Chương 21

''Sorry, Renna. I made you wait. Why didn't you come in? It's better than waiting on the street,'' Ethan said to his little companion, who was playing with a black kitten on the sidewalk.'' What's the point if I can't use skills? And it's not like they won't be here when I turn 16. You can find similar skills in every free city,'' she replied and lowered her voice before continuing, ''The good ones are in the hands of rich folks anyway.

I heard that they even hunt you down if you somehow got one of their signature skills.'''' Yeah, I heard that as well. But shouldn't the free cities be more… free? If the council abuses its power so openly, how are the citizens okay with it? After all, any random guy with a good talent could become tier-9. Wouldn't they cause trouble before their ascension?'' he asked with the same low voice.'' You don't know about powerful families.

They have anti-mage teams, powerful artifacts, lots of money to hire any mercenary or adventurers, and influence that goes beyond free-cities,'' she replied before changing the subject, clearly uncomfortable.

''Anyway, don't you need a blacksmith too? I know the guy you're lookin' for!'' Ethan was a bit surprised by how well informed the little devil was. She certainly didn't look like a young miss or something like that. Perhaps it was common sense here not to mess with the ruling houses, and they made sure that everyone knew it. The blacksmith she was talking about left Ethan speechless. This was probably the coolest guy he had ever seen.

The middle-aged dwarf was wearing a sleeveless black shirt with stylish pants, and his jacket was tied to his waist. His work glasses hung on top of his head. He had a well-trimmed beard and a tattoo that stretched from his chest to his neck. He stopped his work after seeing them coming, fetching a big cigar from the table, and lighting it up.

''Ain't that the little Renna? What did you get for me this time?'' he asked with a smile, biting the cigar.''Hi, Zach! This is Ethan. He needs a blacksmith.''''Let me guess,'' Zach said, sizing him up.

''Daggers?'' Ethan winced a little.

''Like I'm the only stereotype here,'' he murmured. He took out the design he'd carved on a beast skin beforehand and handed it to Zach. This was the dagger he'd been using in Cut-Throat back on Earth.

''I'm gonna need two with the same design. I don't know what materials you have, but I need them to be sharp, durable, and heavy. What do you suggest?'' Zach inspected the drawing and hummed thoughtfully.

''Nice design. The end result might look a bit different, but it'll be more practical in any case. As for the material, I have tier-6 wyvern claws, but it would cost you,'' he said and somehow looked down at Ethan with that height.

''10 mana stones for each.'' Even though that sounded good, there was no way he could afford it for now.

''Nah, too much. I need something that would work against anything below tier 5. Although I might come back in the future for an upgrade,'' he said.

''Also, do you buy monster parts?''''Sure, but only tier-3 and higher.'' Luckily, Ethan had already gotten rid of most of the lower tiers to open some space. He showed everything he had to Zach, along with all the goblin weapons.''I'll give you seven gold for all this and three gold for the weapons,'' Zach offered, lifting his head.

''As for your daggers, I can use adamantium. 15 gold total.'' That would leave him with about 30 gold, enough to buy a skill or two.

''Deal,'' he said with a nod.

''How much time do you need?''''Give me three days. I have a few small orders to finish.''''Alright, ah, and where could I get some of those?'' he asked, looking at the cigar. Zach smirked.

''Oh? A man of taste, I see.'' With business finished, Ethan and Renna went for dinner. The sky was darkening, and it looked like it might rain, but the streets were lively as ever.''So, have you ever heard of a word called bargain?'' Renna asked while leading them to a restaurant.''Oh yeah, isn't that one of the most meaningless and time-wasting actions?'' he asked back.''You could've made a solid gold coin profit there,'' she snapped.

''How is that meaningless?'''' And why do you think that one more gold coin would make my life better? There are countless possibilities that could lead me to a terrible fate for being a little richer. Or life could present me with much better opportunities that were only possible with me being a little poorer. The opposite is also true. Despite pretending otherwise, we don't really know shit, do we? Life always hits you from a blind spot.

Then there are sudden situations that would make being rich or poor utterly unrelated and insignificant, like love or death,'' he explained in an easy-going manner, his eyes wandering to everything on the street.'' The point is, little devil, life is not black and white. Trying to calculate everything and thinking that certain measures will make your life turn out the way you want it is just foolish,'' he said, looking at the frowning Renna.

''You should give your own judgment for the things you can control, like giving an extra coin to a cool dwarf and saving yourself from the chore of dickering. And accept the things you cannot control, like haggling at every scrap in your entire life, that might or might not make you richer. Even if it would, is it even worth bothering with it?'' Of course, he wouldn't be okay with getting overly cheated in any business. He just didn't care about the small margins.

