Another beautiful day has begun in the city of Dragonsteel. The bustle of activity while the merchants set up their shops was as boisterous as always, and Kayden could hear the sound of birds singing from their perch on the rooftops. The sun was as hot as it could be at this time of the year, but Kayden wasn’t affected, for he had shade!

‘Thank the Gods they repaired that roof!’

He was comfortably sitting in a hot springs bath, soaking in all the heat and simply enjoying his time. After spending an entire two days asleep, he did not wake up feeling refreshed as he had expected, instead, his muscles were sore and his bones creaked with every movement. Kayden figured that a dip in the hot springs would be a great cure for his body’s aches.

“Ahhh…” he sighed contentedly, resting his eyes closed and nearly falling asleep. However, Hel made damn sure he didn’t.

A terrifying image surfaced from the depths of his mind. A hideous hag that terrified all those that lay their eyes upon her. His eyes widened to the size of plates as he sat upright instantly, all traces of exhaustion gone from his face.

“[Stop that. Two days of sleep is far more than enough! If you keep wasting time like this, you won’t be able to make it to the Solus Academy entrance exams.]”

“All right! All right! I’ll leave today like promised!”

Hel was now capable of sending him mental images, apparently because he was now level twenty.

‘Isn’t level twenty supposed to be a blessing? This seems more like a curse to me…’

As Kayden sunk back into the bath, he began to recall the events that transpired right after he woke up.

His master, Morgan, had given him a warm hug… before sternly reprimanding him about all the wrongs he did. As expected, his master almost knew everything, from the insane number of potions he chugged, to the dangerously-close fights that he had gotten himself into, to the multiple murders he had committed…

Kayden’s face darkened slightly, but almost as quick as it appeared, it was gone.

There were two things his master didn’t know: The fact that he could now use necromancy, and his encounter with the moon Goddess. This was good, as he rather keeps this knowledge to himself.

Next, he received devastating news. His party had already disbanded and left, leaving him behind as he slept. Kayden couldn’t really blame them since they all had their own lives to live. Why would they spend two days waiting for him to wake up?

‘Well, at least they left letters…'

He had read them all and found out the reasons why they left so soon.

Alice and Cathy couldn’t wait for him anymore and needed to do their respective preparations before heading to the Solus Academy. Alice was a noble and had to go with an escort, while Cathy needed to attend some kind of religious gathering.

As for Ezekiel, he finally got the money he needed to aid with his demon infestation back home and was apparently the last to leave. He even left him a gift, which were some Kali ingredients as well as the recipe for it. For that, Kayden was eternally grateful.

Last but not least, Louis… and lumped together with him was Madison, an ex-member of Zhang’s party. Kayden didn’t know what happened to them. When he was up, they were long gone, and when he asked his master, he was simply assured that they were ‘dealt with’.

Whatever that means…

That wasn’t the only devastating news. The map his party got was sold to crowds of adventurers, and Kayden was paid a total of 250 gold pieces! 250 GOLD pieces! And then they were all mercilessly swiped by his master, to pay off just half of the debt.

‘Now all I owe her is another 250 gold… yay…'

Speaking of devastating news again, the person that handed the gold to him, Aisha, had announced some shocking news. She had disbanded her own party and was now going solo, which meant that she would no longer lead a party. This dashed the hopes of every fan she had that wanted to join her, and many tears were shed. Kayden wasn’t going to lie, he felt a little sad about this news too, but wished her the best anyways.

From among his clothing that he kept inside his bathing room this time, he pulled out a small notebook. This was the other treasure he obtained other than gold.

And speaking of more devastating news…

“Hel, show me my stat page.”

“[Sure.]”

 

His title had changed, and it didn’t bode well for him. No longer was he the ‘Pest of Babylon’, but rather, he was the big and scary ‘Kelekona Reaper’, an A-ranked bounty known for killing several B-ranks in one night. The target on his back had never felt so big.

