R-a - Volume 3 - Chapter 24 (Patreon)

R-a Chapter 182 (In editing-v3)

Sunlight gleamed from the sky above, sparkling in the air as it flitted onto a green-robed man, following his graceful flight through a burgeoning forest.

Micheal’s movements were swift and sure as he moved forward, his eyes constantly scanning the area in front of him to avoid running into any vines or trees. Two Life Orbs fluttered beneath his feet, making his flight an easy and controlled one that sapped very little energy.

He had decided to avoid flying above the forest just in case any powerful warriors were using Contracted Magic Beasts to fly above it. The chance was small, but he couldn’t afford any powerful beings becoming interested in him quite yet.

As he flew, he flexed and adjusted his arms several times, getting used to his stronger body.

“It should only take a day or so for my body to finish absorbing the Magic Gem.” He muttered out loud to himself.

After he completed Yvvtal’s King’s Challenge, Micheal finally had what he needed to wrap up loose ends.

Yvvtal’s Treasure Hall possessed a King’s Rock, a type of very rare Artifact that couldn’t be purchased in the Shop. This Artifact could work as a temporary panacea when utilized properly, able to cleanse a person’s body of most illness and poison. This was one of the very few ways that the Withering Snow Poison that afflicted the Rury Group could be cured.

A human had won the King’s Rock back in Micheal’s first life and made a killing using it to cure people for a price. This was how Micheal had originally been cured in his first life.Yvvtal's Inheritence had become one of the most famous treasure grounds for humanity, many rare Artifacts had been uncovered here.

There were other, more complex cures, but all of those required careful time and effort spent in creating an antidote, something Micheal couldn't afford.

After obtaining it, he went about signing the entire Rury Group under one Contract Seal, making an Oath to heal them as long as they would work for Micheal on one specific job.

Everything went through with no issues, though Micheal did have to wait for Simone to finish the Knight’s Challenge. To his somewhat mild surprise and pleasure, she actually managed to complete it, obtaining a lesser reward for herself from the Treasure Hall.

With them cured, Micheal could feel the entire atmosphere change. A certain level of cheer rose in the previously downtrodden warriors as their impending death date was finally removed. He was greeted with an endless stream of thanks for his efforts, enough to make him feel guilty for using the occurrence to get some help.

However, after the Rury Group learned the details of the job he had for them, they were more than eager to help. Micheal explained everything thoroughly, leaving no room for error before he sent them off. He also listed off a few ways they could improve their strength, including the details on Dragon Building Liquid to boost their Physique. They would be able to return to improve their strength here at Yvvtal's Inheritance, and become more useful to Micheal, but only after they completed a few vital tasks.

As for Yvvtal…

The Fallen Deity had been amazed at Micheal’s regeneration. Whether because he was impressed or for some other reason, the ancient Toren hadn’t objected when Micheal went through the Treasure Hall and took several valuable treasures for himself.

As a result, Micheal had yet to technically “break” the Oath he had made in Yvvtal’s eyes. He’d left a sizable number of treasures behind for other beings that took any of the Challenges, only taking the ones that were useful to him.

Most of the Artifacts or treasure left behind were designed for use in combat, for studying many martial arts, or for helping build up the strength of one’s body. Micheal found the first and third group the most valuable, though for the third group, in particular, he only took a few related treasures. His body could only take in so many treasured potions or Magic Gems before they lost their effectiveness.

And now, he found himself rushing to exit the forest, leaving in a hurry before it could fully transform into a Magic Forest. He didn’t want to have to deal with the issue of evolving Magic Beasts or plant-life evolving into actual monsters, even with his strengthened body.

Yvvtal had yet to make any requests of Micheal. In fact, the Fallen Deity had turned to a state of mostly silence as it observed Micheal, going almost dormant. Micheal could still sense the Toren’s Spirit Body within him.

For the Toren, simply having his Spirit Body housed within a living, growing host was a huge positive. It would nourish his Soul, allowing him to build up his own strength by drawing on energy from the air. He didn’t operate like a leech, but rather symbiotically in Micheal’s case.

Anyone using Magic or some other means to search for Micheal would find that even his Soul gave off a different feeling now, Yvvtal’s Spirit Body making everything a bit messy. If worse came to worst, Micheal was even confident he could draw on Yvvtal’s Aura and pretend to be someone as strong as Yvvtal had been, though he wasn't sure how well such a plan would work.

