Fear does not stop death, it stops life.
The meaning of being brave isn't the absence of fear instead it means having that fear but finding a way through it.
And Dreamer found a way through his fears after Hearing Helix's scolding and seeing the rewards of the quest.
"Liberi! We are going. Find a piece of cloth to cover your face, I don't want to have any trouble before our mission."
Dreamer said and advised Liberi to cover his face because if someone saw and recognised Liberi then it would be very troublesome to explain how a dead man is walking.
Although, there are some people who can resurrect dead but such a person will definitely not be in a small city like Rester. So, if anyone saw and recognised Liberi then they are bound to get suspicious.
After hearing Dreamer's command Liberi started looking around Dreamer's house to find a piece of cloth.
And while Liberi was looking for the cloth, Helix started talking to Dreamer.
'Are you going to buy the mana potion like this? I mean, don't you have some nice clothes that will make you look rich. By looking at you I am afraid the shop owners will refuse to give you anything. At Least wear a jacket.'
Helix said in Dreamer's mind and Helix was right. Dreamer was just wearing a blue t-shirt and a black trouser which he always wears for going out.
'Don't worry, Helix. They will give me whatever I want. I have a plan.' Dreamer answered Helix queries in his mind.
'What plan!? Are you going to steal?' Helix asked as he didn't get what plan Dreamer could have to get anything he wanted from the shops.
'Well, you will see.' Dreamer said and didn't tell Helix about his plan.
"Oh, you covered your face, nice." Dreamer said as Liberi found a piece of cloth which covered his face only leaving his eyes.
"Yes, my lord. Should we go now?" Liberi said and he was eager to go as he kept on asking Dreamer.
"Yeah, Liberi we are going, don't worry. But first can you see that sack beside the bed, pick it up and fill it with round and heavy stones. You can find the stones outside the house and when you are done, we will go."
Dreamer said while pointing towards the sack which was lying beside the bed and ordered Liberi to fill it with round and heavy stones.
"As you wish, my lord." Liberi said, although he was confused but he still agreed to Dreamer's order and started doing it.
'Are you even taking this seriously or are you just playing around? What's up with this sack or stones thing?' Helix spoke again as he didn't get what Dreamer is trying to achieve here.
'You will know everything and I am serious.' Dreamer said and he was really serious as Helix has already made him realize with his lecture about what he needs to do.
-----------------
"My lord, I am done. I did what you asked, here.." After around five minutes Liberi came with a sack full of stones and showed it to Dreamer.
"Good, well done." Dreamer praised.
"Thank you, my lord. So.." Liberi was going to ask Dreamer again about their departure but,
"Yes, we are going now. No more other works. Let's go"
Dreamer knew that Liberi was going to ask him to go. So, before Liberi could ask, he said it himself that they are going which made Liberi smile.
"Yes, my lord." Liberi said enthusiastically.
After checking everything again Dreamer and Liberi get ready to leave.
Right now, Liberi was wearing a black robe with his face covered with a white cloth and he was also carrying a sack which looked really heavy.
His robe was of high quality because he died at a banquet so he was wearing good looking clothes at that moment but still the robe wasn't perfect, there was mud all over his robe and also there was a hole in the robe where his heart was located.
But all these things didn't make Liberi look bad, instead these things made him look like a strong gifted who just came out of a hard-fought battle.
But on the other hand, his lord, Dreamer, who was wearing a blue t-shirt and black trousers looked like an assistant of Liberi.
His clothes were not all that dirty but they were ordinary. So, if anyone sees them, they will instantly think Liberi was the boss here.
After leaving the house, Dreamer and Liberi turned left and entered into the city. There were many small houses; mostly all these small houses belonged to common people.
The people of these small houses mostly work as a servant for nobles, strong gifted ones and for some factions because their gifted ability is not very strong and also their rank is not very high so they have no choice but to work as a servant.
And some people with weak gifted ability who didn't want to be a servant opened up their shops to earn some money. They mostly sell weapons, potions, clothes and artifacts to big factions and nobles.
