It's official.
Xanthe Soleil was one insane bastard.
Izik bitterly hid next to his window, scouting to see if some of the soldiers that the Prince sent found his house. He was still planning to roam around the town with the intent of hanging around guilds and checking on the bulletin boards. He was also determined to get as much information as he could, however, due to the manhunt that Xanthe Soleil launched, he was forced to hide alley after alley until he decided it was not worth it and had to teleport himself home.
"What a pain," Izik clicked his tongue as he began packing his things. He was already planning to leave and stay at Ozryn which was at least 5 towns away from Forvi. It never crossed Izik's mind to join a guild or a raid in this town.
He should have known that not everything works according to the plan. There will always be variables and this time that variable comes in the annoying form of Soleil's Prince. The only consolation he had was he finally have his own assessment and he was classified as a Class A Hunter. He knew it was fake but for sure Tri didn't just put Class A there out of whim. She didn't really explain it but Izik knew she has her reason one why she placed him in Class A.
Whether it was fake or not, Izik was still happy about it.
Come to think of it, this was another variable that deviated from his original plan. Izik planned to at least reach level 15 or 20 before getting his assessment and joining a raid however the moment he reached level 10, there were no longer daily quests that were given to him. The system confirm to him as well that he already graduated from his daily quest and started giving him an event instead.
He pulled the window up for the event, reading the whole thing again.
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[ š£ EVENT ]
[ DUNGEON RAID
ā Raid a Class D or above dungeon
Rewards:
ā 2,000 Gold Coins
ā One (1) ACTIVE SKILL
Good luck! ]
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Dismissing the window, Izik continued to work in haste. Once he closed his luggage, he then grabbed a small pouch of gold coins. He would bring at least 100 gold coins with him just to make sure that he won't have any problems. Sitting down on the edge of his bed, Izik pulled up the shop to check on what he could purchase.
Through days of checking the shop, Izik learned that the items changed daily which meant if he liked an item it was better to buy it as soon as he can because it will not stay in the shop.
He couldn't help clicking his tongue at the prices. Nothing in the shop was lower than 1,500 gold coins which makes him a bit bitter. The reality that he has to figure out a way to steadily grow his coins was catching up on him. Deciding to deal with it later as he reminded himself to take it one step at a time, Izik checked on the armor section of the shop, scrolling through them. He doesn't have the luxury to splurge so he has to be really smart about his purchase.
"Hmm," Izik hummed, staring at an item that caught his attention.
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[ š SHOP ]
[ Caligo Earrings
Type: Accessory | Requirement: Level 10
ā A pair of earrings that allows its user to change the color of their eyes and hair
Read more... ]
[ BUY for 1,700 šŖ ]
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The earrings were small and simple. It was made of what seemed to be an unknown gem with colors that shift from purple to blue. It was lined with gold. At that price point, Izik was expecting it to be real gold. He wasn't really the biggest fan of accessories however with an ongoing manhunt for him courtesy of the youngest Soleil, Izik would wear absolutely anything.
Scrolling through the description, the earrings will basically change the colors of his hair and eyes whenever he had them on. He could only choose one color before wearing the earring. That color can never be changed. The earrings were also dependent on his mana. In any case, if he manages to deplete his mana, the effect of the earrings will wear off.
Izik still thought that paying 1,700 gold coins for a small pair of earrings was a total rip-off. He wanted to purchase weapons in the store however whether he liked it or not, he needed the earring more than he wanted to admit. With an exasperated sigh, he hovered his finger over the buy button.
"Since Ozryn is the city of steel, I can definitely buy additional weapons there and it most likely will cost me less than what I have to spend on this shop," Izik muttered, clicking on the buy button. He wouldn't get the perks that the items had in the shop but a weapon was a weapon. Once he had enough money, then he could definitely splurge more.
A window suddenly appeared before him.
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[ āØ ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED! ]
[ ā§ First Shop Purchase
As a simple thank you for purchasing in our shop here's your reward:
ā 30% Discount Coupon
ā A Random Box ]
[ EXIT Ć ]
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That surprised him. He didn't expect to get a reward just for buying something but he wouldn't lie, seeing a 30% discount coupon did excite him. That's a huge discount. He'll save it for later when the shop shows him something useful and interesting.
