Meanwhile, within the heart of the city palace of Mountain River City, dwarves, elves, and other demi-beasts sat around a table.
In the middle of the table, a middle-aged dwarf with a crown in his head was reading a letter. The contents of the letter was short. Furthermore, the contents were in blood.
The dward-king hand was trembling along with his long silver beard, he spoke grimly, containing his anger, "Transcedant Torgar died in the South?!"
A demi-beast, with a goat head, spoke with fear, "We learned this morning that his life lamp had been extinguished. The expedition was a failure. All one hundred Awakeners scouts perished. Of the fifteen Ascendants who accompanied Transcendent Torgar, only four survived."
"Tragically, out of the four, two have succumbed to their injuries and perished during their journey back."
"Meanwhile, the two survivors—one has recently returned to Sea-Rock City and is currently recovering, who sent us the letter and report. While the last person was murdered in his castle during his recovery, and his city was burned to the ground. This leaves us with minimal protection from the south."
When others heard the news, they were shocked to the core. A transcedant dying was major event in regions, it affects the full stability of the kingdom.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED IN THE SOUTH?!" The Dwarf King crushed his golden cup and slammed it onto the table. His beard and hair fluttered in the air, and a thick blue aura started to seep from his body. His eyes also started to glow golden while a giant apparition holding two large hammers started to manifest behind the dwarf king.
Everyone felt the air grow suffocating, and they all instinctively knelt on the ground.
When the Golden Lion demi-beast with a crest on his chest sensed the situation escalating, he spoke, "Sire, please calm down. Rest assured, the city has been preparing for any kind of situation. We have increased the number of guards and employed Adventurers to assist with tasks."
The Elf, displaying gentleness through his movements, also spoke, "I have negotiated with the Elven Mistwood tribes to establish a defensive and sensory barrier along our walls to detect any movements."
One by one, those around the table shared their input to calm the Dwarf king.
The Dwarf King declared, "Bring the last remaining Ascendant who survived the incident, I don't care if he is badly injured or dying. He needs to come here within a day!"
"Triple the guards and continue mass-producing weapons. Also, employ Awakeners and Ascendants to scout the south once again. Even if we must deplete our coffers, let it be done!"
When others saw the letter on the table, it has blood text that says,"WAR IS COMING!"
His voice roared, "DON'T WASTE ANYTIME! PREPARE FOR WAR!"
--
After a restful sleep, Zane and Cecilia headed down to the inn to have their meal. While eating, they listened to conversations among the dwarves and demi-beasts.
"I heard they're hiring guards again! They've also increased the salary!"
"Yes, and not just that, it seems the palace has given a quota to all blacksmiths to produce hundreds of weapons per day. So they're hiring more people!"
"Indeed, it appears that prosperity is taking root in the city! Everyone is pleased with the changes!"
One of the lion demi-beasts brought out a parchment and pointed, "Take a look at this paper as well. They're seeking Awakeners and Ascendants to scout in the south! It mentions they'll grant status to whoever uncovers valuable information from the Southern lands. Moreover, whoever succeeds will have the chance to obtain treasures from the King's collection."
"Really, even treasures from the king's collection? Are they that generous?!"
"Yes! The information is posted all over the plaza board. Long live the King!"
"Long live the King!"
Zane whispered, "The south, huh?"
Cecilia asked, "Why? What's wrong in the south?"
"Don't you find it strange that Ascendant Ezio died so easily in our hands? It was presumed he went south to scout. He might have sustained his injury there then came back."
"Does it matter?"
"Hmm, not really, just curious."
"So, what should we do now?" Cecilia asked with an inquisitive expression as she nibbled on the warm bread in front of her.
"Well, the city isn't too bad. It's a bit expensive for humans, but overall, I'd say this city is quite good. Look around you, there are all kinds of races here. They are very accepting of all kinds."
"Yeah, I remember back in Capricia they captured demi-beasts, elves, and dwarves for arena battles. The humans' hatred towards other races was quite apparent."
