The journey out of the Noxious Jungle was rather smooth. Mika’s captors were highly coordinated, and with Colt as their leader, it’d be almost impossible for them to run into any real trouble.

They captured a few more beasts on the way back, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

While they weren’t looking, Mika ordered the System to store her backpack in the System Space, much to Colt’s confusion. 

However, Colt didn’t care much about a backpack, so he soon forgot about it. He didn’t even think that Mika was the cause of its disappearance.

The sun had already set when they left the jungle, and the moon's silver light cascaded upon the grasslands before them. The stars scattered around the night sky looked more beautiful than anything Mika had ever seen. They created a picturesque background as if a god himself handcrafted this scene.

Mika stared into the sky, a wave of complex emotions washing over her. 

She lived in the jungle for over a year. So many things happened that Mika could only describe it as a life-altering experience. 

As much as she might dislike the jungle, she was equally as grateful that she ended up there.

If she had stayed home with her parents every day, she would never have understood so many things about this world, its secrets, its possibilities, and how she could take advantage of everything at her disposal. 

‘No, that’s not entirely correct. If I were still with my family, I would’ve eventually learned these things, just not so quickly.’ 

Mika corrected herself. She wasn’t looking down on her parents by saying this. It’s just that real-world experience will always trump theoretical knowledge.

For example, how long did it take her to reach the Middle-Stage Absolute Sword Body by constantly putting her life on the line and fighting?

About a year! 

And approximately how long would this have taken if she had stayed with the Zollers?

Mika guessed around 6-8 years, plus or minus a few. This was because she wouldn’t have had the chance to go through so many life-or-death battles to temper her body, nor would she have felt so pressured to get stronger as her life was always on the line. 

She felt bad for Elizabeth, Cain, and Olivia for thinking like that, but it was the truth. If anything, she’d probably like her family less if they prevented her from going out and exploring the world by herself. 

Mika has always been a free spirit. So, being stuck inside with her family 24/7 for years would drive her insane! 

‘Still, I owe it to the people who gave birth to me to let them know I’m still alive.’ Mika thought, confirming her goal of going to the Barlton Kingdom.

She lay down on the metal floor of the cage and looked up at the sky. Mika reached her hand out as if she wanted to grasp the moon, but-

*CLANK*

The chains that bound her hands snapped, preventing her from doing so.

Mika’s lips twitched as she lowered her hands but didn’t stop looking up. 

‘I wish I could see the sun.’ 

She’s only been able to see the sun a handful of times over the last year, and as luck would have it, it’s dark by the time she leaves. 

“Now that it’s dark, we should have an easier time smuggling our goods into the Kingdom.” 

Mika’s ears perked up as she heard Colt’s voice. 

“You’re too cautious, Leader. Even if someone spotted us, we could just kill them or pay them off,” One of the men said. 

Colt frowned slightly at his subordinate’s words and felt the need to correct him.

“Selling live Magical Beasts and humans is still illegal—the fewer people who know about our dealings, the better. We should only use bribery or threaten them when there isn’t another option.”

“I understand, Leader.”

The man put his head down, realizing that Colt was right. They were not only mercenaries but part-time criminals as well. If their dealings were made public, they’d either be crippled and thrown in jail or tortured and killed. 

While selling unregistered live Magical Beasts wasn’t a serious offense, and they’d most likely only have to pay a fine for doing so, human trafficking was much more severe—especially when dealing with kids. It wasn’t just human trafficking that was a crime, either. Selling any sentient race was a crime generally punishable by death.

However, with high risks come high rewards. Buying and selling humans and magical beasts is way easier and much more profitable than doing mercenary missions. 

Also, it’s not like the government in the Barlton Kingdom doesn’t know about the dark underbelly of its society. As long as the black market and the underworld deal in moderation, they will turn a blind eye to most things. Only when things get out of hand will they crack the whip and make an example out of them. 

“Anyways, we made a pretty good haul this time, huh?”

“True that! We can earn what we usually make in a few months in just a few days in the jungle.”

“The Noxious Jungle also isn’t that far from the Barlton Kingdom, so the commute is short.”

“Ah! Now that you mention it, the jungle is really close to the Kingdom. Other Danger Zones like the Thunderfire Mountain Range are so far away that just getting there takes a few days!”

“Hey, don’t forget The Motionless Sea to the Southeast of the Kingdom. Although that’s close by, it’s troublesome to live on the water.”

“You’re right. Those guys who do that are fucking insane.”

“I don’t know about that. Those guys make good money.”

“Well, if we’re talking about places I’m sick of, I can’t stand the Desolate Praire to the Southwest of the Kingdom.”

“Hmm~ Yeah, that place is pretty boring… Wait, isn’t the Noxious Jungle the easiest to hunt in out of all Danger Zones around the Kingdom?”

“You might be right. This place is easy as long as you’re prepared and skilled enough. I don’t understand why it gets a bad wrap.”

“I bet Rodney is pissing himself in anger that his secret hunting spot was leaked so fast. Pfft-Hahaha! ”

“Haah?! What do you mean, secret? Everyone knows that the Noxious jungle is filled with untapped potential, but most people in the Black Core Realm don’t dare to go there because of the dangers and depression. While those in the Red Core Realm don’t need to go there since the resources that place possesses are useless to them.”

Colt glared at his subordinates for talking shit about him as they stood just a few meters away. They all shrunk their necks back and avoided eye contact.

