The group made their way to the village Varon talked about earlier; Varon was taking the front alongside Sensei and Fangmaw, with Jimmy and Hunter at the rear.
After some time on the main road, a small village came into view, a small wooden wall surrounding it with two guards donned in leather armor holding spears standing guard at the entrance.
"Is this the village, Varon?" Rage questioned.
"Yes, my lord, but last time I was here, it was less crowded" he answered.
"Looks like other players found it, too. This is better since we will be auctioning some items, and we need someone to buy them anyway" Rage said, looking ahead at the two guards by the village entrance.
"Halt!" the guards called out to the group as they approached the entrance. Varon appeared visibly annoyed at the disrespect toward his lords; he reached out to his sword before Rage put his hand on him, stopping him as he walked past him.
"Good day, lads. Do you mind if we go in?" Rage said to the guards, smiling as he tried to appear friendly.
The guards looked him up and down, noticing his eyes looking very different from the other adventurers that arrived earlier; they moved their eyes to the rest of the group; the berries they collected earlier helped cure their external wounds by rubbing them against their skin, so they looked in peak condition but still depleted off stamina, their armor looked significantly different and of higher quality than the other adventurers as well.
The most noticeable was the crest they all held on their chest; they seemed to be a part of a royal house, judging that all their gear bore the same black and purple colors.
"This is Oakbrook village governed by our lord Thaddeus Oakbrook, a steward of the Eastern Empire" the guard stated firmly, "What is your business here?".
Varon called out from behind Rage, "You stand in the presence of his majesty, the head of the Highthorn clan; show your respect, peasant." Suddenly, the gravity shifted where the two guards stood, an overwhelming pressure that forced both to plant their faces to the ground as they gasped for breath.
"Varon, stop!" Rage yelled as Varon lifted the pressure off the two guards; they both laid on the ground, unable to move.
Suddenly, an older-looking man came rushing from inside the gate surrounded by a small group of soldiers; a soldier whispered in his ear, pointing at Rage and the rest of the group before the man cleared his throat.
"I am Thaddeus Oakbrook, the village's elder; this soldier tells me my guards were rude to you. I apologize on their behalf and hope that Your Majesty accompanies me to the town hall" he said, bowing his head before Rage and Varon; he also noticed their eyes but didn't dare to ask after what happened with the guards.
"I have to take advantage of this situation" Rage thought to himself, "We are certainly powerful enough to put up a fight if the situation escalates but we are extremely exhausted, the berries helped with the external wounds but the exhaustion remains, Varon can probably take them all on, but I would rather not go against the empire for now; it will put the other players and us in danger, I need to do something to get information so let's act like a noble for now since Varon paved the way."
"Thank you, Elder Oakbrook. I also couldn't control my subordinate, so I hope you accept my apology" Rage said, holding his hand behind his back but not bowing down.
"Jimmy, take the others and get us some rooms in the inn and take Fangmaw with you; try to look for an alchemist to see what we can do with the berries. I will have a little talk with Elder Oakbrook" Rage said to Jimmy, "Varon will accompany me if you don't mind, Elder" Rage continued, looking back at Thaddeus.
"He is more than welcome, Your Majesty" Thaddeus replied.
Jimmy and the rest of the group made their way into the village, heading straight to the inn, while Rage and Varon accompanied Thaddeus to the town hall.
During their walk, the players recognized Rage and Varon, crowding them as the soldiers tried to push them back; every player in the village seemed to be there; Rage went past the guards, shaking hands and signing autographs before returning to Thaddeus.
"You look quite popular, Your Majesty" Thaddeus said to Rage as they walked through the village.
"Where warriors dwell, legends swell" Rage replied, quoting a phrase he had seen during one of the missions back in phase 1.
They finally arrived at the town hall; the guards there were slightly higher quality than the ones at the gate; their armor was on par with a level 30 player, and probably their skill, too.
Thaddeus escorted Rage and Varon to the guest room, "Please give me a moment, Your Majesty; I will go inform the maids that we have a guest; make yourself at home" he said before heading out and shutting the door.
Rage took the chance to allocate the stat points he got after leveling up during the hunt.
PLAYER: RAGE
LEVEL: 14
CALSS: ELDRICH KNIGHT
UNIQUE SKILL: DEMONIC AUTHORITY
UNALLOCATED STAT POINTS: 42
STR: 2 | AGI: 4 | STA: 2 | WIS: 2
"I'm not a caster like Jimmy, nor do I have many spells like I used to, so wisdom isn't important for now" Rage thought.
ALLOCATION CONFIRMED
STR: 16 | AGI: 18 | STA: 14 | WIS: 4
"I also wanna look at the prestige shop Aelarion mentioned when the gate opened."
PRESTIGE SHOP
CALCULATING PURCHASE POWER: 100% | MAX PURCHASE POWER UNLOCKED.
ALL ITEMS UNLOCKED.
The shop was full of high-tier items, skill books, and elixirs that permanently raised the players' stats.
What caught Rage's eye were the skill books he needed to regain the skills he had lost after regressing to level 1, It only took him a short while to find them.
Blade Aura: 20,000G.
Enables the player to use blade aura, allowing them to enhance their melee damage and turn melee attacks into ranged ones at higher proficiency.
Assassin's Mark: 16,000G.
(Unique skill) - Marks a target dealing 500% damage on the next strike; this percentage increases at higher proficiency.
Gathering 36,000 gold was quite tricky, given that they needed to raise funds to start building the clan house, too; he also kept in mind that the gold he would get by selling Fangmaw's drops and the other drops from the hunt would be divided between him, Sensei and Madeen.