"Furthermore, do you notice that there aren't many humans here? It implies that Capricia's nobles probably don't hold much influence here. Otherwise, we'd have seen our wanted posters at the front gates. Here we are likely just an insignificant figures, not even worth their attention."
"Yes, I've noticed that too," Cecilia agreed, happily savoring her food.
"This is a place for growth. Find a way to become stronger. Don't expect magical potions that will make you stronger," Zane chuckled.
Cecilia rolled her eyes, "Got it! And what about you?"
"I'll explore the city," Zane said nonchalantly, then his tone grew serious. "Our plan for this week is to figure out how to achieve Ascendancy. Look around you, there are quite a lot of Awakened warriors here, even our greedy innkeeper. Their level of strength surpasses that of Capricia, which was governed by pampered nobles and slaves."
Cecilia agreed with Zane's assessment.
Zane handed her half of their magic stones to Cecilia.
'Use as you fit necessary for your growth.'
Cecilia took the magic stones without a care and went directly to the heart of the city.
...
Zane inquired the innkeeper about the city's key locations. She generously shared her knowledge for a mere 1 Magic Crystal, providing him with essential information like the owners' names and both regular and secret rules for each place.
Though Zane was reluctant to part with the crystal, he soon realized the value of the information the innkeeper provided.
He proceeded to a secret store that dealt in buying and selling weapons. Despite regulations forbidding the purchase of unregistered weapons or those from other cities, a secret word given by the innkeeper enabled him to proceed.
Upon entering the store, Zane presented five sacks containing various weapons and armors acquired in Capricia, along with items from the treasure room and Ezio's chamber.
Even the store owners were amazed by Zane's audacity to carry sacks full of goods openly during broad daylight. When they inspected the items individually, they were quite astounded with their high quality.
In total, he was paid about 34 Magic Crystals from the transaction. Satisfied, Zane felt he had removed unnecessary items from his inventory, while retaining a few items of high durability.
Similar success awaited him at a store specializing in the sale of beast carcasses. The presence of fresh dead beasts, mostly Vicious Snakes, within the sacks delighted the owners, leading them to pay higher than the market price for the entire lot.
From this exchange, Zane received another 84 Magic Crystals, this was the result of his efforts in collecting carcasses of beasts during his journey through the Verdant Peak forest.
Next, Zane visited an herb store. There, he learned that 100-year herbs were priced at around 2 Magic Crystals each, while 1000-year-old ones commanded a cost of approximately 100 Magic Crystals each.
Not wanting to make hasty purchases, he acquired herbs that were unfamiliar to him and could be combined with his other herbs.
Zane also walked around the herb and fruit stalls intently, he was looking for something, an item that can easily boosts one strength.
'Where the heck are the Destiny Fruits? When I was in Capricia, I easily found couple of Destiny fruits in the regular stands.'
He pondered, 'It seems that the Mountain River city are more aware of the usage of fruit.'
'Dang it! I was really looking forward a shortcut!'
Zane spotted a pharmacist's store, but he sadly abandoned the idea of selling his potions, including the psychoactive drugs and bed endurance potion that sold very well in Capricia.
He recalled how Caprician Nobles had drooled after them, even dispatching high-level Awakened warriors to track him down. He feared that individuals from Capricia could link him to those products or even discover his location. Although the Mountain River city was far away, it doesn't mean that people from Capricia doesn't have relationship with the city.
Thus, Zane concluded that he needed to create an entirely new, unprecedented product that he never sold in Caprcia.
He acknowledged the need for caution; any extraordinary item originating from an unknown entity would undoubtedly attract attention, as his experience with Capricia had shown.
"Should I begin crafting weapons? It appears to be quite common here. The chances of them believing it was crafted by a mere human are quite low. The innkeeper mentioned that the Dwarves in this city are its rulers and are skilled craftsmen."
'Hmmm. If I have the status, I would be able to easily establish connections. Furthermore, I would be able to sell more products in the market without too much fear.'