Chapter 42: Reaching The Destination (2)

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Reaching The Destination (2)

"Pretty boy! We’re here!"

Grolm’s voice boomed over the wind as he guided the red mat downward with careful pulses of spirit energy. The carpet angled toward a broad, snow-covered peak near the spot where the red rift tore through the world.

As they descended, the entire group froze.

The snowy plateau surrounding the rift was nothing like they had expected. Yes, it was still the snow-covered peak Kael had described, but it was far from deserted.

"Why the hell is it so crowded?!" Raven exclaimed, leaning forward.

Dozens of food carts and makeshift stalls lined the edges of the plateau, forming a rough market. Merchants shouted prices for dried meat, waterskins, spare weapons, and low-rank rune stones ranging from skill runes and gene runes to even a few basic stat runes.

Awakened of every type moved between the stalls. Some wore heavy plate armor scarred by previous battles, while others preferred lighter leather reinforced with metal plates at the joints. A few even wore flowing robes of various colors.

Near the rift itself, a long line of explorers waited for their turn to be tested, their faces tight with a mixture of excitement and fear.

The moment the mat touched down with a soft crunch of snow, the sounds and bustle of the entire scene reached Michael, filling him with an unexpected sense of excitement.

He knew most of the people here would likely end up dead, but for someone who had barely seen any humans besides Seraphine over the past month or been surrounded by this much excitement since the academy’s last exams, the scene was refreshing.

Of the group, Raven was the first to hop off. The moment her foot sank lightly into the snow, her eyes widened like saucers. "Wow~ There are so many people. I never knew the god of death had such game."

Michael glanced at her with a blank expression, then shook his head. At this point, even he didn’t know what to say to her.

Emma followed right behind him, folding her arms beneath her chest as she surveyed the crowd. "Looks like hunters from the other peaks showed up too. Her Highness must be offering some serious rewards if this many people are willing to court death."

She stepped closer to Michael and pulled a mask from a pouch. Its smooth, black surface resembled a demon’s face, and it was designed to cover the lower half of his face, from the bridge of his nose downward.

"Put this on."

Michael raised a brow. "Why?"

Emma shook her head hard enough that her auburn hair swayed. "For God’s sake, just listen. Do you have any idea how attention-grabbing that face of yours is? Walk around like this, and we’ll have half the plateau staring at us within minutes."

Michael tilted his head, a faint smile playing at his lips. "Huh? You’re beautiful too, though, so why only me?"

A flush quickly spread across Emma’s cheeks, turning her entire face red.

As if noticing the heat in her face, she looked away and cleared her throat loudly. "That’s beside the point. There are plenty of beauties here besides me, but guys who look like you are extremely rare. I’d rather not get stopped every ten steps by some desperate slut."

Michael’s smile softened a fraction, his eyes narrowing. "Oh~? Is that so?"

Emma’s flush deepened. She muttered something that sounded a lot like "fuck," shoved the mask against his chest, and stomped off toward the nearest stalls.

"Do whatever you want. It’s not like I care!" she yelled back without turning around.

Raven chuckled softly and leaned closer to his side, lowering her voice so only Michael could hear. "You’re a very naughty boy, you know?" She shook her head softly. "I know Emma’s a bitch, but she’s not entirely wrong. Even if we ignore your face, someone from the tavern fight might still hold a grudge. It’s better not to give them an easy target."

Michael raised a brow. "Huh. Aren’t you Rank 6? We should be safe if it’s someone from the tavern, then."

Raven stepped in front of him, clasped her hands behind her back, and leaned forward just enough to make the tight leather of her battle suit stretch across her curves. The motion arched her waist and pushed her chest forward in a deliberate display.

"Hehe. That doesn’t mean I can fight everyone at once, Daddy."

She straightened with a playful flick of her ponytail and trotted after Emma. Grolm clapped a heavy hand on Michael’s shoulder as he passed.

"Must be rough, pretty boy."

