Old Man Adam-1

Oh, thank god… Arun fell to his knees, a tear falling down his eyes. He was so happy to see the road before him.

All the cities on the floor doesn't matter whether small or big, are connected via a long road made up of stone embedded in the ground. Locals call this path as People's Road. He was happy to see the road because he had not slept or even winked for the past two days. The last night's debacle had left him tired out of his mind. He really needed some sleep. Which is why he decided to return back to civilization to rest. And in the process, he had to find this road. And after spending more than 10 hours of his life, the road was finally before him. 

According to his map, he was close to the periphery of the quadrant ruled by one Damien Grond. He is a warrior and the strongest City Lord among all. He was still heading towards Lando as he had originally planned. 

A part of him wanted to go to Sapos, it was also closer to him than Lando. But he feared that someone might recognize him or he might get in some sort of trouble. That is why he was so adamant that he needed to go to Lando, a place where no one would recognize him. From what he had learned from Calux, this road was often used by the merchants coming and out of the quadrant. He figured that he might just ask one of them to give him a lift. As he had some money, he felt that there would be no merchant that would say no to free coins.

So he sat down near a tree and started patiently waiting for someone to pass by.

While sitting, he glanced at the small feminine-looking pouch, that had been hanging from his belt. This was the reward that he got after killing the Shaman.

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Name- Spatial Pouch

Rank- Rare

Description- A pouch embed by Runes, making it so that the inner space of the pouch is 5 cubic meters of space. It could store any non-living thing.

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It was one the best thing that Arun could get his hands on. Although it was not as convenient to have the space in the inventory, it was still far better than what he had now. With the help of the pouch he was able to take more of those poison pots with him, and no he had an arsenal at his command. And the best part is, no one would suspect that he had so much stuff, considering that it looks like a normal pouch from the outside.

There were two more things, that he got from yesterday's ordeal. They were not as useful as the pouch, but he figured that they must have their own value. The first thing that he got was an Erymanthian Armor Set. It looked like a normal brown armor set, but when he tried putting it on, he got an error message. The message said that He was too under-leveled to equip the item.

Arun was surprised to read the message. And as he was not able to find out when he could really put on the armor set, that whole set became a useless item for him. For now. But he was confident that he would be able to wear it in the future.

The second useless item that he got was the staff of the Shaman.

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Name- A Magic Staff

Rank- Rare

Description- A magic staff used by a Shaman Goblin. It could help in easing up the load of casting magic, as it is a great catalyst.

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When he killed the Shaman, the staff was as tall as the Shaman itself. But after its body disintegrated, the staff shrank and became as small as his arm's length. It was a wooden staff with a blue stone on the other end. And he didnt know what he was supposed to do with it. But last night, while wandering in the forest, he took out the staff and started experimenting with it. And found some crazy things.

First and foremost, the description was absolutely right. This staff did help in the casting magic. 

With the use of the axe, Arun has grown accustomed to pumping and sensing mana through his body. Which is why he knew, how difficult it was to make mana move from part of his body to another, without a catalyst like the axe.

But when he gripped the staff in his hands and then tried moving the mana, he felt that the whole process became pretty simple. And he could only imagine what it would be like to cast magic with the help of the staff.

The second thing that left him amazed was the useless skill that he had, the water binding. He knew that to make the water stick to a place, he needed some sort of catalyst, a Runic Plate to be exact. But as this staff itself was a catalyst, he felt that he could take the skill to another level. And it was indeed true. Previously to maintain the shape and size of the water bubble, he needed to remain in constant contact with the water bubble. But with the help of the staff, he was able to maintain the water bubble around the 10m radius all around him.

He was able to move the bubble freely in the air and was able to stick it on objects as well. Granted he needed to constantly give some mana to the staff to maintain that bubble. But it was fascinating.

I should probably look for some skills that utilize the staff. I have one, might as well use it. He thought.

It was then Arun started hearing the distinct clattering of wheels of a cart. He instantly jumped on his feet and stood by the road, looking at the approaching cart.

Wait… I am covered with all sorts of dirt and grime. These guys will stop for me… right?

He looked like a bum. And it was Earth, no one would have stopped for him. But it was his lucky day.

He saw that an old man old man was driving the cart. That man wore lengthy brown drapes around him, had a long white beard, and a ponytail behind his back. 

The old man looked wary of him, which is why he came to a stop a few feet away from him.

"STATE YOUR BUSINESS!" the old man yelled.

He realized that the old man was probably wary of him, "I am looking for a way to Lando!"

"Then keep looking and leave!" the old man yelled back.

"I have coins. I can give you coins if you help me,"

"How much?" The old man asked with a sly smile on his face.

"How much would you like?" The sentence only widened the smile of the old man…

This man… he is very dangerous it seems. Arun thought.

It had been around an hour since he had started his journey with the old man. And he didnt notice it before, as he was very tired, but now that he had rested and had given up 30 coins to the old man, he had started seeing the signs.

For starters, the old man was very fit. Although the baggy clothes on his torso hid his physique, with the combination of sweat and wind he noticed that the old man was very healthy. Although he had a slightly lean body, from the dark grey beard and wrinkles, there was no way that an ordinary old man could possess that type of physique.

The last two peculiar things that he noticed were the lack of Adventurers accompanying the old man and the clean cart that he was riding on. Firstly owning a cart is a very big thing in the world, due to scarcity of horses. A clean cart meant that someone regularly cleans this crap, based on the lack of scratches on the wooden floor of the cart, he assumed that this cart was not likely to send goods here and there. The lack of adventurers when going to the other city meant that the old man was confident about his strength, or he was just another fool.

Which begged the question, who was this old man? And most importantly, whether he was a friend or a foe?