First, they hunt some beasts in groups and then they distribute the beasts among themselves and then they take the beasts to blacksmith and alchemist to create weapons and potions and after the weapons and potions were created, they put up those in their shops to sell them and when they get the money after selling them, they give the money to black smiths and alchemist and hence creating a cycle.
After small houses there were also few big houses and they belonged to some strong gifted ones who were a part of a big faction and there were also some people who worked as a bodyguard for the nobles.
They usually get enough money to live life full of pleasures be it being a part of a faction or being a noble's bodyguard.
And then after small houses and big houses there were some mansions which belonged to the nobles.
Eventually, after fifteen minutes of walking, Liberi stopped in front of a mansion and kept staring at it.
"What is it, Liberi? Something wrong?" Dreamer asked as Liberi was just standing in front of the mansion.
"My lord, this is the place where everything happened and I died." Liberi said while looking at the mansion.
"Oh, I see. Well, don't worry. Their countdown has already begun. Let them live without worries till then. Let's go." Dreamer said and assured Liberi that they will make them pay and started walking again.
"Yes, my lord" Liberi replied and after looking one more time at the mansion he too started walking.
After walking for five more minutes, they noticed something.
The city was filled with many people. Dreamer didn't go out in the city frequently so he didn't know if this crowd was normal or not.
But when he saw carriages coming from the city's main gate and also some flying vehicles coming from above, in the carriages rich people were coming and from the flying vehicles some strong and rich gifted ones were coming.
After seeing all this Dreamer came to a conclusion that this isn't a normal day or crowd, something is special today, for sure.
Nevertheless, Dreamer and Liberi kept moving forward while looking for a shop to buy a mana potion.
So, after ten minutes of walking they came to an area which was filled with many shops. There were shops that were selling clothes, there were shops that were selling weapons and also potions and pills.
There was a huge crowd gathered in each shop. This made Dreamer even more sure that today is something special happening in this city, Rester.
Dreamer and Liberi entered deeper into the crowd. Many shopkeepers started calling them to buy something from their shops. They were mostly calling out to Liberi because of his appearance.
"My lord, why are they calling me instead of calling you? You are more astonishing than me." Liberi said, which made Dreamer feel a little sour.
"How the hell should I know?" Dreamer said in an angry tone as he didn't like being treated as a subordinate of his subordinate.
'I told you, didn't I? No one will take you seriously if you always dress like that.' Hearing the exchange between Dreamer and Liberi, Helix spoke.
'Yeah, now I also want to change my appearance. But, after finishing this business…'
Dreamer replied to Helix in his mind and decided he will upgrade himself because before he was a weak kid with no ability so he and anyone didn't pay attention to him, but now that he has some power and subordinates, he should change himself too.
After going deeper in the crowd, Dreamer and Liberi saw a small shop which happened to be the last shop in the area.
There was no one in front of this shop probably because of its size which was too small compared to other shops, because people will tend to go to bigger shops as they expect a big shop to have a bigger stock of things as compared to a small shop.
Dreamer decided to buy the mana potion from this shop as he was very cautious and he was also afraid that if Liberi's face somehow got revealed inside the crowd and if someone recognised Liberi then it's all over.
Soon, Dreamer and Liberi went towards the shop and when Dreamer and Liberi got close to the shop, the shopkeeper who was just sitting emotionless suddenly turned all smiles.
"Welcome, Sir. How can I help you?" The shopkeeper said while smiling wide.
Dreamer nodded to the shopkeeper's greeting and decided to use his skill 'God's Eyes' on the shop keeper just for caution in case something went wrong.
[ Name : Oak Thorn ]
[ Race : Treant ]
[ Level : 9 (Early Beginner) (Close to Breakthrough) ]
[ Traits : Treants protect the forest where they have grown up, they can call upon the aid of the native fauna as well as any druids within the forest, should the need arise. ]
'Oh, a level 9 is still an Early Beginner and he is close to breakthrough.
