Sighing softly, Cheek finally relaxed. He was incredibly tense because of what he had just done. He was now back in the alley where he hid his clothes.

Grinning, he took a look at what he held within his palm. The fruit of his efforts.

A ring. A beautifully crafted one at that, it seemed to be made of gold and carved with flower-like patters. On top of it stood a small gem, a ruby. It was truly a masterpiece.

Silently staring at it for a moment longer. Cheek looked bitter.

‘If only it wasn’t something so expensive…’

With how extravagant this ring was. It was impossible for a simple person to keep it on them. Maybe that man wasn’t a noble, but the fact that he wore this ring in a middle-class marketplace said a lot about his background.

Being recognized was a possibility. He wasn’t so dumb as to think he wouldn’t get caught. He was no expert, he was sure he wasn’t followed, but that meant nothing in front of a Beyonder.

Quickly getting changed, Cheek carefully slid out the loose brick in the wall. Wrapping up his clothes, he stuffed them inside.

Slipping the ring into his mouth, he vigilantly made his way out and navigated himself back home.

He was being extra careful today, his troubles harming Elisia was a big no-no. Without her he wasn’t sure what would become of him.

‘Hell, becoming obsessed with power no matter the cost would be one of the best-case scenarios!’

That was still his goal after all, to be free and unshackled. For that to happen, though, he’d need to get in contact with Beyonders, and the easiest way to do that was to get in contact with one of the main churches.

Evernight, Storm, Knowledge, Earth, Sun and Combat. These were the orthodox churches that controlled their respective kingdoms. At the helm of each church was a deity. A genuine god! The problem was, Cheek lived in the only kingdom that didn’t officially worship a god. Sure, they were a couple of cathedrals, but nothing big.

On the northern continent, there were 7 major kingdoms. One for each respective god, and one fully independent one. This was where he lived, the Kingdom of David. It was also the poorest and weakest one.

It wasn’t surprising, the six churches where in a fragile balance, war could restart at any moment and the current king, Nathan II, was reaching the end of his life. He had yet to decide his successor. Although, the likeliest candidate was the current crown prince, Solomon.

Solomon excelled at managing the kingdom, he had even introduced new criminal laws and purged a number of corrupt officials.

‘Not like he did anything for the slums, though.’

That’s right, no matter how good he seemed, Solomon had still lived in luxury for all his life. There was no changing that.

Of course, these weren’t the only ways to become a Beyonder. One could also join the military or a cult. Although, the latter isn’t recommended. Once one starts worshipping an evil god, one can never truly stop.

Even then, most cultists didn’t wish to stop. An evil god is an evil god, after all. Corruption was no joke.

Exhaling, Cheek found himself in from of a tunnel. To most it would merely be a pathway to somewhere, like all tunnels are. And they would be right. This was the sole entry to an underground marketplace. A black market.

Wrapping a bandage over his face, Cheek made sure only his eyes could be seen.

Step by step, he made his way in.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Casting his gaze in a sweeping motion, Cheek couldn’t help but marvel. The entire market was underground, yes. But he never expected it to be an immense cave.

Taking his first step inside, he glanced at the vendors, he had no interest in buying anything. Looking couldn’t hurt, though.

Continuing his search to find something similar to a pawn shop, Cheek stopped at a stall and observed what the man was selling.

‘Carved wooden figurines, huh.’

“Hoh? Interested in m’ah work a’re ya, lad?”

“If ya want one, each cost five gold coins!”

Blankly staring at the man, Cheek turned around and walked away.

In his eyes, the man was only a scammer. Sure, the carvings were nice and all. But it still wasn’t worth five gold coins.

“Tch! Ya don’t know quality, lad!”

Not even bothering to look back, Cheek kept on in search of his goal. He was starving and his sister probably was too.

——————————————————————————————————————————

Staring at the sign, Cheek was sure this was the place.

‘I mean, if this isn’t it, then I don’t know what is.’

[Sell,  Buy & Loan]

The fact that there was a building underground was unexpected. In the first place, this cave was massive. It was akin to an entire network of tunnels. If you told him that giant ants had carved out this place then he would believe it. That was just how ridiculously big this place was.

Opening the door and walking in, he found that the interior looked more like a bar.

Taking a seat, Cheek slid a coin towards the man who seemed to be the bartender. He was really running low now. He could only find so many coins lying on the street.

Staring at it for a moment, the bartender asked :

“Your order?”

The man behind the counter looked classy, dressed in something you would expect to see in a more modern setting. He wore a black tuxedo and was wiping a glass mug he held in his hand. With his greying hair and bronze eyes, he truly looked like a stereotypical bartender.

“Something sweet and fruity, with directions to where I can sell stuff.”

The bartender nodded.