“Ahaha! We’re just messing around, Leader. We all know you’re only here to take care of us.”

Colt stopped glaring and nodded.

“It’s good that you know.”

They all let out a sigh of relief and carried on with their journey. 

Meanwhile, Mika just lay there with a thoughtful expression.

‘Interesting.’

***

A few hours later, Colt’s group walked inside a large tunnel about half a kilometer outside the Kingdom’s border.

“Ugh! This place always smells like rat shit.”

“Do you think we can’t smell it?! Stop complaining!”

The tunnel was filled with piss and shit and smelled so wretched that even Colt and Mika had to plug their noses to prevent themselves from throwing up. 

‘So, this is the secret entrance into the Barlton Kingdom, huh? I’ll have to make a mental note just in case I ever have to use it in the future.’ Mika pondered as she looked around. 

Once they entered, Colt’s group walked in complete silence. While they walked through the tunnel, they took several twists and turns, which Mika noted down. 

About ten minutes later, they stood in front of a large metal door with a sliding peephole about neck height. 

Colt walked up to the door and knocked on it six times.

*Dun* *Du* *Du* *Dun* *Du* *Du *Duuuun~*

A few seconds later, the slit opened up, and a pair of green eyes shone from the other side. 

“Twelve.” A deep, neutral voice came from the other side of the door. 

“Six,” Colt answered without hesitation. 

Mika sat there, confused, wondering if that was code for something.

‘Huh? Is the correct answer to just halve the number the guy says? No. It can’t be that simple, right?’ 

Mika pondered but couldn’t come up with an answer. 

‘I fucking hate riddles…’

*Click*

*Creeaaaak*

The metal door slowly creaked open, and a man over 2 meters tall, filled with muscles, appeared from the other side. He walked up to Colt and gave him a strong handshake, which the latter returned, but his expression twisted for a moment as he felt his bones crunch.

“Nice to see you again, Colt. It’s been a while since your last visit.”

“...Good to see you too, Butcher. I’ve just been out training some of my teammates. The faster they can all reach the Red Core Realm, the sooner we can take on more difficult missions.”

“Hahaha! Good luck with that!” Butcher laughed and gave Colt a few pats on the back, which made him wince in pain. 

He couldn’t help it. His body was rather weak as he wasn’t a Body Cultivator like Butcher.

Butcher then turned to the merchandise following behind Colt and whistled in surprise. 

*Wheeewwww!*

“It seems you’ve made it big in the Noxious Jungle. I reckon you’ll rake in some serious cash with all those goods.”

Then, Butcher turned and looked at Mika. However, his eyes couldn’t help but narrow as he felt an odd pressure from the girl.

Although he couldn’t feel any cultivation from her, he felt a sharpness that shouldn’t belong to a little girl. 

‘Not only that but her eyes… Why do they look similar to a seasoned veteran?’ 

Although Mika wore a fearful expression as she stared at Butcher, the guy had been around the block and was used to all kinds of gazes. 

‘Those… aren’t the eyes of a little kid… How interesting!’ 

Suddenly, Butcher released a large, toothy smile.

“It seems you captured someone quite interesting, Colt. Do you know that little girl’s background?”

Colt shook his head.

“No, she just said her name was Mika, but that’s it.”

Butcher rubbed his chin thoughtfully but shook his head a moment later.

“Mika, huh? Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Ahahaha… I know, right? What a weird name.”

“Right? I don’t know any family with that name.”

Butcher gave Colt a large smile, which sent shivers down his spine.

“...”

An awkward silence fell over the room, but Colt spoke up again before it could become too uncomfortable. 

“S-Sooo… C-Compensation?”

“Ah, right! Silly me! I was lost in thought for a moment.”

Butcher glanced at all the cages and bags of materials they collected. He noted everything down carefully, then left the room for a moment and returned with a large sack full of Mana Stones. 

“For all the live Magical Beasts, I’ll give you 500 Initial-Stage Mana Stones. For the poisonous plants, I’ll give you 100. For all the Magical Beast materials, I’ll give you another 250, and for the girl…”

Butcher paused, eyeing Mika for a second before returning to Colt.

“I’ll give you 10 Early-Stage Mana Stones and 100 Initial-Stage Mana Stones.” 

Upon hearing his offer, Colt’s group's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets!

“D-Did you just say 10 Early-Stage Mana Stones and 100 Initial-Stage Mana Stones?! Isn’t that essentially 1100 Initial-Stage Mana Stones?! Just for one girl?!”

The Butcher’s white teeth showed as he smiled. 

“That’s right! You brought back quite an interesting little girl. I can already see the money flowing in for what I have planned. Hahahaha!”

Colt turned and stared at Mika, now feeling like he had made a huge mistake by selling her off, and just as he was about to refuse, Butcher pushed the sack of Mana Stones into his hand. 

Butcher still had a toothy grin on his face, but his eyes narrowed as he silently pressured Colt. 

“It was a pleasure doing business with you… Colt. I won’t see you out.”

A large hand pressed down on his shoulder, cracking it.

“Urgh!”

He grunted in pain but didn’t retaliate. He wouldn’t win, anyways. 

All he could do now was curse inwardly while taking the sack. 

“...Yeah. A pleasure, indeed. ‘Til next time.”

With that said Colt’s team walked to a door on the opposite side of the room and left.

After they were gone, Butcher walked up to Mika’s cage and tapped on it, shattering the whole thing. 

“Now, what should I do with you?”