So, I guess after every ten levels the rank rises. And I am sure he needs some money to earn resources to break through to the next rank.' Dreamer thought in his mind and then he looked at the shopkeeper who was still smiling.
The shopkeeper was an old man who belonged to the Treants race. His body was like a tree. He had dark brown skin all over his body and his hairs on his head and his beard were of green colour which didn't just look like leaves, instead they were leaves.
His face was filled with wrinkles and when he smiled the wrinkles increased. But he still kept on smiling as if he was really happy seeing Dreamer and Liberi coming to his shop.
[[Author : Reference Art for the Treant or Oak Thorn, is given in the chapter comments. Check it out.]]
"Hello mister, I have come to buy a mana potion that can regenerate the lost mana at a faster rate." Dreamer stated his purpose of coming to the Treant shopkeeper.
"Yes, yes. Welcome, I have a mana potion. It's just for 10 gold coins. Ahh, here.." The Treant shopkeeper took out a mana potion from below the counter and placed it on the counter.
"Do you need anything else? Sir!" The Treant shopkeeper asked Dreamer as he wanted to earn as much as possible so he would try to sell as much as possible.
"Yes, I want the highest-ranking weapon you have in your shop right now. No matter the cost." Dreamer said and this shocked not even the Treant shopkeeper but also Helix and Liberi too.
And this was the other thing that Dreamer wanted to do. He wanted to know the price of a S rank weapon so that in future he can buy one and he asked the shopkeeper to show him the most expensive one as Dreamer decided that he will buy the best S rank weapon in the future.
'Kid, what are you..' Helix said to Dreamer.
'My lord, we don't have..' Liberi also spoke to Dreamer through his mind.
'Keep quiet, both of you. I am dealing with this.'
Dreamer shouted and interrupted both Helix and Liberi before they could finish their sentences in his mind, and after that Helix stopped speaking but Liberi didn't.
'My lord, both of you? What do you mean by that?' Liberi asked as he still didn't know anything about Helix because Liberi can't hear Helix's voice.
'Once this is over, I will tell you everything, Liberi. Just stay quiet for a moment.' Dreamer again quieted Liberi down and decided to tell Liberi about Helix and the ring's stuff in the future.
After hearing Dreamer's command, Liberi didn't speak any further and kindly waited.
But the Treant shopkeeper was still in daze and he kept looking at Dreamer.
"Hey, mister!? I said show me the highest rank weapon you have right now. Didn't you hear me?" Dreamer said to the Treant shopkeeper who was looking at Dreamer with a surprised face.
"Ahh, yes, yes. Right away, respected sir. Just a second" After hearing Dreamer's question for the second time the Treant shopkeeper came to his senses and went to the end of his shop to find the weapon.
The reason why the Treant shopkeeper was shocked was because when he looked at Dreamer, he didn't think that this kid would buy something more than ten gold coins but when Dreamer asked to show a weapon of the highest rank available no matter what the cost.
The Treant shopkeeper got surprised and deduced that Dreamer must come from a strong background.
And he also thought that the reason why Dreamer was wearing normal clothes was because he must be a strong gifted one and came out from a fight.
So, after deducting all this the shopkeeper handled Dreamer with more respect. And after five minutes the shopkeeper came with an axe whose blade was gray in colour and the handle was made of wood.
"Respected Sir, this is the highest ranked weapon in my shop. It is of A rank, its blade is made from the teeth of a Giant Orc and its handle is made up of the wood from the Yggdrasil tree. This is the best I can offer." The Treant Shopkeeper said and treated Dreamer with more respect than before.
Dreamer after hearing the description from the Treant Shopkeeper was surprised but he still decided to use God's Eye on the axe.
[ Type : Weapon ]
[ Weapon Type : Battle Axe ]
[ Rank : D ]
'Hmm? Rank D? What about A rank? Is the shopkeeper lying?' Dreamer thought after seeing the information about the axe from God's Eye.