Time flew by.

Micheal made steady progress as he flew through the forest. All around him, he could sense the air growing more and more rich and energetic. The Rury Group had set off a while ago, but if they weren’t fast enough, they might run into several Magic Beasts before they made it out.

‘Still, they should be fine.’ Micheal had given them a few Artifacts from the Treasure Hall that they could use for self-defense, and the Group itself was decently strong.

Finally, after soaring for around 2 hours, Micheal reached the edge of the forest without issue.

When he arrived, as he passed through one final grove of tall trees, he was greeted with a sight that gave him pause.

A huge wall of mountains that jutted upwards towards the sky, ethereal fog covering the tops of most of them. This line of mountains went off to Micheal’s left and right, covering the horizon in their fearsome glory.

Micheal sighed in appreciation when he saw this. This mountain range had a number of names, but he knew it best by what humanity called it.

The Dragon Mountains.

Within the territory of this huge set of mountains, legend had it that an undead Dragon existed, ruling over or destroying any that came in its way.

Micheal was well aware that there was some truth to this story. There was indeed a Draconic Lich in this mountain range, a rather irritable one at that. It was very strong but also a cursed creature that was unable to leave the mountain range.

Despite the fact that it was extremely rare to see it, the entire range had been named after it due to the fact that one of the Barons would, in the future, fight with the Draconic Lich. The battle ended in a draw, which was an incredible achievement. Anything with a ‘Draconic’ name was bound to be an insanely powerful being.

“Sansa was as strong as the rumors said.” He smiled slightly at the thought.

Of the Four Barons, Baron Sansa, one of the extremely rare full-blooded Vampires that had evolved past being a Lesser Vampire, was renowned for her power and skill. She was also the one Micheal was most sure would not be one of Constantine’s Seeds.

Micheal scanned the range for a few moments before he hopped off his Life Orbs. He then began to sprint forward, his body carrying him forth at an extremely fast pace.

He had a pretty solid idea where he was located, using his perfect memory to plot his rough path thus far. He then based his estimates on his sense of location, something he’d built up over the years.

Between him and the mountain range was a large grassy plain. He was at least 10 miles from the mountains, but that didn’t diminish how imposing a sight the Dragon Mountains were.

For the next hour, Micheal sprinted through the large, open plains, heading West. He avoided getting too near the mountains, knowing stray Magic Beasts might wander down from it. He could definitely use the Points from farming said beasts, but he didn’t want anything to bog him down right now.

His pace was fast and he made quick progress. As he ran, he passed by large herds of normal animals and spotted a few Magic Beasts, but didn’t actually encounter any humanoids. This particular stretch of land was pretty desolate.

As he reached the end of his run, however, he began to see people moving about in groups. Armored warriors moving parallel down the mountain range before moving into it, leather-clad fighters waiting outside the mountain range armed with magic looking bows, sword-wielding experts readying themselves to charge down stray Magic Beasts.

The grounds began to become more and more popular, with none of these men and women sparing Micheal a glance. They were all focused on their own missions, readying themselves to hunt.

If Micheal had to observe one thing that set these groups apart, it would probably be the fact that none of them were human.

They were all Byrens.

Micheal skipped past them all till, eventually, a large stone wall came into view. This wall ran all the way up to just a couple of miles away from the Dragon Mountains before stopping, encircling a large, well-protected city.

He began to slow his pace as the town came into view. It had taken him roughly 20 minutes longer to reach here than he had thought it would, but it had been a close enough estimate to leave him pleased.

Tansol Town, one of the very few Border Towns that guarded over the Tansol Pass, a rare path that one could follow to move between the Dragon Mountains. This town was controlled by a powerful First Rate Warrior named Gaben Tansol. His ancestors had been the ones to first discover this pass and create the town long ago.

Micheal headed over to one of the large metal gates that allowed entry to the town, catching his breath from his extended sprint. He moved in behind a large, bustling crowd that was waiting to enter the town, taking his place at the end of it, keeping the hood to his green robes low, covering his face. Ahead of him, dozens of male and female Byrens were talking eagerly as they waited.

Tansol Town was a very popular city. The Dragon Mountains were a very lucrative hunting grounds, filled with many powerful Magic Beasts, rare Magic Herbs, and even rarer Helion Treasures.

It had a population of around 500,000, but that number varied enormously depending on the number of travelers seeking entry through the Tansol Pass, or warriors hunting to make their fortune.