As for his status, due to him consuming large amounts of cheap mana potions, he was experiencing a condition named ‘Mana short-circuit’, or as the slang goes, ‘Shackled’. Unlike mana overloading, which was having too much mana for the body to handle, or mana poisoning, which was having large amounts of unsuitable mana in the body…

Mana short-circuiting was when the body’s intake of mana suddenly increases by a huge load, causing a backlash that resulted in one’s regeneration of mana being slowed or halted. Think of it as water flowing wildly through a fragile tube, causing cracks to form and leaks to spring out.

Thankfully, this wasn’t a permanent thing, though in the meantime, it certainly was a huge pain in the ass.

“Okay, I think I’ve soaked long enough. Let’s see if my body still hurts— Ow ow ow! Okay… never mind.”

It took a lot of encouragement from Hel before he finally relented and forced himself out. After putting on his clothes and paying the fee, he exited the establishment feeling at least slightly better than before.

“Okay! Now all I need to do is replenish my stock of potions and knives, and I’m done!”

And Kayden did just that. As always, he went for the cheapest option for the throwing knives. Quantity over quality and all that.

He could create knives with his ice magic, making it completely free of charge, but both Kayden and Hel decided against it. Not only is his mana regeneration stunted right now, but revealing that he could use ice magic would make him a prime suspect. After all, one of the confirmed traits of the Kelekona Reaper was his use of ice magic, which wasn’t that common.

Next was his potions. Kayden did not want to ever see a mana potion again, so he decided to buy extra healing potions instead. Unfortunately, Amon, the potion storekeeper, had bad news.

“Sorry. My potions are all sold out ever since the dungeon opening. You were lucky to even get some when you came last time.”

“What?!” Kayden was taken aback. “You’re an apothecary! Potions are the one thing you deal in!”

“Well… they aren’t the only thing I deal… How about it? I’ll cut you a deal.”

Kayden shook his head and sighed.

“I’m not taking any drugs, Amon. I don’t even have any money!”

“Oh? Is money your problem? In that case, I have another deal for you.” Amon pulled out a suspicious white bag and placed it on the counter. “I heard that you’re heading for the Solus Academy, right? Sell the drugs there.”

“… You want me to become your drug dealer?”

“Aye. The Kingdom of Arcadia is the one place in Galio where my market hasn’t expanded into yet.” Amon gave Kayden’s shoulder a poke. “But I’m sure Mr. Illusion and Transformation here can figure out a way to smuggle it in, right?”

It seems that Kayden’s ability to use transformation magic had become common knowledge now…

Amon eagerly continued discussing the terms of the deal.

“Here’s how it goes. Once you smuggle this in, sell the drugs and spread the name of Greg the drug dealer. I want at least fifty gold in this. If you earn any extra, you’re free to keep it.”

Kayden’s eyes glittered like gold. Now they were talking!

“But still… drugs are bad… Should I really be trying to draw attention to myself?’

Kayden applauded his own growth at no longer being so money-minded as before. If it were him in the past, he may have taken it without any further thought.

“Sorry, but I refuse. The risk is far too high, and there’s no guarantee that your drugs would even sell! What even are they?”

Amon looked disappointed and put away the white bag.

“Did I not tell you last time? It’s called the Powder of Mind Cleansing. It relieves stress, cures traumas, and even fortifies the mind!”

“Yeah… I’m not going to partake in such a shady— Wait, fortify the mind?”

Kayden just had an epiphany, and it seems that so did Hel.

“[This drug might be able to protect you from brainwashing, and other mind-related magic. It might not be so bad to take this deal after all.]”

Kayden put on the biggest smile that he possibly could and held out his hand for a handshake.

“You sir, have a deal!”

Amon’s face lit up as he took out the white bag once more and placed it on the table. The deal was made, and they both laughed together while shaking hands.

“Coincidentally, how are you supposed to take these drugs?” Kayden said out of the blue.

“Oh right, you need to explain it to the potential customers. Just take it up the nose!”

“Up the… nose?”

“Yup! Or you could mix them with water and use them as eye drops! Cool, right?”