His eyes then landed on the other reward. He wasn't sure what a random box was so he had to click and see what it was all about.
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[ š° BAG ]
[ RANDOM BOX
Type: Novelty Item | Requirement: n/a
ā A box that can give you random item from Class f to Class S ]
[ USE RANDOM BOX ]
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Izik raised an eyebrow. That was sure interesting and it also made him excited to open the box. Though he had a feeling that the possibility to get a Class S item was unlikely or at least at 0.00001% being given a chance was still enough to perk his interest.
Another hum escaped his lips before he decided to exit the window and save the random box for later when he's feeling... more lucky because right now he's just more of annoyed.
Going through his bag, he summoned for the earrings. Izik smiled as a small box appeared in his hand. It looked way better than what he expected and was of high quality. Standing up, he added another 100 gold coins to his pouch before he removed the earrings from the box. Izik always had short dark hair. It was a bit curly but nothing in excess. His eyes were also green something similar to emeralds and it was one of his most distinct features. Izik was nowhere near vain but he does appreciate his green eyes.
"I guess we can go for red hair and golden eyes?" He smiled a little before puncturing his ears with the Caligo earrings. He bled a little and he would lie if he said it doesn't hurt but it easily subsided. That kind of pain was something that doesn't bother him. Once the accessory was on, he stared at himself in the mirror.
"It's a little weird to see me with red hair," Izik quietly commented, touching strands of his hair that now were red instead of black. Leaning close to the mirror, he looked at his golden eyes, and just as he thought, he liked his green eyes way better.
"If I could just land a single punch on Xanthe Soleil's smug face," he lamented. What an inconvenience.
Satisfied with his look, he grabbed a small black mask from his desk and put it on, covering his nose down to his neck. It blended well with his clothes and robe. Taking a deep breath, he teleported himself in an isolated part near the train station.
Luckily, he had memorized Forvi enough for him to know which were the blind areas or the alleys that were most likely empty. It's not like he was the only person who can teleport, Izik wouldn't have cared who saw him but he had to be a bit careful considering how there was what seemed to be a battalion of soldiers looking for him.
Taking a deep breath, he walked to the station and purchased a ticket for Ozryn. Izik had always been bad at lying and whenever he was under immense pressure, it shows on his face so when the cashier didn't even bat an eyelash at him, he was overcome with relief.
From the corner of his eyes, he glanced at the roaming soldiers. He saw two soldiers of Soleil talking to the Royal guards. He reminded himself to stay calm and being anxious will only draw more attention to him.
"Any luck on the search?" A Royal guard asked.
"We gather some information. Looked like even when the guy lived all his life here no one really knew much about him."
"I wouldn't really know, I was just stationed here a year ago." The Royal guard hummed. "What I am wondering was... why would the Prince look for him?"
Izik was wondering the exact same thing. He kept his ears open.
"We don't know either. What we only knew was it's important that the guy is found as soon as possible." Izik could feel a vein popping on his head. It must be nice to have the money and resources to just launch a manhunt without any goddamn reason.
"Well, with that reward money, I am sure that you'll find him way sooner than expected."
Izik was unsure if he should be flattered that Xanthe was about to pay huge money as a reward or whether he should be pissed so he decided to feel both.
As soon as he got his ticket, he immediately got on the train. As Ozryn was almost two days, he got himself his own cabin. He also paid extra to get the first class which usually the nobles get. Aside from the fact that Izik wanted to relax and think to himself, the attendants will also leave him alone unless he asked something from them. He basically paid for his privacy which he came to understand was a luxury.
Izik tried his best not to stew in his annoyance however, he was not lucky enough as he grumpily march to his cabin. Getting inside, he placed down his luggage and slumped on the edge of the bed. It was his first time in a first-class cabin and he never really thought that it would be that spacious to fit a small bed. He once heard from one of his classmates that this was nothing compared to the royal suite which looked more like a hotel room than a train cabin.
Pushing all his thoughts away, he removed his boots and lay down on the bed, he only woke up when someone asked to check his ticket.