34.

Holding Aria's hand, Eldric slowly walked towards his shop. During the entire journey, the three of them were silent.

Eldric didn't know what to say or how to start a conversation, while Aria had a face full of hesitation while looking at her hand which was held by Eldric. Sometimes she would frown while sometimes she would just sigh in helplessness. There were even times when she just wanted to break free, but in the end, she didn't do it.

The old man on the other hand was looking around him with a blank face, as if unaware of the scene playing out in front of him.

After taking the three Potions Of Agility, Eldric wanted to test his speed in the morning. But with the presence of the old man and Aria, he could only hold back this curious thought of his.

Compared to the other days it took him a while to reach his shop. Looking at how every other shop was open for business except his, he hurriedly walked towards his shop and after opening it, arranged the materials for a bit before speaking in a low voice.

"I will get some breakfast for us. Just don't roam anywhere please."

Leaving behind these words, he walked off into the distance in a hurry. The sooner he gets them their breakfast, the sooner he will be able to plan better for his next course of action.

Aria narrowed her eyes as she watched Eldric's departing back. The moment he vanished from her sight, her expression transformed from that of an innocent girl to one of icy coldness.

"What do you think?" Her voice was a bit hoarse adding charm to her expressionless face.

"I don't think he is hasty or impatient like you painted him to be. He seems pretty normal to me."

The old man replied nonchalantly while looking around the shop.

"Really? Is that all you have to say?" Aria's voice was still cold while her eyes were looking in the direction Eldric left.

"Honestly...?

He is pretty mediocre." It was only now that the old man began to speak out his true thoughts.

"When I introduced myself, he didn't ask for my identity, didn't doubt me, and just invited me inside.

What do you think would have happened if it were someone else? Like someone with evil thoughts. "

It was pretty clear from his voice that he was dissatisfied with the performance Eldric had shown.

"When you told me about him, I thought he would be someone special, someone with a lot of potential. After all, he is your brother."

"Husband."

Interrupting the old man in the middle of his sentence, Aria spoke coldly.

"Pardon?" The old man narrowed his eyes while looking at the woman in front of him in disbelief "What did you just say?"

"I said he is my husband, not my brother."

There was no change in Aria's emotions as she spoke these words. It was as if this was something insignificant.

"....." The old man opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He just kept on looking at Aria with an open mouth and wide eyes which were filled with disbelief.

"Don't fret over these details. I asked you a question." Completely ignoring his reaction, Aria narrowed her eyes.

"I...." It took a moment for the old man to get back his composure. After all, the news of her marrying someone was unexpected. It was like dropping a bomb in a calm lake. It was bound to cause a storm.

But this was not the priority now. Even though he had countless questions, he still took a deep breath and answered her question truthfully.

"Like I said, he is below average in everything.

I read his file...

He awakened the profession of a brawler, failed to complete the trial, failed to get admission into any university. And ended up doing a job that his parents arranged for him.

Even during his time at school, he wasn't someone special. He didn't have any friends or lovers and usually kept quiet.

The only redeeming thing about him is that he never got into any trouble. Even this quality of his is nothing to be proud of. Avoiding any trouble coupled with other things makes him a person who doesn't seem to have any goal or aim in life and whose only purpose is to eat and die... Like the countless others."

Even though he knew the boy was the husband of the woman in front of him, he still used harsh words while describing him.

"Even the trial...

He completed it just a few days ago." Shaking his head with disappointment, he finally went silent. But the meaning behind his words couldn't have been more obvious.

"Do you think you can teach him?" It was now that Aria's voice softened for the first time.

The old man didn't reply but went silent for a long time. It wasn't until they saw the figure of Eldric returning with breakfast that he spoke with some hesitation.

"I can give it a try, but you should know that people like him without any talents are not worth it."

"Hmm..." Aria didn't need the old man to teach her this, she knew it better than anyone else.

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Reaching back to the shop, Eldric took out a few dishes and after everyone had their fill, began to think about his next course of action. He still had two hundred tokens remaining. He wasn't sure whether he should spend them to increase his attributes or just evolve one of his skills.

It was at this time that the old man sat beside him. Now that he had promised Aria, he was thinking about how he could guide the young boy.

"You seemed lost."

It was the voice of the old man that brought Eldric back from his train of thought.

Looking at the old man sitting beside him and Aria who was looking everywhere curiously in the distance, he shook his head. "Just a small thing."

"Oh! Perhaps I can give you some guidance."

Eldric looked at the old man and let out a sigh.

"I don't think so.

Sometimes, you just have to figure it out all by yourself."

