The group had entered the city of Repton and were walking through one of the many streets that were filled with hanging red lanterns and glowing lights. The sound of laughter and chatter filled the air.
However, there was a certain group of people that stood out among all of those there. The usual three were huddled close together: Safa, Simyon, and Liam, while Raze and Dame were walking in front of them not too far ahead.
"Look at them," Liam whispered. "We're surrounded by those from the Demonic Faction, those that absorb the energy from others. I hear that they even eat humans." n/(In
"Well, no one would want to eat you anyway, so you're safe," Simyon replied back, but he was whispering as well. It was clear that he was a little scared of the people around them as well.
"Can you guys relax a bit? You're making us stand out," Dame replied. "The people here are just like those from any other faction. There are those that don't belong to any clan, yet the Pagna warriors live side by side with them just fine."
"I'm sure you will see that we are not as bloodthirsty as people say."
The thing was, out of all those present, the one that was actually catching the most attention was Dame himself. As soon as other warriors saw him, they started to whisper.
He had gained quite the reputation after taking down Beatrix in the last fight. Judging from their words and what they could hear, no one knew that he had been missing. As for the words they were saying, they were quite uplifting.
"It's Dame from the Neverfall Clan. Everyone is saying that he's changed ever since the battle with Beatrix."
"Ah, yes, I heard that too. He no longer visits the brothels. Is that why we haven't seen him in the city for a while now? Perhaps he has been secretly training so he can be called on his next assignment."
"Wait, do you think that's why he's returned? Perhaps it's due to the recent troubles."
Hearing the last line had caused Dame to react slightly. Raze could see the gesture in his hands.
Eventually, the group had entered an inn, and thankfully, it wasn't one where Raze had caused trouble last time. With his hooded figure, he shouldn't attract any attention anyway.
After paying for the room for them, the group sat down at a nearby table. Dame didn't order any drinks for himself but had ordered for the others.
"I won't be staying long with the rest of you," Dame explained. "As you said, we need to get to work, and the academy is only closed for a short amount of time. I will be meeting with Fixteen, as he will be the one spearheading our collaboration and sorting things out with our buyers while we are away.
"I want to set up a more permanent point of contact with him," Dame explained. "I assume that you will be buying products and looking for items?"
Raze nodded.
"I plan to make a few items for myself but also wish to create a few new products that maybe some others will be happy with." Raze answered. With the level 2 power stones, he could create items with an even greater healing effect and buff.
He also had the ice attribute now that he could use to create a new special type of pill. As well.
"If you're looking for items like you did last time, then the better ones will be at the auction house. You can also sell a couple of the level 2 power stones there and buy items in bulk. At the moment, we have no base to store items and produce something that we will need to solve eventually.
"Let's just make a batch of products and see how much profit we can make. After that, we can focus on setting up more of a permanent base. If you head to the auction house, ask for a man named Andy. He has a few scars on top of his head, so he will be pretty easy to spot."
Raze nodded and didn't say much. He could tell by Dame's fidgeting demeanor even when talking that Dame was in a rush to get out of there, so he left, but he had a few words to say to the rest of the group.
"Have a good time, enjoy whatever you wish in this place, just try not to get into trouble, at least don't cause such a big mess. My name can only help you guys out so much, and I'm not sure how useful my name is right now."
With that, Dame had left all four of them on their own in one of the largest cities that belonged to the Demonic Faction.
"So what are we going to do, just stay at the inn during these five days, lay low, and then head back to the academy?" Simyon asked.
"That sounds kind of boring?" Liam replied. "Didn't you hear what he said? Everyone here is normal, and no one even knows that we're from the Dark Faction, so we can just take this as a little trip to a city. I've never even been to a city this big."
Raze soon stood up from his seat. Even though it was nighttime, he had been to Repton before, and it was truly a city that never slept, so he was sure that he could still get to work straight away.
"Are you heading to the auction house right now?" Simyon asked.
Raze nodded.
"It's best if I go alone. I'll be buying and selling quite a few things. There might be those that catch on to who I am, and if they see you who aren't disguised around with me, then they could target you as well.
"I brought you here just so that you would be safe, but you do not need to get involved with my doings."
With those words said, Raze was now the second one to leave the others on their own, and they saw him head out the door without even looking back.
"Man!" Liam said out loud. "I thought that I was the only one he treated like crap, but it looks like he doesn't think much of you guys either. He just left you like that. I thought you were his close friends and sister? But he still wants to act all solo like that."
"We know," Simyon said. "I guess we just have to become more useful to him."
In the end, the students' curiosity got the better of them, and they decided to walk around and explore the city. The more they saw, the more at ease they were. No longer were they heading around so stiffly.
As they walked through, their bellies were growling with hunger, and they soon realized that there was a large problem.
"Hey... do you have any money at all?" Liam asked.
Both Safa and Simyon shook their heads. They were in a city with so many things to do and try, but none of them had any money at all.
"Everyone gather around, gather around!" A voice shouted at the crossing point of the many streets.
The crossings were more open compared to the other areas, as people had to walk through and past. In the center, sometimes there were stalls set up to catch people's eyes, or even demonstrations. They had seen a few performances of singing, as well as plays, and this time there seemed to be another show going on.
The three of them had been stopping by, watching the shows here and there, so they went ahead to watch the next one. At least it would distract them from the hunger they were feeling.
"We are the special students from the Demonic Faction's Pagna Academy, and today we have a challenge for you all!"
There were a group of five male students in total. All of them dressed in dark red clothing with the same shade of it a slightly darker red. They looked around the same age as Simyon and the others as well.
"Right here with us today, we have our hope, our star student Mantis! Also known as the Black Tiger, the one who is said to be even stronger than the White Dragon of the Dark Faction!"
"White Dragon of the Dark Faction?" Liam replied. "Who has a nickname like that?"
The students were unaware of the name that had been spreading through the lands after the event, and were unaware of what they were about to get involved in as well.
