Using an uncommon route through the jungle, Soren and the group of merchants finally reached Kilguard after two months; counting from the day that the pillar had activated. But without making a stop in the town, they bypassed it and continued on towards the next town; Levannet.

Although the merchants had lost most of their goods due to the shockwave and wanted to restock in the town, they did not dare oppose Soren’s decision; especially when they had already recognized him as Zero. At this point, even if they were left with nothing to sell in Bycrest, they were still going to follow Soren to that town. Most of it was because they were afraid of Soren and didn’t dare to leave unless he told them to, of course, but some of it was actually related to the Beasts that Soren hunted for food.

Selling the local products of their own town and the towns that they would visit on the way in Bycrest; this was the general route that merchants like them usually took to make their living. While the profit margin with this kind of sale was quite large, it required them to have a lot of manpower and the initial capital. But now with Soren killing the Beasts for food, these merchants were able to acquire many precious materials without doing much. Even after excluding the meat that they ate and the Beast Cores that Soren kept, they were still left with bones, skin, blood, hair, etc. And although the shops bought these items at a price lower than the market rate, it was still above what these merchants could get before; by selling the local goods. With just that fact, it could be said that these merchants had a very productive two months.

And not unlike them, Soren also had a very productive two months. Using his undeads to scour the jungle for ingredients; using those ingredients to increase his ‘Potioneering’ skill level; increasing the proficiency level of his spells and skills by researching their related subjects and then practicing; achieving great success in simulating the spell formations for his Defense Spell; completely integrating the data from the two new cultivation techniques that he got into his own creation; perfecting his ability to use Mana to do simple things; using the blood essence from the Rank 0 Initiators that he killed along the way on Crystal Albarose’s egg; practicing his ‘Vornea’ skill to make it more useable in battles; training to use his ‘Powered Vision’ in sync with his ; taking some time out to teach Argus how to run away if the situation ever became that bad; and finally, doing his regular meditation to relax and calm his mind; these were the things that had kept him busy in these last two months.

Aside from this, Soren had also remained in contact with Smiley during this time; both sharing their information with each other. This was because Smiley’s final destination was the same as Soren’s; the Royal Capital, Amburgh. From that, it was clear to Soren that Smiley had also been aiming to get the resources from the war that was going on right now. So, as they had a common goal, they both had decided to help each other out; a simple give and take. Of course, the issue of Smiley’s and that mysterious person’s apology to Soren was currently overlooked by both the parties. Everything was going to be cleared up when they would meet in Amburgh anyway, so there was no reason for Soren to constantly mull over it. Besides, Soren had made some plans regarding the war and how he could get as many resources out of it as he could. And for that plan, he was probably going to need Smiley’s help. So, given that, Soren had no intention of falling out with them over some past issues; something that he didn’t even know about. Even if they had somehow tried to kill him without him knowing, Soren was still going to let it go as long as they compensated him properly.

After what he had gone through with the Liston Family and that Blood Contract, Soren had matured a lot. As its proof, the thought of taking revenge had already moved down to the bottom of his list of priorities. If he could gain some benefits by letting go of his notion of revenge, he would definitely choose to do so; it would be much more profitable for him that way.

For Soren, there existed only two categories of people now. One was his family which now also included Argus and Isaac. And the second was anyone outside of that category; the outsiders who he intended to make use of as much as he could. Of course, if someone in this second category became a real threat for him or his family, Soren was going to do everything in his power to eliminate them; regardless of what benefit he could gain from them at that point.

……….

Soren and his group reached Levannet in the evening of the fifteenth day; since bypassing Kilguard. Deciding to stay in this small town for two days, Soren left Hamish and his people to do their business and went to look for the wine that the town was renowned for; Rainbow Flame. This Rainbow Flame was actually a famous wine that the residents made from a local fruit called Abana. Not only did this wine sell for quite a lot in the other towns and cities but it also caused many people to visit Levannet for it; increasing the profits of everyone living in the town.

