized they were hunters — seven of them. They were outnumbered.

From their clothing and the accessories hanging from their waists and necks, it was clear they were Gypsies.

Alvin stepped forward, standing at the front, and said coldly, 

"Are you looking for someone to kill you? If so, you've come to the right place."

One of them looked furious, his scowling features giving him away, unlike the others who remained calm. 

A sword in his hand, he stepped forward, clearly ready for a fight — but one of his companions stopped him. 

Then, looking at Alvin, the man said calmly, 

"We're not here to fight. The child with you — he's my brother. Hand him over."

Alvin didn't believe a word of it. Tulip had been all alone in that tent, eating a human corpse out of sheer starvation. 

Was that the kind of situation a child with an older brother should be in?

"You're lying! Tulip denied your claim!" Meril shouted angrily, tightening her protective hold around the boy. 

Elena could feel her own anger rising. Something was wrong — terribly wrong. 

Why did these people want this child so badly?

The last time Elena had seen a child with a group of adults, he'd been subjected to horrific abuse. 

That memory alone was enough to ignite a raging fire of fury inside her. 

Maybe these men shared that same vile cruelty.

"Tulip, come to your big brother," the man said sweetly, extending his hands toward the frightened boy, completely ignoring Meril's words.

Alvin smirked mockingly. 

They had exposed themselves the moment they called the boy by the name "Tulip."

"I'll kill you all!" Alvin shouted, a wide grin stretching across his face — a grin the men couldn't tell was joyful... or bloodthirsty.

"Others said the same," sneered one of them, standing at the back, "and they ended up as food for my followers!"

Alvin was just about to lunge forward and slash their throats — 

when he suddenly felt the ground shift. 

The air grew heavy... suffocating.

"Meril! Take Tulip to the sky!" Elena shouted, as she spotted a massive creature emerging from beneath the sand — 

no, not just one… but dozens of monsters!