What a joke. What was he going to ask the old man? ' I have two hundred tokens and can buy potions that can increase my attributes directly. Oh! And I can also evolve my skills.

Should I buy those options or should I evolve my skills?'

If he dared to ask this question then was sure that his peaceful life would end. He wasn't such a fool to expose himself. So the only thing he could do at the moment was to just ignore the old man. This person might be more knowledgeable than him and might know a lot of things that could help him. But this was neither the time nor the place for it.

Stunned, the old man just looked at Eldric. Others would kill to get some pointers from him, but the boy in front of him wasn't interested in the slightest.

"A pity... A pity..." Every once in a while people get a chance to turn their life around, to become something more than what they already are. It was upon them whether they grab this opportunity or not.

Unfortunately, the boy in front of him was one of the people who would spit at the opportunity.

He didn't say any other words but looked at Aria with a face filled with helplessness. If the boy himself didn't want any help, there was nothing he could do.

Aria who was looking around, pretending to not hear the conversation clenched her fists as her eyes narrowed into slits. She didn't speak but her expression got even more colder than before.

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The day passed in the blink of an eye as there was no customer today either.

As the three of them headed back home in the slight darkness, they were surrounded by an uncomfortable silence. While Eldric was still wondering what he should buy, both Aria and the old man were looking at his back in silence.

After reaching home, Eldric prepared a simple dinner and after eating it, he escorted the old man into the guest room before walking inside his own room.

This time Eldric didn't rush to the zone but thought for a while before making up his decision. He decided to increase the remaining two Attributes of his to five before evolving his skill further. After all, the more attributes, the stronger he would be.

It would be a joke if he evolved his skills further and further but died before he could even use them. Only by increasing his attributes can his skills play a major role... or so he thought.

Opening the Nightmare Shop, he looked at the Potions. Other than the Potion Of Agility which has now turned grey, he could buy everything else.

Soon, he spent the last two hundred tokens to buy two Potions Of Strength.

Gulping them down, Eldric felt the same old comfortable warm feeling for a long time. And the moment this feeling disappeared, he looked at the panel in front of him with a smile on his face.

[Name: Eldric Stormborne]

[Profession: Brawler(Tier I)]

[Vitality: 2]

[Strength: 4]

[Agility: 5]

[Skills: Thunderous Barrage, Surging Leap]+

[Tokens: 0]

Looking at the massive changes on the panel, Eldric nodded in satisfaction. Who would believe that a boy who was stuck in trials just a few days ago was now going to go through his second evolution? It was something that defied common sense in this world. If words got out, then Eldric would be dissected for experiments.

Feeling a surge of power countless times stronger than before, Eldric clenched his fists, put on the white mask, and headed to the zone.

Standing in front of the mission hall he looked at the numerous missions. Even though he had increased his strength, he wasn't arrogant enough to challenge the most expensive map of Frozen Tundra.

That monstrosity there would pat him dead if he dared to go there.

Looking at the missions, he finally chose the mission of gathering Green Bull Horns. It doesn't need that much time and he can exchange many tokens.

Making up his mind, Eldric accepted the familiar mission and teleported to its location.

[Deposit 10 Green Bull Horns: 10 Tokens]

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"HOLY..." Looking at more than forty people who were standing outside the portal talking to each other, Eldric was surprised.

Last time there were only around ten people, but this time, the number has more than tripled.

"We need a priest."

"Any mage here?"

"Guys, any warrior interested in joining our party?"

The entire place seemed like the marketplace where Eldric works. Everyone was shouting at the top of their lungs about how they needed teammates.

Eldric could also see a few people arriving after him through teleportation.

"Damn, it... The domain just refreshed and there are already so many people here." One of the men who came through teleportation couldn't help but curse out.

"Hello... What do you mean by domain being refreshed." While the man was cursing, he saw a figure wearing a white mask arriving near him and asking the question in a rather young voice.

The man looked at Eldric for some time and suddenly let out a sneer. "Go to the university to learn about it you moron."

"....." Speechless at this reply, Eldric just shrugged and walked towards the portal, entering the domain.

"Another one who doesn't have basic knowledge but wants to go solo." Looking at Eldric entering the domain all by himself, the man sneered before looking around, hoping to find a team for himself.

Inside the domain, Eldric noticed the changes and finally understood the meaning of the words that the man just said. Compared to the previous time, the entire place seemed to be filled with those Green Bulls. As far as his eyes could see, there were numerous groups of Bulls grazing throughout the grassland.

"This... This..." Instead of surprise, Eldric was filled with excitement. For others, this might be a difficult task, but for him, this was his way of making a fortune...