Very few Border Towns existed, largely because a First-Rate Warrior was needed if they wanted to exist in such a dangerous location, and First Rate Warriors were not at all a common sight. Most of them were busy, operating as Sect Elders in the 6 Great Sects or as Sect Masters in smaller Sects.

Indeed, Gaben Tansol was affiliated with the Divine Might Sect. He was considered a ‘Visiting Elder’ who wasn’t technically a part of the Sect hierarchy, but had enough authority that he could do what he wanted here.

“Name and purpose.” Micheal was met with a rather uniform greeting as he reached the front of the line after about 10 minutes.

The gate was guarded by a dozen Byren warriors decked out in a mixture of metal and leather armor. Full metal armor was typically eschewed by Byren society, a group that vastly valued ‘honor’ as well as a warrior’s martial prowess. A full suit of metal could weigh down one’s movements or make them more difficult to perform, weakening the power of a strong warrior.

Of course, such beliefs were nonsensical in Micheal’s eyes. A carefully crafted suit of armor, using light metals that were enchanted through various means, could perform perfectly well and greatly bolster anyone’s defense. But, applying logic to the strange rituals and rules of Byren society was never something that ended well.

“Disciple Manson and I’m here to search for Magic Herbs in the Obiah Mountain Range.” The Byrens called the Dragon Mountains the Obiah Mountain Range.

The Byren looked at Micheal with a slightly bored glance. The guard’s eyes lit up a little after a moment, the green gem set on his forehead glowing ever so faintly.

Micheal’s current strength was still within the bounds of a Third Rate Warrior. That said, he was now within the highest upper bounds of a Third Rate Warrior thanks to his increase in power, just a few steps from a Second Rate Warrior.

When his Magic Gem finished absorbing and he gained a 2 Star Physique, he would become a Peak Third Rate Warrior, just half a step from a Second Rate Warrior.

Strength was everything in Byren society.

“Of course. Please, enter freely Disciple Manson.” The guard gave him a friendly nod and waved him forward, letting him enter without having to pay any fee or asking him to show his face.

That type of favoritism to the strong was part of why Tansol Town was able to flourish. The powerful could enter the town free of charge and without being forced to answer inquisitive questions, meaning those with strength would be able to congregate and have an easier time living here, raising the overall strength of the city.

Micheal walked past the entrance and got his first real look at a Byren town.

The setup was very similar to a medieval human town. The streets were made of paved stone and somewhat narrow, with stone or wooden buildings lining them. Byrens walked everywhere, though Micheal could spot a few carriages drawn by horse-like animals transporting goods or people off to his right.

The stores he could spot were all rather drab, with brown wooden roofs and small, faded glass windows. Despite that, the city had a rather lively atmosphere as Micheal began to walk through it.

“Get your Tamish kabobs! Only 4 Meric each!”

“Have a refreshing stay at the Beast Sword Inn, 36 Meric a night!”

“The finest blades you’ll ever wield at the Boldon Smithery! Come check them out!”

Various criers advertised a plethora of goods and services, a mire of discussion that Micheal listened to briefly before ignoring.

Meric was a type of currency used and regulated by the Divine Might Sect. It could be traded for Spirit Crystals in a limited ratio and thus had its value confirmed, usable by the common people to exchange for things.

Yvvtal hadn’t possessed any Spirit Crystals in his Treasure Hall, and even if he had, they would’ve long since withered away over the passage of time. The energy in them was what made them useful, but they wouldn’t last forever.

Thus, Micheal was technically penniless at the moment. After a few seconds of consideration, he made his way to one particular shop he spotted as he walked through the city.

A few minutes later, Micheal left the shop with a decent 338 Meric in his pocket.

He had sold the remains of the Black Needle Dog that he had killed after he first arrived in the Second Layer, pocketing a nice chunk of change. The Magic Beast had only been a Low Tier one and Micheal hadn’t had its Spirit Crystal, but he still earned himself enough to get by for now.

With that money in tow, Micheal smiled as he made his way to one particular location in town, ready to spring his plans into action.

After he crossed the Tansol Pass, he would be in the territory of the Silent Sword Sect. He would finally be able to find the Farians and save Myla Hannis, using her to obtain the method to track down the Vile King's Seeds.

The first thing he needed to do now, to set that plan into motion, was rather simple.

He needed to get roaringly drunk.

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