Bonus Event!
In the middle of the night, in Wynteria, the capital city of the Kingdom of Huntara.
The bustling merchants who crowded the streets during the day have now disappeared. They have all returned to their lodgings to rest and prepare for the next day.
However, despite this, the activities in Wynteria haven't quieted down. The daytime festival has vanished, replaced by the nighttime festival—a festival that many adults would thoroughly enjoy.
Bars and brothels throughout the city come to life, illuminating the streets with bright, colorful lights to entice customers from out of town.
Alcohol, music, gambling, and prostitution become irresistible attractions during the nighttime festival. Everyone indulges in the pleasures of the night.
On the other hand, the Viscount Amary family's entourage has returned from their meeting and transactions with a mysterious merchant named Cien Millard.
They have successfully retrieved their beloved daughter, Veronica. In addition, Shiwa Amary herself has acquired several other unique items from Cien.
Three Hellteak Spears, one Blackwood Dagger, one Bluminous, three Healing Potions, three Mana Potions, three Antidotes, a bottle of Inferno Bear blood, and three wooden dolls.
Shiwa purchased all of these items after listening to Cien's explanations. However, except Shiwa, everyone else remained skeptical of Cien's claims that many of these items were made from materials originating from Death Valley.
For them, including Nicolas himself, someone living in Death Valley was an absurd thing. And indeed, Nicolas wanted to stop Shiwa, afraid that his wife would be deceived by the mysterious merchant.
However, Shiwa ignored her husband's warning and immediately bought all the items she found interesting.
Now, at midnight, all the items she had purchased were neatly arranged on a large table in the backyard of Amary's residence.
Surrounding the table were members of the Amary family, some knight guards, and several craftsmen affiliated with Shiwa's company.
They had just finished testing the basic abilities of each item. The results left everyone there astonished and speechless, as the quality of the tested items surpassed the average goods available on the market.
This included the Healing Potion, whose effectiveness was three times higher than the ones commonly sold in alchemy shops.
"Who is this merchant, really? Although the quality of these items is not at the highest level, they should have already gained him enough reputation. Especially these weapons... The materials he uses are truly mysterious. If they do come from Death Valley, it means he is not an ordinary person. And... we are learning that there are many things we have yet to discover in Kastia."
Said an old craftsman observing the Bluminous spear in his hand. The spear felt simple to him, but his eyes couldn't perceive the material used by Cien, igniting a great curiosity within him.
"May I dissect this spear?" the craftsman asked, wanting to examine Bluminous in more detail in his own workshop. His question was met with simultaneous responses from Nicolas and Shiwa.
""No.""
"..."
Nevertheless, the craftsman refused to let go of the spear, prompting Nicolas to compel his soldiers to retrieve Bluminous.
"In all the things we've bought, the Bluminous is the most valuable, it's worth can even be said to be more precious than the Fire Glove," Nicolas said as he took back Bluminous. His eyes gleamed as he looked at the pale blue spear in his hand.
"The Fire Glove is highly valuable for those in the lower ranks. However, for those in the high ranks, like Rank 7 and above, that magic weapon doesn't hold much value. Their own powers are already sufficient without using the Fire Glove. But, it's different with this spear..." Shiwa added, taking Bluminous from her husband's hand and playing with it while channeling mana into the spear.
"In the eyes of those in higher rank, the presence of this spear will make them stronger. This spear's abilities will become more prominent as the user's power increases."
The tip of the spear's blade instantly turned bright blue as Shiwa gently stabbed a large stone decorating the backyard.
With the combined power from herself and Bluminous, the gentle thrust pierced through the stone, which was ten times the size of a soccer ball.
Not only that, after Shiwa withdrew her spear, the pierced area began to melt slowly due to the bright blue liquid. The poison from Bluminous was extremely dangerous, and the strength of the poison would be even more lethal if the user was stronger than Shiwa.
"Bluminous is a dangerous and valuable weapon. We don't know when we'll meet Mr. Millard again. Therefore, it's too risky to research this spear for now. We don't want to lose this," Shiwa added, grinning at the disappointed old craftsman.
"Now the question is, who will become the owner of this spear?" Nicolas asked.
Shiwa shrugged her shoulders, but her smile grew wider.
"There will be a civil war soon. Perhaps this will be the debut for the Bluminous and the Fire Glove. We must choose the right person to wield this spear in the upcoming war. With the power of this spear, maybe we will gain great merits for the Kingdom."
Nicolas nodded in agreement.
***
Morning, Wynteria.
The Polaris Festival activities were bustling once again with merchants and visitors. The streets were filled with laughter and smiles.
Among the smiling visitors, there was a man with white hair wearing all-black attire, carrying a large wooden box resembling a coffin. He stood out in the crowd.
The man's identity was shrouded in mystery, but many were constantly shadowing his every move. They were individuals seeking to profit from the magical items he possessed, such as the pair of Fire Gloves he wore on his hands.
They were unable to make a move at the moment, but once the man stepped beyond the city walls, he would become fresh prey for the hunters lurking in the shadows.
The man, Cien, though weak and unable to sense the presence of the spies nearby, was not a fool. Yesterday's events served as a warning of what could happen in the near future. An event where his life could be gone if he wasn't careful.
"Sigh~"
Cien let out a soft sigh. He still had a few days before he would be forcibly teleported back to the shop by his phone. However, considering the current situation, it was unlikely for him to stay in Wynteria any longer.
Furthermore, the fact that Amary's family purchased a large number of items from him indicated that his mission was now complete.
Now, before Cien returned home, he would go to some leather craftsmen to pick up his order.
Not only that, but Cien also shopped for some necessities that he needed in Death Valley, such as clothes, food, books, and so on.
In addition, Cien also bought some vegetable and fruit seeds to be planted around his shop. He wanted to get rid of eating wild plants. He is already sick of it!
Cien completed all of his shopping until the sun began to descend from its peak.
After finishing all of that, he bought lunch and dinner from one of the stalls on the roadside. Cien then walked to a deserted alley that he thought was rarely passed by people.
Along the way, he carefully observed his surroundings, making sure that he was alone and that there was no one near him before finally opening his phone and pressing the 'Home' button in the Event column.
Seconds later, Cien disappeared from Wynteria, leaving his pursuers confused after not seeing the white-haired man come out of the alley for an hour.
After one of them checked, they were surprised to find that the target had disappeared without a trace.
Meanwhile, Cien, who was unaware that he was being followed, suddenly appeared somewhere inside of the Death Valley.
Upon looking around, Cien found himself in an unfamiliar place. Although Cien knew he was in Death Valley, the trees around him were trees he had never seen before. Or maybe they weren't trees, but rather giant mushrooms as tall as banyan trees.
Yup, Cien arrived in the middle of a mushroom forest, which he had never known existed. Cien could only stare blankly at his surroundings.
"Which part of Death Valley is this? I hope it's still in the outer area," Cien muttered as he looked at his phone.
Above the screen of the Kirana Shop app, there was a compass symbol with another arrow indicating the location of the store. If Cien followed the direction of that arrow, he would return to his store.
"The question is, how far?"
Cien looked around again and then glanced back at his phone. There, he received a new notification from his gaming app.
Ding!
__________
Bonus Event!
Save Princess Sravati and make them your store's customers!
Reward: ???
__________
"..."
Cien was speechless after looking at the new mission on his phone.
"Who the heck is Princess Sravati?! Where can I find her?!"
Just one second after Cien complained, the sound of a woman screaming could be heard from afar.
"KYAAAA!!!"
"...Ah, there she is…"