'Either this shopkeeper is scammed by someone or he is scamming you, that's all I can say.' Helix also saw the information about the weapon and said to Dreamer.
"Sorry Mister, but by highest rank weapon I meant a S rank weapon, don't you have any S rank weapons." Dreamer said.
He didn't tell the Treant shopkeeper about the truth of the weapon as Dreamer wanted to see the Treant shopkeeper's reaction.
After hearing that Dreamer wanted a S rank weapon, the Treant Shopkeeper's face got dulled.
"Respected sir, this weapon is also good. It's an A rank battle axe. It can cut through anything. It will help you win many battles with ease. Why not buy it?" The Treant Shopkeeper tried to persuade Dreamer to buy the battle-axe and from his expressions Dreamer understood that the shopkeeper didn't know the truth about this weapon.
"Yes, mister. I know this weapon is very good and powerful but I just want a S rank weapon. So, if you don't have any S rank weapons then tell me where can I find one." Dreamer rejected the Treant shopkeeper's offer and asked about a place where he can find an S rank weapon.
"I am sorry, respected sir, the best weapon I have on me is this battle axe, and about a place where you can find a S rank weapon. Didn't you hear there is an auction today?" The Treant shopkeeper said and gave Dreamer some new information.
After hearing about an auction Dreamer felt a bit sad because usually something like an auction is attended by filthy rich people and forget about filthy rich, Dreamer was not even simple rich.
"Oh, is that so? Where is this auction taking place?" Dreamer still asked about the auction as, if he wouldn't have asked then the shopkeeper might feel that Dreamer might be a common man who was just acting rich.
"Respected sir, I think you have arrived from a beast planet or from a dense forest full of beasts, that's why you didn't know about the auction. Am I right?"
The shopkeeper said as he thought how can someone from this city not know about the auction.
People were coming from outside the city to attend this auction so it's impossible to not know about this auction while living in this city.
"Oh? How do you arrive at that conclusion?" Dreamer asked as he wanted to know about the Treant shopkeeper's reasoning for arriving at this conclusion.
"Respected sir, who are you kidding with? That person is with you, right?" The shopkeeper asked Dreamer while pointing at Liberi who was standing behind Dreamer.
"Yes, he is. So, what?" Dreamer said and became alerted as he thought that the Treant shopkeeper might have recognised Liberi.
"Nothing, respected sir. To be more precise, I am talking about the sack that he is carrying on his back, correct me if I am wrong, that sack is full of beast cores, right?
And by looking at yours and that person's clothes I can say that you both have returned from hunting, either from a beast planet or the forest.
And also, you are asking for mana potion so that means you have returned from a fight and now you want to replenish your mana. Am I right? Respected sir!" The Treant shopkeeper explained his reasoning which made Dreamer smile.
Dreamer smiled because his decision of making Liberi to fill the sack with stones went successful as he wanted the shopkeepers to think that he is rich because the shopkeepers can also take beast core as a payment from the customers who didn't have enough gold coins with them.
This was Dreamer's plan to get anything he wanted from the shops and even if he would've got caught, he already had a backup plan and that was to say sorry and run. Yes, it was not a perfect backup plan but still manageable.
'Were you always this smart? And if you were always this smart then why do you freak out every time whenever there is a talk about fighting a strong opponent?' Helix said to Dreamer after knowing Dreamer's plan.
'What do you mean? Of Course, I was always this smart. My father just didn't teach me about the rankings but he had taught me all types of things, and this is one of them.
And about freaking out because of fighting a strong opponent, this fear will gradually become less as time will pass.' Dreamer replied to Helix in his mind and started talking with the Treant shopkeeper.
"Indeed, you are absolutely right. So, can you tell me about this auction? If I find this information interesting, maybe I can give you some reward." Dreamer said while smiling as he looked at the sack that Liberi was carrying.
"Yes, Respected sir. I will try my best to tell you everything I know about it.
So, in this auction there are many things which are getting sold, be it potions, artifacts and weapons. But the reason that many people gathered here isn't because of such things.
