'Master Aldred was right! This man is strong!'
As Yuri walked beside the masked one, known as Ralyks, she couldn't help but slightly tremble in his presence.
She intentionally made sure she was a few inches behind him, just so he didn't misconstrue her walking by his side as disrespectful.
As an escort and guard, being beside a client was the best position to take.
Still, she just didn't feel comfortable walking beside him.
'That [Black Hole] attack was devastating. I've never seen anything like it before!'
Yuri remembered how Aldred was also gawking at the sight, showing just how phenomenal it was.
'That single casual attack destroyed land that spread for over an acre. Just how much more power does he possess?'
Yuri could initially not understand why Ralyks snuck into the Warehouse when he could have just wiped his enemies if he was so strong.
She still didn't understand, but now… it didn't matter.
'Someone on that level… I can't possibly hope to understand how he thinks.'
He was more amazing than any man she had ever seen.
'… Even Master Aldred.'
********
'Why is she looking at me like that?'
Rey felt uncomfortable as he felt the intense gaze of the girl who was walking beside him.
He had noticed it when Yuri took a few steps back, and that made him even more anxious.
'Is she planning something? I thought I already showed her and Aldred that I am a force to be reckoned with. Did I not do enough?'
Rey's thoughts were in shambles, but he made sure to maintain his guard.
'Now that I'm only carrying these three, the drain on my Mana has reduced tremendously.'
His Mana Recovery Skill was even slowly increasing his Mana. Still, it hadn't reached the point where he could comfortably use his Skills.
'Stat-wise, I'm not sure who's stronger…'
He couldn't afford to use [Absolute Appraisal] since his Mana Level was so low.
'I guess, if push comes to shove, I'll just escape with Alicia. I should be able to do that much at least…'
As he thought of this, he remembered the System's instruction to save Esme, and he also remembered how important Billy was to the grand scheme of things.
'He's an asshole, but he's still an Otherworlder.'
Once Rey settled on these thoughts, he realized that he couldn't really afford to leave anyone behind.
As a result, he could only sigh and hope the worst didn't happen.
'This will soon be over anyway.'
*********
Aldred soon caught up to Rey and Yuri, confirming that the workers of the KariBlanc Group had already begun the transportation.
Once Rey asked about the means of payment, Aldred shrugged it off as unnecessary.
"It's still within the Capital anyway. There's no need for someone like you to bother with that."
Rey wondered if this was yet another way Aldred was using to make him feel indebted to the KariBlanc Group, but he didn't really care.
He wasn't one to say no to a freebie.
Besides, since he intended to let go of the Black Market lifestyle soon, he knew that the man's efforts were in vain.
The trio walked in silence until they reached the KariBlanc Group's main building.
Rey was greeted with the same respect as always, and they didn't waste any time before reaching the room that he was looking forward to.
—The VIP Section of the KariBlanc Store.
***********
"I'll have this. And this. This too."
Rey stood as he instructed the gentleman who was helping him pick whatever item he selected, placing them in his cart.
He had chosen ten items thus far, and he didn't plan on stopping.
'There's no need to hold back now…' Rey's thoughts trailed as he kept choosing.
'I probably won't have this chance again, so it's best to make the best of it now.'
He had a discount with the KariBlanc Group, and he had their goodwill as well.
'I also have thousands of platinum coins, so money isn't the problem.'
Now was the time—more than ever before—to get as many goods as he wanted.
'Considering the fact that I'll be kissing this life goodbye, I might as well enjoy the most of it.'
Of course, Rey knew he couldn't spend all his money here,
He didn't even think it was possible for him to do so. However, he also knew that holding on to his money without properly using it was stupid.
'I realized it when I fought Evals, and even before then…'
Having Enchanted Items was necessary for his growth.
'Right now, I'm very strong. But that's only because of my Skills.'
Skills heavily depended on Stats to function, and while his Stats weren't particularly low, they weren't on the high side either.
At least, according to Rey.
'Most of my Skills require Mana, but I'm too limited in that aspect to freely utilize them.'
Then, there were the Buff Skills, which added or multiplied the current Stats he had.
If he had higher Stats, Rey was sure the effects would stack.
'Even Skills like [Combat Application], [Super Strength], etc. can only do as much as my 'Combat Ability' Stat allows them to.'
In conclusion, he had to get Items to improve his ability.
'And that includes good weapons too…'
After seeing Noah's weapon, Trisha's blade, and heck… even Yuri's sword, he knew he had to get his own.
'Let's not talk about Adonis' Divine Sword…'
Rey knew he had the same Skill that could allow him to have the same weapon, but he also knew how careless it would be to use it.
'The Divine Sword can only be wielded by the Hero. If I use it, it might raise a lot of eyebrows…'
Rey wasn't even sure he could use it since he hadn't utilized the Skill before.
It was too powerful—hence, it drained too much Mana.
As he picked more items, Rey fell into another line of thought.
'I wonder how we were all able to use our Exclusive Skills so easily when we were first summoned.'
Everyone was in Level 1, and their Stats were pretty bad when they were first summoned. They shouldn't have been capable of utilizing their Skills—especially the stronger ones.
'And yet everyone did. How…?'
Rey's [Doppel] Skill didn't cost Mana to use, so he was safe. In fact, his was more like a Passive Skill.
But he knew that others actively required Mana—more Mana than they would have had back then—to use their Skills.
'Alicia summoned something back then, but when we were doing practical training, she said she doesn't have enough Mana to use her [Divine Beast Summon] Skill…'
It made no sense, so there clearly had to be a discrepancy somewhere.
'Does it have something to do with the fact that we were just coming from that Domain of God or something?'
Perhaps they were overflowing with Mana or something when they first arrived.
'Or did we have like a one-time free use on each of our Skills? Maybe that's it…'
Either way, Rey recognized that without such a convenient mechanism, he wouldn't have been able to get all of his classmates' Skills so easily.
'Well, that's all in the past.' Rey smiled as he pointed at yet another Enchanted Item he desired.
'It's about time I focused on the future.'
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