Shang slowly opened his eyes.
Everything was silent.
However, in comparison to last night, the silence wasn't oppressive.
It was just that, silence.
Shang's head wasn't hurting anymore.
His mind wasn't under pressure anymore.
While he had dreaded the silence during the last night, he enjoyed it now.
It was just calm.
For a while, Shang only lay on his bed, looking at the ceiling. He could see some orange light coming from the two slits in the wall. It was either morning or evening.
Shang didn't stand up immediately.
He only remained lying on his bed, enjoying the calm and silence.
Last night went through his memory again, and he remembered how he had felt.
'Last night was difficult.'
'But everything actually isn't as bad as it seems.'
'I'm making quick progress with my power, and I reached a major milestone just recently. I can upgrade my sword now.'
Shang looked at the sword lying beside him and remembered that the sword had wanted to be close to him.
Shang touched it lightly, but it didn't react.
'It's still difficult to believe that there are such things as living weapons. Guess I'm still too used to Earth.'
Shang looked at the ceiling again.
'I'm still on edge when thinking about that day,' Shang thought with furrowed brows. 'However, things aren't as bad. I don't need to achieve cold-heartedness in an instant. I still have a long way to go.'
'Yes, that event has taken a lot out of me, but I'm sure that I can recover. I'm also sure that I can get used to it.'
'After all, many teachers probably went through something similar, and they still managed to reach the Commander Stage. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, that isn't very powerful, but they also live in a weak world.'
'I know that there are at least eight Realms in this world, and I only know of five, but this area is still a small microcosm of power. In this microcosm, the teachers are already pretty powerful.'
'So, if they managed to get through something like this, I can too.'
'I only need time and effort, and I have a lot of both.'
The same issues that had plagued Shang's mind yesterday now only looked like minor problems.
Why?
Because he had slept.
That was it.
If a situation felt inescapable and oppressive, a good night's sleep could work wonders.
How often has it happened that a couple had a gigantic falling out that felt like the end of the world, but as soon as they had both slept, it just didn't seem to be such a big deal anymore?
People often forgot what sleep could do for someone's mind.
For a while, Shang only lay on the bed.
He enjoyed the silence of his own mind.
Yesterday, his mind had thrown one thing after the other at him. It was like it had been overloaded with everything that had happened.
Now, it was like his mind had processed everything.
Shang continued thinking about his life for about an hour until he felt bored.
He wanted to do something.
Shang stood up from his bed and looked at the light coming from the two slits.
It was yellowish-white.
'Dawn it was,' Shang thought.
'I don't think that I've only slept for like eight hours. My mind was too full. I guess I probably slept for a bit more than an entire day.'
Shang glanced over at his beast sack.
'Which means that the Pest Cat ears and the Life Scarab are still good to trade in.'
Shang touched his chin and felt the growing hair.
'I should shave.'
Shang grabbed the skinning knife he bought when he had just arrived and shaved.
This time, there was no blood.
At the moment, Shang felt great.
He could finally train against other students appropriately.
However, Shang also wasn't blind to his future.
He knew that the longer he stayed, the worse it would get.
In one to two weeks, his mind would probably become taut again, and the situation would feel oppressive again.
He definitely didn't look forward to the next time he went to sleep.
During the day, most people felt like everything was normal and good, but as soon as night hit, their hidden injuries would surface again.
During the day, everything was okay, but during the night, the demons would return.
However, as long as someone worked on their problems, every following night would become easier and easier with only a few exceptions.
Shang definitely wasn't over the hill yet, but for now, he felt great.
After shaving, Shang left his room with his gold and his beast sack.
When he left the main building, he saw many students attending their lessons.
'I have only attended three lessons up to now, and I've been here for over two weeks. I think I'm somewhat of a peculiarity.'
Shang walked to the marketplace in the south of the academy, all the students making space for him.
Shang's actions might have been very extreme, but they had served their purpose. No one was trying to grab the obvious sacks of gold.
After just a couple of minutes of relaxed walking, Shang reached the Exchange Hall.
He put the beast sack onto the counter, and the clerk went through everything.
"460 Contribution Points," he said as he handed Shang's emblem back.
"Thanks," Shang said with a polite smile. Right now, it wasn't hard for him to smile.
'460 Contribution Points is barely anything. Sure enough, without hunting Vanishing Snakes, earning Contribution Points is a pain in the ass.'
"Oh, we got a package for you," the clerk suddenly said.
"A package?" Shang asked in confusion.
The Exchange Hall accepted packages? Also, who would even send him a package?
Shang couldn't imagine anyone that would send him a package.
"Here you go," the clerk said as he put a big sack of gold on the counter. "A note is supposed to be inside."
Shang looked with shock at the sack of gold.
That had to be a couple hundred gold.
Who would send him that much gold?
"Thanks," Shang said with a confused expression. He pulled the sack to the side and opened it.
Sure enough, there was a note inside.
"Here's your share. Don't take the joke to heart. Signed, Chuck McGuiness," Shang read.
For a while, Shang only looked with surprise at the note.
Then, he smiled brightly.
As he thought back to his run-in with Chuck, Shang had the urge to laugh.
Spire Mire.
That really was a stupid name.
Now, Shang actually found it funny that he fell for something like that.
Shang grabbed a couple of his other sacks of gold to compare their weight.
Based on the weight, Shang guessed that there was probably around 350 gold inside the sack of gold Chuck sent him.
'That should be about half of the worth of the ore,' Shang thought. 'I mean, the ore wasn't specifically mine. We both found it at the same time. So, 50% seems appropriate.'
'Seems like Chuck actually isn't such a bad guy, after all.'
Chuck could have kept all the gold without any issues. No one but Shang would have come for him, and Shang definitely wasn't a danger.
Yet, he still gave Shang his share.
Feeling a lot better, Shang grabbed his sacks of gold and left the Exchange Hall.
The first merchants had already arrived, and the one Shang was searching for was also here.
When the merchant saw Shang and his sacks of gold, he smiled widely.
"That was quite fast. So, you still interested in the two pieces of ore?" he asked.
Shang approached the merchant and nodded. "Yep. 900 gold, right?"
The merchant nodded.
Shang put Chuck's sack of gold down and added the sack with 500 gold coins.
"Not sure how much is in the first. Can you check?" Shang asked.
The merchant lifted the first sack of gold and weighed it in his hands.
"Between 320 and 330. Let's just say 330. So, I need 70 more," he said.
Shang dug out 70 pieces of gold from one of the other sacks and handed them over.
"Happy doing business with you," the merchant said with a bright smile as he handed over the two pieces of ore.
"Likewise," Shang said.
The two of them said their goodbyes, and Shang went back to his room.
Shang put his remaining 400 gold to the side and looked at the Fire ore in his hand.
Then, he looked at the other pieces of ore scattered around his room.
"Finally!"