As for why it was called ‘Rainbow Flame’, Soren realized it soon after ordering it in the pub. When the infused Mana in the wine reacted to a certain ingredient used in the process, it released a seven-colored fume. And because this fume looked like a seven-colored flame burning on top of the wine, it had received its name; Rainbow Flame.

After spending two days loosening his mind and body with the local wine and some local girls he found in the pub, Soren made his way to the meeting point. Hamish and his group were also quite happy about being able to do what they did best in these two days. As such, they all left the town with a smile on their faces; except for Argus who remained pissed at Soren for ignoring him because of the girls. Only after Soren promised to spend more time with him while on the road did Argus let out some satisfied barks.

………

From Levannet to the next town, Stargrove; Soren and the group spent around one month on the road. And while most of their journey remained uneventful, they did have some problems with the bandit groups on the way. At first, it was still under the tolerable limit for Soren. But as they started going deep within the mountainous region, the number of bandits messing with them increased exponentially; it was an area that was well-known for having several bandit groups. Halfway through the mountain region, Soren finally was unable to take it anymore and had decided to end it once and for all. Not wanting to waste too much time with them, he had simply created three Forsaken Knights and had gone around raining hell with his spells on all their hideouts in the mountains. And consequently, just from this one action, he had completely messed up that area’s power balance.

…….

Three months after departing from Stargrove, Soren and his group reached the middle checkpoint of this route to Bycrest; the Wespawa Swamp. This swamp which was named after the Asadien race that lived there had, in fact, a really bad rep with the other Initiators. Not because it was a dangerous area or had a high death count, but because of the weird customs and the habits of this race named Wespawa. These lazy beings, with a mud-like physique, who ruled the Wespawa Swamp were actually quite fond of taking something precious from the travelers in exchange for giving them safe passage through the area. So, whoever wanted to pass through this swamp in one piece had to prepare a good amount of fees to pay these Wespawas. Even if they didn’t like this arrangement, they still had to do it if they wanted to pass through the swamp peacefully.

And while this had caused many Initiators and the Non-Initiators to covet the treasures that they believed was accumulated by this race in the swamp, none were able to find anything to date; the only thing they got in return was the angry groups of Wespawas chasing them down through the swamp.

Of course, this was a theory that only those who knew nothing about these Wespawas believed in. In actual fact, the reason why those ignorant Initiators and the Non-Initiators could not find the supposed accumulated treasure was because it did not exist. The fees that these Wespawas asked for were, in truth, always something edible like potions, pills, herbs, etc. And, as it was in their nature, they never stored it; they simply used it whenever they could. Moreover, they also did not care for any other material; only asking for these fees in return for a safe passage through the swamp. As for creating any weapons or items, the Wespawas did not need them as they only used their mud-like constitution to survive.

Given that Soren had created a lot of High-Grade Rank 0 potions recently, he wasn’t really worried about passing this swamp safely. The same, however, could not be said about the others.

After all, their rule was: one item for one pass.

Fortunately, ten days later, Soren and the group of merchants came out of the Wespawa Swamp without losing any person. The price for such a result, though, was almost all of the accumulated herbs of the merchants; they had made a hard decision to give these out as their fees after Soren had mentioned this special feature of the swamp.

………

Passing through the Wespawa Swamp, Soren and the merchants made their way to Bycrest without much problem. The swamp was the biggest obstacle in this route and once they had crossed that safely, the way to Bycrest just became about passing through some towns.

Three more months went by like that…..

As the group came out from the jungle road into the open area, the view of a large city welcomed their sight. Without having any words to explain it properly, Soren could only say that this city was big; much bigger than the towns he had visited so far. Huge white perimeter walls that looked like they were made of metals; large crossbows installed at every corner of that wall; multiple sentries stationed at the gate and on top of that wall; farmers tending to their fields just outside the perimeter of the city without fearing the Beasts; these were just one of the few things that Soren could see from the outside. From this, he could easily tell how different this city was from the so-called large towns like Bellfalls.

This was Bycrest; their destination.

