The flight to Xiltra which ought to be filled with excitement and magnificent landscapes covering the infinite horizon of the Origin Expanse, fueling his adventurous spirit turned out to be a complete disaster.
The scenery around Michael was still extravagant and magnificent as they flew through the air, but Michael's heart and mind couldn't feel the excitement anymore.
They reached the plains adjacent to the Untamed Jungle, and a vast expanse unraveled itself in front of Michael, yet the beauty of nature had suddenly lost its appeal for him.
Not even the towering walls of Xiltra attracted his attention.
The Border City was humongous, surrounded by a huge wall that had intricate enchantments engraved in every nook and cranny, and hundreds of Archers and Mages had been stationed on top.
It was only obvious, but besieging Xiltra wouldn't be easy. Even the most ordinary Guards were at the 1st Tier. Older Guards reached the 2nd Tier, and the Guard Captains were even stronger.
Icarus landed on the ground a kilometer away from Xiltra's arched gates that served as the entrance. Michael and Heran got down from Icarus' back and the three of them approached the city on foot.
Entering Xiltra was not further difficult. Michael was told to press his hand against a small semi-translucent orb, which he did without complaints.
Heran was the next to press his palm against the orb, and Icarus pushed his head against the Orb. Their data was fed into the Orb, and they were registered since they'd never been in Xiltra before.
Entering the city and being registered in the database of the Zentika Empire cost money, which they didn't have. They didn't have a single Zentik, the currency used in the empire, in their hands.
Fortunately, that was not a problem. Michael retrieved a Tier-1 Gemstone and handed it over to the guard, who accepted it readily.
It seemed like the guards didn't care that Michael didn't have any Zentik. He retrieved a few golden shimmering coins from his purse and put them inside the metal box used for depositing the city entrance fee. Meanwhile, the Tier-1 Gemstone was stored in his pockets.
The Guard sneaked a small fortune for himself to let them pass and was overjoyed.
"Can you tell me where the best merchants are located, and where to purchase fully-matured Bilrox?" Michael asked in the Origin language, smiling amiably as if he didn't see what the Guard had just done.
"Of course, my friend!" The Guard said in a friendly tone before pointing out a few places he had to visit to make sure that he wouldn't be exploited as a newcomer.
The Guard meant well after he became 'friends' with the stranger. It was quite intriguing.
Michael could tell that it was rare to see humans in Xiltra. He and Heran were eyed with more curiosity and vigilance than Icarus, who was a black-feathered Greater Eagle.
Icarus should be unique to the citizens of Xiltra and make heads turn, but nobody paid attention to him.
But that was something Michael could have anticipated.
'There are Lionhearts, Destors, Zantur, Jeglaw, and a few more races I've never seen before. Are there no Forest Elves? Looks like they're also a minority here.'
Michael's gaze roamed across the bustling main street of Xiltra. He quickly determined that there were no humans and that it was more common to see unique monster mounts than a Forest Elf, or human in here.
As a matter of fact, Michael didn't see a single Forest Elf as he paved his way through the bustling street.
He led Icarus to the mount stall after the Guard from the entrance had directed him to it. It will be much easier to travel through Xiltra while Icarus would wait in the mount stall.
After all, it was quite difficult for the Greater Eagle to fly around when there were countless Tier-2 Archers, Mages and Adventurers. If they felt like hunting down Icarus, Michael wouldn't even be able to do something against them.
Thus, Icarus was led to the mount stall, where they were told that they had to pay a fee when they returned to pick up the mount.
'To think that Icarus entered the stall so easily…maybe he got traumatized after we encountered the Thunder Pteranodon King and the mythical serpent,' Michael wondered, 'Is he too scared to fly around all by himself now?'
It was not as if they would stay in Xiltra for several days, but Icarus' behavior was still a little bit weird. For the prideful Greater Eagle to obediently enter the crammed mount stall was anything but normal.
Michael was a little worried about Icarus' mental health, and he told himself to spend some time with the mighty beast once they returned. He would talk to Icarus and make sure that they would overcome his trauma together.
