Tap… Tap… Tap…
Pitter… Patter…
Surprisingly, the crude weather of the Spring Realm reached the Summer Realm. The City of Stronglord was under heavy pour, the streets flooded with water, and the draining system was barely holding in.
Isaac stepped out of his rented room and saw the heavy rain from the hallway window. The sky was gray, and dark clouds spread across the horizon.
Then, he descended to the first floor and could already hear some activity coming from the living room.
After reaching the bottom, Isaac turned to face the living room and saw Bella sitting on the couch, some kind of cube item in her hands, and she seemed to be struggling to open it.
''Bella?'' Isaac's voice caused her to jolt, and she immediately hid the item behind her back.
She innocently smiled, acting like nothing happened, ''H-hi!''
''What is that thing behind your back?'' He asked while sitting down on a soft chair.
''Pfft, nothing.'' Bella still hid the item under the pillow and lay down on top of it.
''Alright…'' Isaac scratched the back of his head and looked Bella straight in the eye, ''I have something to talk about.''
Seeing his serious eyes, Bella straightened her legs and waited.
Isaac didn't know how to break it down, so he just spoke his mind out, ''You must have seen the number of players reducing recently?''
Bella nodded thoughtfully, ''Y-Yes…''
''Well… That is because there is a new place where the Players can go to… And, it's generally better to grow stronger.''
Bella's eyes slightly widened, and she sat up, ''You… Does this mean?''
Isaac sighed and nodded, ''I am moving away, now.''
Bella's eyes rippled, and her hands slowly tightened into a fist, ''I see… Well, I can understand… That you have to go.''
Isaac slightly smiled and nodded, ''If you don't mind, I would still like to have the rented room in my name. I will still visit Stronglord in the future.''
''Of course… Of course.'' Bella stood up, wrapped her slender arms around Isaac, and gave a quick hug before separating.
Her face showed slight sadness and something hidden inside her beautiful gem-like eyes.
''Well then… I will miss your cooking.'' Isaac gave a strained chuckle and returned to the upstairs.
After he left, Bella sat down with heavy shoulders and shaking eyes. Then, she pulled out the item and twisted it open.
After the item was opened enough, a small holograph emerged.
The holograph showed an image of a person, not a human, because he had horns. There was also a crazed grin stretching across his face and dark robes draped over his shoulders.
''Listen…'' Suddenly, the holographic spoke and Bella listened.
''The… Spies… Of our… Majestic Demon Army… You have only one job… Find… And destroy… The Veil…'' The holographic figure's voice shook and trembled. It cut off multiple times, but Bella understood it perfectly.
Bella's beautiful blue eyes showed a tinge of dark red, and it looked like her face began melting. Slowly, a beautiful pair of horns poked through her forehead, and the tail popped out from her lower back.
Her outfit turned sexy with revealing lines and curves. Her feet were slipped into long heels and tight knee socks.
Bella, softly, closed the item and sighed, ''Sorry… Isaac… Maybe, if I find the Veil… I can ask them to spare your life… I am sorry…''
''No one can stop Demons from rising… The only way to survive is to… Learn to live with them…''
…
After receiving every item from his rooms, Isaac returned to the living room and noticed that Bella was again gone.
He didn't stay there longer to wonder where she went and rushed toward Realm Portals under heavy rain.
After reaching it, he quickly paid the Guards who were standing in the rain and returned to the Priesthood.
After opening his eyes again, he was standing in his bedroom, in the store.
''Whew…'' Isaac left his room, closed the door, and went to the large room. In there, he placed the Training Cube on the floor, and it didn't take long for the walls to turn dark blue.
After that, Isaac returned downstairs and saw the floors had a lot of crevices, and sand was slightly pouring inside them.
''So much to fix… No wonder that Ray guy wanted to sell this so badly. No resident in Priesthood would actually buy this dump.''
Then, after a short while, Isaac returned to cleaning. He sat on the wooden floor and took the wooden stool into his arms.
He checked if it was repairable, but the legs were a mess with screws tugged out and missing.
Without finding the correct screws and nailing them back into the stool, it wasn't possible to repair it. Also, it wasn't exactly in prime condition and might not last a week.
Knock! Knock!
A sound of knocking came from the direction of the door out of nowhere.
Isaac saw an old man with grayish hair and sunglasses covering his aged eyes standing in the doorway.
''Yes, may I help you?'' Isaac slowly stood up, patting the dust off his buttocks while straightening his legs.
''Ah… No… I am just surprised that someone bought this… Store.'' The old man said with an aged tone. His voice was hoarse and strained.
''Ah, yes… This place must have on sold… For a long time.'' Isaac said while tracing his finger on the crevices, his finger almost pushing through. That tells a lot about the size of the cracks if even his finger could fit through.
''Yeah, haha… Cough!'' The old man chuckled before his cough stopped it.
After his coughing fit stopped, he asked, ''Will this shop open any time soon?''
''Not sure…'' Isaac didn't know how to reply and gave a strained answer.
''Alright… This store has a lot of history behind…'' The old man reminisced, ''Even a God used to come here… To buy things… That caused our neighborhood's reputation to soar, by mile…''
''Shame that the last owner died… He was basically a legend, and with his help… This neighborhood could have been the biggest one…''