“Down the hallway, second door to the right.” He said, uncorking a bottle and starting to make Cheek’s drink.

Nodding his head, Cheek took his time enjoying the alcohol. In this world, Cheek never had the luxury to enjoy such a high-class drink. He spent most of his time doing odd jobs and just trying to get by. He would never have bought this drink if he didn’t need to fit in.

Sweeping his gaze across the bar, he could see a plethora of people. From a shady hidden figure, to two women looking at each other with animosity. There was quite a bit of people.

Throwing his head back and finishing his drink. Cheek started following the directions he was given.

Turning at the second door to the right. Cheek found himself face to face with a man behind glass.

‘This looks more like a pawn shop.’

Placing the ring on the counter, the man behind glanced at it before speaking.

“200 gold coins.”

Creasing his brow, Cheek replied.

“Can’t you see the carvings? Even without the ruby it’s worth at least 300.”

Grunting the man stared at him for a moment.

“300 and I guarantee nobody will come looking for you.”

Nodding to show he agreed, Cheek kept his gaze on the man as he slid coins into a bag.

Grunting, the man slid the bag of coins towards Cheek.

Taking it and weighing it, Cheek turned around and left. He had gotten what he wanted, there was nothing more that required his presence here.

Once out, he immediately went towards the exit. He had considered going and checking what they sold, but he judged it would be better to do so went he had a stable source of income.

Looking back, he saw some shady people following him.

Keeping his pace, Cheek steadily made his way out. With how he was now, he stood no chance, it was better to lose them in the crowd. If that wasn’t possible then he would outrun them.

Shifting from person to person, Cheek realized that he had lost some of them. Either they weren’t part of the same group or one was more skilled than the others.

He wouldn’t say he was an expert at losing people, but when you live in the slums you tend to pick up things.

Accelerating his pace, he redoubled his efforts to lose his pursuers, he had things to do and places to be!

‘Why are they so good?’ He thought, gritting his teeth, these people really didn’t want to give up!

He was nearly out of the market, closing in on the tunnel, if he didn’t lose them here things were going to get complicated.

He couldn’t lead them to the slums, going back to the neighbourhood where he stole the ring wasn’t a good idea either. The guards would probably be watching out for someone of his description. Even if they didn’t, he was sure he looked suspicious enough to warrant a visit to the guard post.

Cursing under his breath, he wondered what he had done to deserve this.

‘Oh right, I stole a ring.’

Blankly realizing this, Cheek realized he was already coming upon the tunnel. If they had a competent archer, he was screwed.

Being experienced or not, he couldn’t dodge something like an arrow in an environment like that!

That’s asking for too much! He was a petty thief, not some master assassin, or genius instigator.

Looking back for a split second, Cheek saw a cloaked man running after him, closely followed by a woman holding a bow.

Luckily for him, it seemed her proficiency with it wasn’t too high, else she’d have already shot him.

On the other hand, the cloaked man was catching up. Cheek was already pushing his limits by the amount of running he did. He could feel his lungs burning and had a vague taste of blood in his mouth.

‘Shit! Shit! Shit!’

Reaching the end of the tunnel, he had no hope for escape. That wouldn’t stop him from trying, though.

Slowing down to make it seem he was exhausted. He waited for the man to catch up, before spinning around and sending a kick to his stomach.

Even if Cheek’s body didn’t have any memory of practising martial arts, his mind did. It took ridiculously more effort to fight while being conscious of his every action, though.

Not waiting for the man to recover he immediately rushed towards him, attempting to sweep his legs. The man made a somersault backwards.

Cheek frowned, even if his body were fitter, he wasn’t sure he could win. The agility the man showcased proved he was trained, he wouldn’t he caught off guard again.

Keeping his stance, Cheek made sure to keep his eye on the archer, she had already caught up.

Taking out a dagger, the cloaked figure rushed back towards him while his ally took aim.

Blocking the knife, Cheek felt a sting in his arm.

Entering another exchange of blows, Cheek felt that the man he was fighting was too… balanced.

For such an agile figure, he had a lot of weight behind his attacks. It was abnormal.

He was too lost in his thoughts, instinctively blocking the blow towards his throat, Cheek felt something shift.

His mind felt abnormally clear, there was no sense of dissonance when he fought anymore. He felt like he was Noah again.

Retaliating with a kick, he didn’t let the cloaked figure react, he couldn’t afford to.

Blow after blow, he felt something shatter within the man’s chest. Taking his hand and throwing him above his body, the man slumped on the ground, unresponsive.

His body relaxing, Cheek heard a whistling sound behind him.

Widening his eyes in alarm, he tried to move out of the arrow’s way. Alas, it was too late, piercing his foot, he screamed in pain and fell forwards.

‘I forgot about the archer…!’