Of course, while this city seemed like it could provide Soren with many things that he needed, he was still not going to stay here for long. His final destination was Amburgh; Bycrest was, at most, just a checkpoint for him. But even so, he did have some things that he needed to do in this city. As such, Soren paid the entry fees of ten Low-Grade Crystals to the guard stationed at the gate and entered the beautiful city with Argus sitting on his shoulder.

This was where the merchants and Soren were supposed to separate. But Soren wasn’t going to let them go like that. He was going to need some people to run errands for him in the royal capital; then the war camp. And since he already had this group, he was simply going to use them. So, he ordered Hamish and his group to finish whatever business they had in the city as quickly as they could and get ready to head out whenever Soren wanted them to. Given that they had stayed with Soren for quite a long time now and had developed a follower-like attitude, they agreed to whatever he said immediately. Even though they knew that Soren was only ‘escorting’ them to Bycrest as his Hunter’s mission and it was supposed to end here, they still did not dare to reject him; his fear had already been established deep within their mind.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Status: Healthy

Rank 1: Layer 1 [CP - 0%]

Name: Soren Farrow

Species: Human

Attribute: Darkness & Ice

Health: 100%

Stamina: 100%

Mana: 100%

Strength: 7.93

Agility: 9.70 (+1.90)

Vitality: 17.69

Intelligence: 21.22 (+7.20)

Spirit: 20.24 (+8.45)

Resistance: 9.10 (+2.35)

Spells:

Spell Vessels: 3/10

Innate Spells: 18

Innate Skills/Bloodline Talents: 7

Water Bubbles [7/7] – Level 8/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Snow Blades [5/5] – Level 9/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Ice Chakra [6/6] – Level 6/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Create Undead: Low Tier Ⅱ – Level 6/15. Mana Cost – Average. [Rank 1]

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Dark Raven – Level 8/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Ice Barrage – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Dead Rising – Level 6/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Acid Needles – Level 5/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Shadow Prison – Level 8/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Rank 1]

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Frost Domain – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Elemental Sense – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Dark Gravity – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Low. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Withering Wood – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Ice Spikes – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Soul Search – Level 6/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Rank 1]

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Ice Wall – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Waterball – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Rainfall – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Spark – Level 10/10. Mana cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Fireball – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Evolution Available] [Rank 0]

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Space Snatcher – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Negligible. [Rank 0]

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Mana Manipulation – Level 7/15

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Potioneering [Rank 0] – Level 15/15.

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Powered Vision – Level --/--

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Vornea: Basic Form – Level --/--

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Devour: First Evolution – Level --/--

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Second Intelligence – Level --/--

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Shadow Steps – Level 10/10. Mana Cost – Very Low. [Evolution Available] [Rank 1]

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Equipment: Common Clothes; Magic Staff – Moonshard; Spirit-Pendant; Snake-Earring; Spirit-Ring; Resistance-Ring; Caster’s Bracelet; Agility-Boots; Dagger; Mana Touch – Gloves.

Storage Pearl: Common Clothes; Hunter I.D; Mask; Multiple Unfocused Cultivation Techniques – Low Grade; Focused Cultivation Technique – Middle Grade; Egg – Crystal Albarose; Various Ingredients; Automatons x3; Beast Cores[Rank 0] – x184; Beast Cores[Rank 1] – x114; Rank 1 Potion Recipe – Sun’s Afterglow; Cultivation Technique – Turtle’s Life; Cultivation Technique – Flaming Hair; Various Skills – Memory Spheres; Empty Memory Spheres; Books and Compendiums; Various Common Pills and Potions; Fire Element Spell Vessels; Four ‘Strength’ Enhancement Artifacts; Rank 0 Common Potions[Middle-Grade] – x23; Rank 0 Common Potions[High-Grade] – x19; Rank 0 Common Potions[Top-Grade] – x11.

Mana Crystals: 1743 [Middle-Grade]; 214 [Low-Grade]; Myriad Items—Card [Value-1300]; Six Mana Cards.