“Y-yeah… c-cool…”

Kayden cringed as he imagined himself shoving powder up into his nose or dripping it into his eyes. He was not looking forward to using it. Were all drugs like this? If not, couldn’t there have been a more pleasant method to use it? Like drinking a liquid, or swallowing a pill?

‘C-calm down! It’s medicinal! It’s all for a good reason!’

Desperately trying to stop himself from imagining more painful scenarios, Kayden walked out of the store with the suspicious white bag in hand. His next destination was now the Adventurer’s Guild, where he would meet his master. She had said that there was something she wanted to discuss with him before he left.

He first hid the bag within his cloak so as to not draw any unwanted attention, and quietly met up with his master who sat in an isolated corner inside the guildhall. True to her reputation, she was drunk, with bottles upon bottles of alcohol scattered across the table. To his surprise though, she wasn’t alone. The Crimson Menace sat beside her, trying to get her to sober up with a glass of cold water in her hand.

She was the first to notice him.

“Ah Kayden, you’re back! Please help… Miss Morgan’s all sad now because of you…”

Kayden raised an eyebrow. “Because of me? Why?”

“Kayden!!!” It seems his master finally noticed his presence. “I’m so sad to see you go… I’ll miss you!”

Rolling his eyes, Kayden ignored her and cleared some bottles off a seat for himself. Sitting down just on the edge of his seat, he retorted.

“If you’re so sad about it, why don’t you give me back my money?”

“Hmm…? What did-ja say?”

“Give. Me. Back. Money?”

“Ha… haha… No.”

Aisha clapped her hands together to draw both of their attention.

“Well, this is going nowhere. Miss Morgan, didn’t you have something to tell your beloved disciple?”

“Oh! Right!” His master reached into her coat for something before holding out her hand and gesturing for Kayden to place his own hand under hers. She was trying to give him something.

‘Is it my money?’

That was the only thought Kayden had as he carefully reached out. As it turns out, he was wrong. Morgan released her balled-up fist and dropped the item into his open palm, and what he saw was a small, sapphire ring.

‘S-she… didn’t buy this with my money, right?’

The jewel on it was hexagonal in shape and had a blackish-blue color, while the ring itself was a shiny silver color. Overall, Kayden would say that it looked quite cool. Nine out of ten.

However, he still didn’t know what his master was trying to pull.

“Are you… proposing?”

“No, silly! This—”

“WHAT?!”

Both Kayden and Morgan looked over at Aisha in surprise. They didn’t expect her to shout out so suddenly, nor for her to slam the table.

“U-uh… don’t mind me! Just carry on!” Aisha blushed as she waved them away.

“…Anyway, this is a farewell gift from me to you.” Said Morgan, turning to face Kayden in the eye. “Now I know a lot happened recently, and a part of it can be considered my fault for never allowing you to carry magical items. From today onwards, I am lifting that ban, and this magical ring here is sure to serve you well.”

Morgan then leaned in closer, covering her lips as she whispered,

“You’ll need as much help as you can get during the exams, and you need to protect yourself, what with the new bounty and all. Stay safe, okay?”

Kayden gripped the ring tightly and took a deep breath. A warm feeling sprouted from within the depths of his heart. He was feeling… touched.

[Appraisal successful!]

 

“[No way…! There’s divinity inside this thing!]” Hel sounded shocked, and so was Kayden himself. What on Eden did his master just give him? He could feel his heart skip several beats.

“W-what is this?”

“Heheh. Finally starting to feel grateful for your master? This ring’s super important, you know?”

‘Well, duh!’ Kayden thought. This thing had divinity! A god-like power! His master surely must have known this! There was no doubt about it! His master was hiding something!

Though… Kayden guessed that such a thing probably shouldn’t be discussed in front of others. Maybe once Aisha left would she tell him. For now, Kayden thanked her sincerely.

“Thank you, master. I will never lose this.”

“Hah! You won’t be able to lose it, even if you wanted to! Now your small nut for a brain won’t forget things anymore, huh?”

“Forget? When did I ever forget something?”

“Haha… you’ll see… You’ll definitely see… There’s this certain gnome that has been hounding me recently…”