They have gathered here because of the main attraction of the auction and the main attraction of the auction is a sword and not just any sword but a S rank sword." The Treant shopkeeper revealed which made Dreamer and Liberi surprised.
'My lord..' Liberi said in Dreamer's mind but Dreamer stopped him.
'Yeah, I know. Let me talk.' Dreamer stopped Liberi in his mind and kept on talking with the Treant shopkeeper.
"Oh, A S rank sword. But as far as I know there aren't many S rank weapons in this Rester city. Then how a S rank weapon came into existence all of a sudden." Dreamer asked as he wanted to confirm that this sword, which was the main attraction of the auction, wasn't actually Liberi's sword.
"Well, respected sir. There are rumors around like people saying that this sword came out of a volcano and the people who are doing this auction found it and decided to sell it at a high price." The Treant Shopkeeper said and after hearing this Dreamer and Liberi sighed a relief as now they were sure that this sword wasn't Liberi's sword.
"I see. So, where is this auction taking place, anyway." Dreamer asked in a carefree manner just for the sake of not raising any suspicions.
"Respected sir, this auction is taking place at an academy. Ahh, what was its name? Yes! The Duel Fencer Academy '' The shopkeeper revealed and after hearing the place where the auction is going to be held Dreamer and Liberi were shocked.
"Whattt?" Dreamer exclaimed in a loud voice which attracted the attention of the nearby people.
Seeing everyone gazes at him. He calmed himself down and decided to know more about this matter.
"Are you sure about this? The Dual Fencer Academy? The academy where swordsmen go to learn swordsmanship." Dreamer asked in a normal manner, completely hiding his shocked state.
"Yes, respected sir. I am sure of it. That's why many people came here today to get their hands on the S rank sword!" The Treant Shopkeeper said with a truthful face which made Dreamer feel worse.
"Well, anyway thanks for your information and I will be taking this mana potion, Liberi give me that sack for one second." Dreamer said and called Liberi who came and gave Dreamer the sack full of stones.
And Dreamer acted like he was taking out a beast core from the sack to give to the Treant shopkeeper. Dreamer didn't tell anything to the Treant shopkeeper about the Battle Axe being a D rank weapon because he didn't care now as he already got tense after hearing the news about the auction so he was not in a mood to help others.
After seeing Dreamer taking out something from the sack, the Treant shopkeeper's face became brighter as he thought he would be getting a beast core.
"Thank you for your service, respected sir" The Treant Shopkeeper thanked Dreamer, before even getting a beast core from him.
While Dreamer was acting like he was taking out a beast core from the sack but actually he was taking out a beast core from his pocket which he had gotten after killing the Sullivan Bour.
"Here...as a thanks for your information. This is a core from a Beginner Rank beast. It is enough for your breakthrough to the next rank." Dreamer said and handed the core to the Treant shopkeeper
Seeing the core, the Treant Shopkeeper's eyes lit up and he instantly put the core in his pocket.
But when the Treant shopkeeper put more thinking in Dreamer's words he found out that Dreamer said something about his breakthrough which made The Treant Shopkeeper eyes wide open.
After giving the beast core to the Treant shopkeeper, Dreamer and Liberi started to leave from the shop but then,
"Respected Sir! How did you know that I am close to a breakthrough? Are you a god?"
The Treant shopkeeper said and the reason he assumed that Dreamer was a god was because only some strong people have powers to see through someone's rank and Gods were one of them including Demons.
However the Treant shopkeeper ruled out the possibility of Dreamer being a demon because of his appearance as Demons have a particular appearance so he chose the second-best option that was of Dreamer being a god because there were many races that were identical to Gods.
"Tell me respected sir, are you a god?" The Treant shopkeeper asked again with a sweat on his face as he was so scared just by thinking about a God standing in front of him.
Hearing the Treant shopkeeper's question, Dreamer stopped in his steps and then he looked at the sky as if he was looking very far away.
And while looking at the sky, with a straight face. Dreamer said,
"I am not God, not yet!"