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C 87

Rain drizzled from the dark clouds; a man whose face was covered with brown cloth save for his eyes was taking shelter under a large tree, which blocked some of the heaven's tears as he finished the last fruit he had picked.

Emery made sure to enjoy every bit of the fruit. Remembering how he had consumed endless days of the tasteless bread, he began to develop appreciation for all the little things in this world and because of that, his connection with nature became stronger even if he wasn't consciously doing so. The droplets soaking the ground, and in turn the earth giving life to plants. The earth, water and plant spirit energy permeated his being on an unconscious level. After having achieved a significant increase in elemental cultivation, he could sense the energy of the universe. Even though it was far different from the particles in those of space and although the connection was faint, Emery saw the world in a brighter color.

When the dark clouds passed and the sun's blessing reached the ground, Emery went back on the road to travel further north. Three days had gone by since he had passed the two mountains; he had been attempting to call Killgragah however, the dragon inside of him wasn't making a sound, even a small snort at all. Nevertheless, Emery continued walking and from on top of a hill, he saw a small but bustling town that had various decorations hung on both stone and wooden houses, making it appear festive.

Emery decided to visit the place, thinking it'd be a good time to take a rest from his wearying travel.

Venta Town

As Emery neared the town, he remembered from his family's scholar that this place was a trading hub between ruled by merchants, declaring it a neutral state against the nearest kingdom, which was Lioness in its south and Belgiae kingdom to its east, hence, as evident by the number of armed men patrolling the edges of the town and he had passed by down the road, this place was a strategic place.

When Emery entered the town through its wooden wall, some of which were stones, the many streets enjoyed a heavy traffic of carts filled with goods, and an endless amount of stalls where there was fierce competition happening between their neighboring merchants for the people passing by. Although it wasn't as busy as Lionarch, one could feel a sense of grandeur that this town would eventually rival the Lioness' Capital City in terms of goods being traded and passing by.

There were hundreds of residents moving up and about in between the streets and markets. Emery walked the streets and saw the multitudes of items being peddled ranging from clothes to weapons, accessories, house furniture, rags, fruits, vegetables tools, etc. but there was one particular stall that caught Emery's eye and when his eyes met the person attending the stall, the attendant seemed to look at him with disgust for a moment before busying himself with tasks.

He made his way and the scent of freshly baked pig's pie from the nearby oven filled his senses, salivating his mouth. He drew closer to the stall and then the roasted smell of skewered grilled meat covered with a glazing sauce wonderfully displayed on the front made his stomach finally erupt in a wild rumbling roar.

"Are you going to buy or what? Go away if you're not buying. It's bad for business," said the attendant.

Emery gulped. He felt for his pouch hanging on his waist, aside from herbs and a scarce amount of potions, he sighed because there was nothing, hence despair filled his growling stomach. He had hoped for coins to magically appear, but alas, reality was once more cruel. The pig's pie and skewered meat was just right before him, however it felt so near, yet so far.

He sighed as he turned around thinking why did that Granny even had a need for money. She didn't need it, she should just stay the monster she was and gather food from the forest since she was a danger to people. Still, now that he had thought about it, it was indeed strange that the other huts he had checked in Mistshire had their valuables emptied. Was that done by her or some lost wanderers had arrived and sacked the place? Nevertheless, the issue was he had no money to even afford a bit of a luxury.

He frustratingly walked away when a speeding carriage ran before him and splashed the muddy water from the hole on the ground, completely dampening his only mantle that kept him company in the two days he had been traveling.

Silently grabbing the chunks of mud that had stuck to his mantle, the carriage's door opened and two people dressed in clothing more luxurious than the common folk descended as well as a couple of armored and armed men.

"Silas, look at what you've done," said the fair lady who seemed to be a few years older than Emery. Her curled blonde hair bounced in the air and mature clothing gave an air of maturity around her. She made her way toward him and said, "I apologize for almost bumping unto you."

Emery kept silent, still trying to save his mantle from bits of earth.

"Luna, don't get too close with beggars," said the young man, who looked the same age as Emery, keeping his hand on the sheathed on his waist, approaching Emery and his sister.

"Don't be impolite, Silas," reprimanded the fair lady, bowing in apology before offering Emery a bag filled with coins. She said with a smile, "Here, please take this as a sign of my sincerity. You can buy food and new clothing with this."

Emery's lips curled downward underneath his brown scarf.

"I don't need it," he said, walking away.

"Hmpf, it's good that a beggar knows his place," Silas scoffed.

Emery continued his way, ignoring the spiteful remark of the young man who was the stark opposite of his older sister. Although he needed the coin, he wouldn't lower his self-respect to receive coins he hadn't earned himself.

He turned to a corner of a street and gazed at his reflection through a glass pane of a house. Indeed, he looked like a beggar: tattered, hole-ridden, and muddied clothes, unkempt hair peeking through his face covering, and he probably smelled awful. No wonder those two fancily dressed people thought he was one.

Since realizing his state of image, Emery thought it was best to get clean clothes, wash up and had his hair cut. Although his appearance of a beggar would allow him to blend in some dark corners, in order to interact with normal people or hide within the crowd, he needed to look like a local. Not to mention, he also wanted to eat warm food again… To do all of that, of course he needed coins, but he wasn't about to beg like his appearance had suggested.

He continued walking around and eventually found a big gathering of people right in the center of the festive city-town. But because of his appearance, when he had tried to talk to people, they all walked away from him. After eavesdropping from the locals though, he had figured this crowd had gathered due to a popular local gaming event.

The game was a test of strength against the big man showing off his big belly. Their challenge to the people was plain enough to understand. And that was to find the strongest man present. There was a prize involved, which was only fifty coins, however, that didn't stop people from entering the competition just to have the boasting right that they were strong men.

Remembering the pig's pie and his outfit, Emery decided to join.

To be continued