Oddly enough, Michael wasn't terrified of the mythical serpent anymore. He had been afraid when the Thunder Pteranodon King appeared, and he had been at his wit's end when the mythic serpent burned down the King-level Pteranodon as if it was the easiest thing in the Origin Expanse, but he was fine now.
It was weird. Michael couldn't understand himself either. Why was he not terrified anymore? He should be afraid to return to the Untamed Jungle, and forget about the fact that he and Icarus would fly back since they wouldn't want to waste a day traveling by foot.
"Let's meet up with the Rainbow Koi Zantur Merchant first," Michael said out loud to change the topic, seeing that Heran was still shaken by their encounter.
Heran nodded his head faintly and they set off.
As they made their way through the bustling streets, Michael learned a lot about Xiltra, its infrastructure, and the living conditions of the various races living in the bordering city.
He spent the next hour distracting himself until they finally reached the Rainbow Koi Shop of the Zantur Merchant. It was a big shop with an even bigger ranch connected to it.
They entered the shop where they were welcomed with bright smiles.
Michael noticed the slight astonishment on the staff member's faces, but they were professional enough not to be affected by the arrival of new faces from unknown origin.
That was a bonus point in Michael's opinion, and he felt much more comfortable staying in the shop and supporting it by purchasing and selling goods.
"It's rare to see new faces in my humble establishment. How can I be of your service, esteemed Lord?" A young man of the Zantur race asked in an overly polite manner as he approached Michael and Heran.
The Zantur race was a calm and business-oriented race. They would rather shed ink on a piece of paper, and fight verbally than shedding blood and spreading death and misery.
Michael didn't know much about the Zantur race, but the young man was just like he had expected – with silver skin, human size, one eye, three-pointed ears, and a thick skull that protruded out of the back of his head.
"I have a few dozen Low Tier-1 corpses from the Untamed Jungle to sell. I also collected a big stash of blueprints for a while, and I think it's about time for me to sell them," Michael got straight to the point, "I hope the Rainbow Koi shop can give me a satisfying price for the goods I wish to sell."
The young Zantur Merchant responded near-instantaneously, moved his body to the side, and pointed at the backdoor.
"Please follow me, esteemed Lords. We will appraise the goods first and give you a satisfying price." He said while flashing Michael and Heran his business smile.
"My friend here wants to take a look at the fully-matured Bilrox. We want to purchase a few healthy ones," Michael added, to which the Zantur Merchant reacted by motioning his assistant to get moving.
The assistant led Heran outside to the ranch while Michael was tended to by the shop owner.
In the next ten minutes, Michael retrieved more than a hundred near-perfectly dissected Low Tier-1 corpses, 82 blueprints, and a few other things, which he had wanted to sell for quite a while now.
The merchant was slightly astonished at first, but he calmed down quickly. His business-oriented mind took charge, and he appraised all corpses and blueprints precisely and efficiently.
Once the merchant was done, he retrieved a notepad, scribbled a few things, and looked at Michael intently before he tilted his head to an uncomfortable degree.
At last, he nodded his head subtly. He made a final note and was about to hand Michael the estimated price when his assistant returned with Heran.
The assistant whispered something in the merchant's ear, and the merchant scratched something and wrote a new one again before clearing his throat.
"It seems like your comrade has good eyes. He picked the three female Bilrox of the highest quality," The merchant said with a tinge of respect in his voice as he looked at Heran.
Afterward, he returned his attention to Michael, whom he handed a note.
"After deducting the price for the three high-quality Bilrox females, you'll be left with 32,532 Zentik. This is the best I can offer!"
Michael was actually a little bit surprised. Initially, he was worried that the corpses and blueprints wouldn't be enough to purchase more than two Bilrox females. However, that couldn't be farther from the truth.
He was even left with 32,532 Zentik after deducting the price of three high-quality Bilrox females!!
Michael subconsciously turned his head to the nearest shelf to inspect the price for the displayed goods.
At first, everything seemed perfectly normal, but when his gaze landed on the price for Summoning Scrolls, blueprints and other drops of the Origin Expanse, he was not sure what to think about them.
'Did someone switch the price-tags, or am I just high on air?'
