Chapter 19: Concluded Matters

Zaos breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the familiar stone walls. Although they lacked the grandeur of Grandum City's walls, they still brought him a sense of ease.

Approaching the large metal gates, he found two guards stationed there.

These guards were different from the ones he had encountered on his first and subsequent second visit. The one on the right was an earth-elven male with wavy, short brown hair and dark brown eyes. He wore cheap-looking leather armor with a giant broadsword strapped to his back.

"Show an identification pass or pay the entry fee," his companion said before he had the chance to do so.

The guard on the left was a muscular female earth elf with long brown hair tied into a ponytail. She also wore leather armor like her companion, but her weapon of choice was a large warhammer.

Zaos acknowledged with a nod before reaching into his tattered sack and retrieving his identification pass.

After verifying his pass, the guards pushed open the metal gates and allowed Zaos entry into the settlement.

Gazing at the cramped streets, Zaos' enthusiasm to return here greatly diminished.

[Traversing these streets is a pain.] Zaos muttered with a mild look of annoyance.

The streets of the Mercenary City were narrow and disoriented, making him feel like he was trying to navigate through a maze.

With a soft sigh, Zaos began heading toward Ronik's home. On the way, he passed by many other elves bustling about the settlement.

He eventually arrived at Ronik's Tudor-style single-floor house. He went to the front door and pushed it open.

[Heh, this old man never locks his door!] Zaos lamented inwardly. It was currently morning and the fifth day since Zaos had departed for the forsaken woods. Ronik had most likely left for his shop.

Zaos strolled inside, locked the door behind him, and went to his bedroom. He took off his battered leather outfit, leaving only his underwear on.

[This outfit will cost me a lot to mend.] He lamented. During his time in the forsaken woods, Zaos' run-ins with different savage beasts had worn down the durability of the leather attire. His last encounter in Grandum City also contributed to this.

Zaos sighed and tossed the attire aside. He walked to the small bathroom in the house and freshened up.

Afterward, he returned to his room and donned a simple gray shirt with loose black trousers before lying down to rest.

A few hours later, Zaos awoke to the sound of movement in his room. He tensed but didn't make any extravagant movements, slowly opening his eyes as he observed the room silently.

With his sharp vision, Zaos quickly identified the individual in his room; it was none other than Ronik. Ronik seemed to have just entered the room, as he was still standing by the open door.

Ronik observed the 'sleeping' Zaos for a bit before shaking his head and exiting the room.

[Did he come to check up on me?] Zaos guessed, not moving from his sleeping position and remaining on his bed. Although it was probably nighttime since Ronik had returned, he didn't dare train in his presence, especially now that his elemental weaves had become increasingly distant from those of a dark elf.

[The Void Edict Rune's first stage elemental property is Absence, which sounds similar to the first stage elemental property of the Darkness Edict Rune, Concealment. However, the effects are different... ] Since he could not train and was no longer tired, Zaos decided to ponder on some matters.

[The effects of the absence property are to negate, to deny, while concealment properly should be the power of obscuring... ] Zaos mused. During his time in the library, he acquired some relevant information on the topic of elemental properties.

Elemental properties, in essence, are the inherent qualities of an element. The elemental properties unlocked before each stage of the Edict Rune have to be comprehended through theoretical knowledge and practical experience to enable the advancement of their Edict Runes.

(Using Zaos as an example, as he is a stage 0, he needed more than just a theoretical understanding of absence to advance his Edict Rune to the next stage.)

The sequence of properties unlocked in each stage is fixed, but the ways to comprehend them are different.

[I wonder what my second stage elemental property will be… ] Zaos pondered the topic for a while.

[My knowledge of the void element is insufficient…] Zaos lamented. Information about the void element didn't exist in the records Zaos had found; he might have been the only one who knew of its existence.

[My situation is both advantageous and disadvantageous…] The fact that information on the void element was lacking provided an advantage, as his elemental weaves could catch opponents off guard due to their ignorance of his abilities. However, it was also a disadvantage because Zaos couldn't reference any existing information for comprehension. He could only forge a path for himself through trial and error.

[Wait! My void element isn't part of the six mainstream elements on Krulon. Could that mean there are other undiscovered elements as well?] Zaos considered the possibility.

[And are there others like me?] Zaos pondered the question for a while before dismissing it.

[Even if there are, I'll eliminate them if they dare to obstruct my path!] Zaos' eyes flashed with ruthlessness. He held no attachments to his home world, so the existence of potential strangers from that world didn't matter to him.

He continued pondering random matters for a while before eventually drifting into sleep.

The following day, Zaos woke up early and followed his usual morning, before heading to the kitchen.

He intended to grab some breakfast before Ronik woke up.

Zaos opened the cabinet and took out a can of bread and a waterskin filled with juice.

He sat on one of the wooden chairs in the living room and began devouring his breakfast.

[This is nice… ] he thought as he bit into the brown bread. The bread was not made from wheat; instead, it was made from a plant known as timlik. This plant on Krulon shared similarities with wheat, the only difference being that it could grow without sunlight.

The juice was produced from a fruit named beryi, which was the equivalent of grapes in his former world.

Immediately after he finished his meal, Zaos heard the sound of Ronik's room door opening.

[He has awoken?] Zaos guessed as he tidied up the empty containers.

Before long, Ronik arrived in the living room where Zaos was seated.

"You're back." Ronik acknowledged with a faint smile.

Zaos quickly stood up and addressed the old elf, "Thank you for agreeing to my request sir Ronik." He said with his head slightly bowed. Although these were not his true feelings, Zaos knew when to yield to get desired results.

Ronik waved his hand, "It's alright," then his tone became more serious, "What were the results of your investigation."

"Nothing. I couldn't find Vundin or any clues relating to his whereabouts… " Zaos' face darkened as he spoke, he made sure to control his expressions to make his lies believable.

[It's not like I can tell him I killed a high-elf or almost killed the culprit of the attack who for some reason, morphed into a demon.] Zaos scoffed lightly to himself.

After listening to Zaos' fake accounts, Ronik nodded and said, "It's understandable, lord investigator recently discovered Vundin's corpse."

"What!" Zaos feigned shock.

Ronik continued with a grim expression, "he had been killed and buried a long time ago, the lord investigator could not determine the killer since some time had passed since Vundin's death. The lord was then recalled by the headquarters and the case was dropped."

"So, Vundin is dead?" Zaos' expression betrayed a mix of happiness, sadness, and exhaustion. He slumped back into his wooden chair, his face wearing a blank look.

[I guess that's the end of that then.] Zaos sighed inwardly.

Seeing his expression, Ronik remained silent. After a while, he spoke to Zaos.

"I'll give you some time to process everything. When you're done, tell me what you want to do." With those words, Ronik left the house.

After a few minutes, Zaos got up and went to his room.

[The matter with Vundin is more or less solved. For now, the most important thing is to train, but I will need funds if I want to move out of Ronik's house…

[I suppose I can only stay here until I gather enough funds.]

As Zaos entered his room, he wasted no time and began his training.