Then the giant followed the two women, leaving Michael alone with the mask.

Michael stared at it for a second, sighed, and slipped it into place. The smooth black surface concealed the lower half of his face. He then turned his attention back to the group and followed after them.

A few steps later, they stopped at a stall selling basic supplies—dried rations, waterskins, bandages, cheap warming charms, and extra clothes. By the time Michael reached it, Emma was already deep in negotiations with the grizzled merchant behind the counter.

"Five silver for a week’s worth of rations is robbery," she said flatly. "Three!"

The merchant snorted. "Four, and I’ll throw in two waterskins."

"Three and a half, and you include the warming charms."

Michael watched the exchange with a small smile. However, his quiet was soon disrupted when a sudden thought crossed his mind.

’Huh... wait a moment.’

"Miss, I’m telling you, I can’t sell it for that cheap. If you don’t want it, you can go somewhere else."

"You damn bastard! I’ll tear down your damn store!"

"Emma, don’t do anything reckless!"

The chaos brewing around Michael seemed to fade into the background as he folded his arms and closed his eyes.

To be honest, he had never seriously considered it before. Hell, the thought had never even crossed his mind before now. But wasn’t his Dragon Bloodline’s Sea of Knowledge supposedly filled with vast amounts of Yuan Qi?

If that was the case, then shouldn’t it be possible for him to circulate that internal Qi the same way cultivators absorbed environmental Qi? That way, he could supplement what he lacked in this Qi-starved world.

Michael knew this was only hypothetical, and even if, by some chance, this theory could work, the gains would undoubtedly be small. From what he knew, at least from novels, the impurities in Qi that were forced out of the body during meditation were one of the major factors that naturally tempered the body, technique, and spirit.

However, even minimal growth was still growth.

Michael nearly forgot he was standing on a crowded snowy peak and was about to try the experiment when a hand landed on his shoulder and shook him lightly.

"Michael!"

He blinked. "Huh?"

Michael glanced in front of him to find Raven waving one hand in front of his face while the other slid down from his shoulder to his chest.

"You alright?"

"Hmm. Yeah." He glanced past her. "Done buying?"

Emma scoffed without looking at him. "As if we needed a bastard like you to handle the shopping."

Michael glanced past her at the store owner, who was practically foaming at the mouth, then turned back to her with a smirk. "Cutie."

Emma’s head whipped around. Her face went from pale to deep red in a heartbeat. "You bastard! You know exactly what you’re doing!"

Michael’s expression stayed perfectly innocent. "Know what? I’m not doing anything."

Emma spun away with a loud huff, one foot stomping against the ground as she thought. ’Just wait. I’ll get payback for all of this.’

Raven clapped her hands once, drawing everyone’s attention. "Since there are a lot more people than expected, I think it’s best we spend the next hour or so gathering information before we go in."

Grolm nodded, his thick arms crossed over his chest. "The heavens dropped this many people in front of us. It would be a waste not to ask questions."

Michael slipped both hands into his pockets and glanced at the wooden sign hanging above the stall.

"Shadow Trinkets," he read aloud. "We’ll meet back here in one hour. For now... we split up, ask around, and don’t draw unnecessary attention."

Emma clicked her tongue and pointed a finger at his masked face. "That means you especially. No starting trouble."

Michael placed a hand over his heart in mock offense. "What do you take me for?"

Emma only huffed again and walked off into the crowd. Raven gave him an awkward little wave before following her. When Michael turned, Grolm had already vanished between two weapon stalls.

Michael stood alone for a moment, watching the flow of armored figures and nervous first-timers. Slowly, a grin spread beneath his mask.

’First of all...’

He reached up, unhooked the half-demon mask, and slipped it into a dimensional pouch.

His garnet eyes swept across the crowded plateau, lingering on the groups of young women scattered among the stalls.

’Let’s charm a few beauties, steal their information, and maybe walk away with some freebies while we’re at it.’