After a minute, Elder Oakbrook came back into the room, accompanied by a young knight looking around 17; he was wearing reinforced leather armor; it looked like it was level 35-40 at max, but it was definitely around silver tier, making it a fine piece of equipment.
The boy entered the room after his father, bowing his head in front of Rage, "My name is Cedric Oakbrook, the eldest son of Elder Thaddeus Oakbrook; it's an honor meeting Your Majesty," he said bowing his head.
"A fine lad you have there, Elder Oakbrook" Rage said, looking at Cedric.
"Your words honor me, Your Majesty" Cedric said before stepping back to stand behind his father.
"By the way, Elder Oakbrook, on our way here, we got rid of a little pup in the forest" Rage said before extending his hand in front of him; the Shadowpelt armor and Fangmaw's pelt that they gathered materialized on the table.
Thaddeus and Cedric looked at the materials in awe, not just because they recognized the wolf he was talking about but also because they materialized on the table out of nowhere.
"Your Majesty, is that space magic?" Thaddeus questioned, shock still visible on his face.
Rage thought to himself for a second, wondering if he never saw the other adventurers taking out their items; he didn't think much about it for now, focusing more on gaining the elder's favor.
"This would look good on you, Cedric" Rage said, lifting the Shadowpelt armor and offering it to Cedric.
"Your majesty, even if we empty Oakbrook's coffers, we would never be able to afford that" Thaddeus said with a serious expression.
"Who said I'm selling it?" Rage replied, "This is just a small gift; it's not like we had any trouble dealing with the wolf." he smiled awkwardly, remembering the beating they got from the wolf.
"We humbly accept it, Your Majesty." Oakbrook bowed his head, glancing at Cedric, who quickly did the same.
"May I ask you a favor, Elder Oakbrook?" Rage questioned, reaching out to the tea that was served to him.
"Anything, Your Majesty, if it's within my capabilities" Thaddeus replied.
"I would like to invest in Oakbrook. You see, I came from a faraway land to the west alongside all the other adventurers who came here. We recently discovered your continent, but I preferred to come with a select few as an adventurer instead of bringing an entourage." Rage took a sip of his tea before setting it down on his hips, "Your village is the first civilized spot on the road between both continents, and I would like to make it a safe area for my people."
The elder thought to himself for a second; he looked at Cedric and then back at Rage with a curious expression before asking, "Your majesty, I know you are of a royal standing as the head of the house called Highthorn from what I heard from the incident at the gate, but may I know your rank within that western continent you speak about?".
Rage cleared his throat, taking a more formal pose as he stood up, bowing his head with a smile, "I'm Valerian the second son of Emperor Octavian Highthorn of the western continent."
Rage had no idea who Valerian was, but he had to make a name on the spot since he couldn't just say Rage. It would make no sense to Oakbrook, and it wouldn't even pass as a foreign name; he definitely had the military might and the gold back at the clan house that would rival an empire, but Oakbrook didn't know that he only had access to the military since Varon can summon the sentinels.
Still, he had no access to the gold, so for the time being he was extremely broke.
"Y-Your majesty, I am sorry for the humble reception; if I knew sooner.." Oakbrook said kneeling before Rage interrupted him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Raise your head, Elder Oakbrook; no need for formalities. I came here as an adventurer, not an emperor's son."
Oakbrook hesitantly looked up to Rage before standing up and sitting back on the couch.
"But, Your Majesty, aren't you worried about your safety traveling alone?" Oakbrook asked, putting his tea back on the table; he seemed too stressed to take another sip.
"Do you doubt my ability to protect my lord?" Varon said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Calm down, Varon, the elder is just worried about my safety" Rage called out, raising his voice as if to discipline Varon; he looked back to Oakbrook. "Elder Oakbrook, Varon and my six companions back at the inn can fight an entire brigade of master swordsmen. Furthermore, do not doubt my ability to fight" he continued, taking another sip of his tea.
"Pardon me, Your Majesty, but you look too young to be a swordsman" Oakbrook said.
"How old do you think I am, elder?" Rage replied, chuckling.
"Your majesty look a couple of years older than Cedric" Oakbrook replied.
"Is Cedric your best swordsman, elder Oakbrook?" Rage questioned.
"Yes, Your Majesty, he is my pride and joy; he trained for 4 years at the Imperial Academy, he returns to the academy next month for his final year" Oakbrook replied.
Rage stood up, approaching Cedric slowly, "Raise your sword, young man."
Oakbrook quickly interrupted him, "He wouldn't dare your majesty!" he yelled.
"Don't worry, Elder Oakbrook; raise your sword, Cedric," Rage replied.
Cedric hesitantly unsheathed his sword, holding it in front of him with both hands; his posture was really good, reflecting his fine swordsmanship.
"Good posture, Cedric, you must have had a capable instructor" Rage pointed out.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Cedric said proudly.
Rage stepped back towards the corner of the room, "Now try to strike me" Rage said, still smiling.
Varon placed his hand on his sword's handle, taking half a step in anticipation. Rage noticed but didn't stop him; he didn't know his capabilities yet after he regressed, so Varon could interfere if this went south.
Cedric hesitated for a second, but after gaining some confidence; he dashed towards Rage, he closed the distance between them, taking a leap as he swung his sword down with enough force to be able to stop it before it hit Rage's neck, in an instant Rage held Cedric's wrist, knocking the blade off his hand and holding his dagger to Cedric's throat.
"I am 48 in human years Elder Oakbrook" Rage said, looking at the elder, while handing Cedric's sword back to him.
"Oh, so he isn't human; that explains the eyes" Oakbrook thought to himself, "I shouldn't ask about his race then; that would come off a bit aggressive."
"That was impressive, Cedric" Rage said, sitting back on the couch, "So shall we get down to business, Elder?"