Chapter 37: Preparation
Meanwhile, Abium returned to his room, lay on the soft bed, and decided to take some rest.
A few seconds later, he closed his eyes and soon went into a deep sleep.
After sleeping for more than 15 hours, he suddenly opened his eyes, sat on his bed, and touched his head in anxiety.
'Was that a dream? I saw a strange black cat ripping my head. Wait. What dream was that? Why couldn't I remember anything other than that black cat? An omen?' He showed a confused look on his face and soon shook his head.
He then walked out of his bed, moved towards the window, and opened the curtain.
The morning sun rose as a canopy of gold, bright amid the blue, bidding the stars to take their nightly rest. As darkness surrendered, every color changed from tinges of charcoal to vibrancy.
He watched the sunrise vacantly and soon furrowed as he sensed presence coming from the room entrance.
Simultaneously, he heard a knocking sound from outside.
"Abium, are you in there?" A second later, Helena's voice came from the outside.
Meanwhile, Abium turned around, walked towards the door, and quickly opened it.
"Come in." He invited her in.
She was currently dressed as a regular adventurer, carried a leather bag in her left hand, and held a red-seal imprinted scroll.
After taking a swift glance, Helena stepped inside and gave him a unique scroll.
As Abium caught the scroll, he sized her up and down, scanned her body, and soon widened his eyes.
"You ranked up to Third-Tier?" He couldn't help but get surprised inside.
When he went earlier to check on her, he scanned her and noticed that she was still a Second-Tier Warrior.
'But I didn't expect that she broke the shackle in a single night.'
On the other hand, Helena nodded her head and answered calmly.
"Your [Quick Steps] cultivation technique gave me some insight and helped me breakthrough into the next realm."
"That's good."
Abium nodded his head, shifted his gaze towards the leather bag, and soon furrowed.
"Are you going out?"
"I'm planning on accompanying the Inn Lady to the nearby market street, Abium. I also want to buy some things for my personal use." Helena answered.
At that moment, Abium also thought of his next journey, took out three gold coins from his space ring, passed them to her, and asked.
"Can you buy a few things for me?"
A surprise flashed on Helena's face.
In truth, she thought Abium would stop her from going out because of the tense atmosphere in the town but didn't expect this reaction at all.
She quickly nodded her head and asked.
"What do you need?"
Abium deliberated and started to list out the things he needed.
"Five packs of bread, two empty barrels for storing water, ten or twenty kilograms of rye, wheat, rice, one or two blocks of salt crystals, cooking utensils like bowls, spoons, knives, and magic burners, and finally a few match sticks."
Helena got stunned by his answer and soon showed a confused look.
"Are you planning on going on a long journey? Even if I buy all these things, how can I carry everything to the Inn? Unlike you, I don't have a space ring." Frustration appeared on her face, but she soon calmed down and signed helplessly.
"I'll ask the local kids to carry them."
Meanwhile, Abium chuckled inwardly and spoke.
"I was just going to suggest that option, but you are quick to catch up." He paused for a moment, shifted his gaze towards the sealed scroll, and spoke.
"Anyway, I'm indeed planning on going on a long journey for around 3 to 4 months. But I'll return to the Royal City on time to attend the auction."
In truth, he was eager to go to the Bare Keep town, save the Crown Prince from losing his right arm, and then planned to enter the hidden Pocket Dimension.
After that, he thought of staying in the Pocket Dimension for the next three to four months and evading the Divines' prying eyes.
Abium knew that the more he interfered with the future, many powerful existences would take notice of his presence and might even try to eliminate him.
'It's better to stay hidden in the Pocket Dimension and act only after the arrival of the Chaos Era. By the time I started altering the future of this kingdom, there will be no Gods or Goddesses coming for my head.' A smirk appeared on his face.
On the other hand, Helena's face turned serious as she heard those words.
Before she could even speak, Abium shook his head and said.
"In the meantime, I have got a treasure hunting job for you. I want you to go to Brifell Mountain and search for a ruined town called 'Farm of Whispers' on the other side of the mountain. Once you find it, go to the center of that ruin and look for an old blackish stone building. It's a temple of an unknown goddess and holds a treasure chest of a fallen Baron of the Peral Kingdom. Go inside the temple, find the sanctum sanctorum, and enter the hidden chamber located below the sanctum sanctorum. You'll find a large golden treasure chest inside."
"Ruin? Treasure chest?" Helena's ears perked up as he heard his answer.
On the other hand, Abium nodded his head and continued.
"Yes, that treasure chest has more than 2,000 white gold coins, precious gems, and even a few mysterious elemental stones. Take the treasure chest, go to the Royal City and wait for me. But it's a dangerous place for a normal Third-Tier Warrior, though. I heard that the fallen Baron's spirit is still roaming in that ruin and guarding the treasure with his loyal knights. That's why no adventurers or nobles' army dare to go near that place."
"Undead? Are you serious? How do you expect me to go there alone and take the treasure?" Helena subconsciously thought of the Apprentice Necromancer and turned pale.
"You aren't going there alone, Helena." Abium smiled as he shifted his gaze towards the scroll and asked.
"You came here to tell me that someone is waiting for me in the reception hall, right?"
"Yes! I almost forgot about it." She touched her forehead and hurriedly added.
"Someone named Claude is looking for you."
'As I thought, it's him.'
Abium curled his lips upward and then added.
"Follow me."
Then, he walked past her, moved towards the wooden door, and walked out of his room.
Although Helena was confused a little, she didn't show it on her face and followed after him with hurried footsteps.
Both soon walked on the lone corridor, went downstairs through the wooden staircase, and reached the reception hall in a minute.
At that moment, more than fifteen people with different attire sat in their respective seats and were doing various works. Some were chatting and eating, while the rest appeared to be listening to an adventurer's rambling.
Abium calmly looked at the reception hall and soon zeroed his gaze on a hooded figure who sat on the corner table.
Without even looking at that figure's face, Abium managed to guess who he was and started walking towards him.
Soon, he arrived near the corner table, sat on the opposite side chair, and looked at the middle-aged man under the black hood.
He had hooded hazel eyes, extra long eyebrows, a crooked nose, fair skin, and an oval face. His slightly long grey hair also appeared out of his hood and revealed his aged look.
At that moment, Helena also arrived beside Abium and sat on the chair placed next to his one.
"It's good to see you, Uncle Claude." Abium didn't want to beat around the bush and decided to reveal his identity.