Chapter 176: Arrival (Part 2)

’Damn it! Is everyone here a turtle? Why the hell is everyone moving so slowly?’ Evan cursed inwardly as he looked at the long queue ahead of him.

At first, he had thought he would be able to enter the city within an hour. However, for some reason, the queue was moving extremely slowly.

Two hours had already passed since he joined the line, but he was still nowhere near the entrance.

"Eee! Eee!"

Ruby, who was sitting on Evan’s shoulder, rubbed her head against his face.

Evan glanced at her and saw her looking at him with puppy eyes.

"Just wait until we enter the city, Ruby. I promise I’ll cook something delicious for you..." He said before giving her a piece of dried meat. "For now, eat this."

Although Ruby didn’t particularly like the dried meat, she still nodded and quietly began eating it.

Another hour passed, and Evan finally found himself close to the city entrance, with only five people ahead of him.

As he got closer to the entrance, he could clearly see two Rank One Evolvers standing guard.

"Five Rank One Mana Cores," One of the guards said when a man’s turn arrived.

The man sighed upon hearing the guard’s demand and handed over five Rank One Mana Cores with clenched fists.

The guard smiled and played with the five Mana Cores for a moment before handing a token to the man.

"Go in."

The man didn’t say anything and entered the city with a gloomy expression.

’Aren’t we supposed to pay only two Rank One Mana Cores?’

Evan frowned when he witnessed this scene. Alfred had given him a general overview of the capital before he left, so he at least had a basic understanding of how things worked here.

Seeing the guards demanding five Mana Cores, Evan finally understood what was happening.

’So the reason this line is moving so slowly is because of these bastards.’

Evan rubbed his eyebrow and took a deep breath.

Unlike the previous man, not everyone could afford to hand over five Mana Cores when the actual entrance fee was only two. As a result, many people must have argued with these guards, causing the line to advance so slowly.

’Why argue with these cheap bastards? Just slap them until their faces are swollen like pigs and get it over with.’

As someone raised by Alfred, who had a strong villain complex, one of the things Evan had been taught since childhood was never to let others take advantage of him.

Instead, he should be the one taking advantage of others.

Evan strongly disagreed with the later philosophy as he had never thought about taking advantage of anyone.

(Two-winged elves sobbing in the corner beg to differ.)

Although he disagreed with Alfred’s philosophy of taking advantage of others, that didn’t mean he disagreed with everything the old man had taught him.

At the very least, he strongly agreed that he should never let others take advantage of him.

He looked at the people ahead of him, who were silently paying the extra Mana Cores and continuing forward with dissatisfied expressions but without saying anything, and shook his head.

’It seems their status as guards at the Capital’s entrance isn’t low.’

Evan recalled what Alfred and Venisa had told him before he left.

’If anyone has bad intentions towards you, it doesn’t matter who they are. Just do what you think is best.’

Recalling their words and remembing some of the things he had witnessed on Planet Elvador, the corners of his lips curled upward.

’Good thing I got the Entrance Authority Token. Otherwise, I would never have imagined that those two old folks were hiding so deeply.’

He chuckled inwardly and looked back at the guards, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Soon, it was the turn of the person standing directly in front of Evan. The person was a middle-aged man who was only a Level 20 Evolver.

"Five Rank One Mana Cores," The guard repeated, looking at the middle-aged man with a neutral expression.

"But the entrance fee is only two Rank One Mana Cores. I don’t have five Mana Cores," The man said nervously.

"If you don’t have five Mana Cores, then why are you even standing here? Get out of the line! I don’t have time to deal with poor garbage like you," The guard said coldly while waving his hand.

The man’s body trembled upon hearing the guard’s cold voice. However, he still mustered up the courage to speak.

"I have two Rank One Mana Cores here. Please let me enter. I’ll give you the remaining Mana Cores after selling my belongings inside."

As he spoke, the man showed the guard his bag, which contained some low-rank potions and other items.

The guard narrowed his eyes when he heard the man’s words and after a moment of thought, he nodded.

"Alright, give me the two Rank One Mana Cores."

The man’s eyes lit up when he heard this, and he quickly handed over the two Mana Cores.

"Can I go now?" The man asked after handing over the two Rank One Mana Cores.

"Yes, go ahead," The guard replied with a smile before suddenly pushing the man aside.

"Go ahead and bring me three more Mana Cores. Only then can you enter the city."

Pushed aside by the Level 47 guard, the man, who was only at Level 20, couldn’t resist the force and fell to the side.

"Throw him out. There are plenty of people waiting to enter the city," The guard said, and the second guard standing behind him nodded.

Evan, who was the next person in line, watched everything without any change in his expression.

Although his expression remained calm, anger was bubbling inside him. Especially when he thought about how he had wasted nearly three hours standing in this queue because of these bastards.

He stepped forward and stood before the guard.

When the guard saw Evan and noticed the three rings, earrings, and mind pendant he was wearing, his eyes gleamed slightly as he could tell at a glance that they were all artifacts.

He also noticed Ruby sitting on Evan’s shoulder, who looked extraordinary at first glance.

’A big fish...’ The guard thought, and the corners of his lips curled upward.

"Twenty Rank One Mana Cores. Ten for you and ten for your little monster..." He said with a smile. "If you don’t have enough Cores, you can also hand over your artifacts or..."

He glanced at Ruby sitting on Evan’s shoulder, and his smile widened slightly.

"The monster on your shoulder will also wor—"

"Monster your sister!"

The guard was still in the middle of speaking when Evan suddenly took a step forward and swung his hand at lightning speed.

Slap!!!!

The sound of a loud slap resounded throughout the area, and the guard was sent flying to the side, rolling across the ground like a rag doll.