He had probably developed this perspective because of the way Animus handled things back on Earth, as the concept of money slowly turned into contributions for society. For example, while food was free, if you wanted to eat something more rare and sophisticated, you would need more contribution points. Thankfully, under the watch of all-knowing AI, just a day of labor would let you dine like kings. And human labor was among the least earning tasks when it came to contributions.

One of Ethan's video clips about massacring a small gang single-handedly in the VR had earned him far more. It had taken a long time for humanity to get used to this, but once they did, the madness of the old days became all the more clear. The so-called modern slavery was not only cruel, but also absolutely unnecessary. It was just the ones at the top painted as normal and mandatory. Renna stayed silent after listening to his ramblings. In the restaurant, they sat at a table with a street view.

Ethan ordered grilled fish, and Renna went for the vegetable soup. As they ate in silence, he got a little worried for his new friend, but he let her sit with her thoughts. When she saw a young elf boy who looked about 15 with a fancy robe, she panicked and hid her face with her hair, pushing the herb basket under the table. Ethan waited until the boy and his friends passed over and looked at his distressed friend.

''One of the options you are considering, I suppose?''''Agis Jorona,'' she murmured, staring at the table.

''My mother works for Jorona's. And Agis told her after he awakened, which is a year from now, he wanted me as his personal maid. I can still refuse and become an alchemist apprentice, but…'' Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.'' But you are afraid they would hurt your mother?'' he probed. Renna shook her head, ''No, my mother's lady wouldn't allow that. But if Agis feels offended, he can still make my mother's life hell.''''

Then you make sure that the boy gives up on you of his own accord,'' he suggested, looking at her confused eyes.

''Don't you know about herbs? I'm sure there are some pretty nasty-smelling ones; apply a little on your body before seeing the boy. Use some makeup to show your skin a little yellowish, like a sickly yellow. Hell, paint one of your teeth black and give the boy your worst smile,'' he explained with a wicked smile.

''But you can't overdo it. You have a year to make sure that the boy wants to stay away from you, so do it slowly.''''I can do that?'' she exclaimed, wide-eyed.

''But… but you said to accept the things you cannot control?'' Ethan sneered, ''And who says you can't control a snobbish boy?'' He leaned a bit and flicked her forehead with a finger.

''Use your head. Go and ask your mother's friends from work, 'What are the things their young master hates most?' Tell them you want to avoid those things, but then use them against him subtly. If you can't manage that in a year, I'm revoking your title as Little Devil.''''I can!'' she shouted, jumping to her feet.

''I definitely can! Thank you, Ethan!'' she said and gave a kiss on his cheek before turning to run excitedly. Ethan looked at her back with an amused smile and speculated whether she would remember her basket, a subtle coldness settling into his eyes. Let's hope the boy won't be stubborn.

'Two biochip users entered a mile range.' Oh? Perfect timing. He stored Renna's basket in his ring and paid the bill, which was only four copper coins, before leaving the restaurant to finally meet with his fellow earthlings. The rain started to drizzle, but he didn't use his hood. He kept walking at a calm pace, letting the raindrops run down his face. Thanks to his mini-map, it wasn't hard to find them. Two males in the clothes of the natives were coming toward him.

One of them was tall, had a square face, and looked a little anxious. The other one was short, had sharp eyes, and looked serious. He got even more serious after seeing Ethan.'' Of course, it's the throne of Cut-Throat who survived from Ivory Woodland,'' the short one murmured. Ethan heard that as they were inside his domain. He hated the popularity he had back on Earth because everybody suddenly felt it was their right to be prejudiced toward him.

Not to mention, there were famous VR players, and then there were infamous ones. It wasn't like he was a rock star. The Throne of Cut-Throat was one of the three thrones. Another belonged to Wu Qian, the Throne of Heaven's Dao. It was a nickname for those who stayed in the first rank in the leading games for more than a year. There were many renowned VR games, but the first place always changed, except for the most popular three.'' It's Ethan,'' he introduced himself with a smile. The short one nodded.

''Rafael.''''P-Pete,'' the tall one said. Rafael looked around impatiently.

''Let's find a place to sit. We have much to talk about.''''Oh, I know a place,'' Ethan said and gestured for them to follow. They didn't walk for long and entered a building just when the rain started to pour down even harder. Pete managed to look even more nervous as he leaned to whisper.

''Umm, Ethan, are you s-sure about this?'' he asked, looking toward the ladies who were smiling and waving at them.''Relax, we are here to listen to music,'' he replied.''Right, we are all here to listen to music,'' the young man walking next to them confirmed with a knowing smile. A voluptuous beauty walked toward them with the elegance of a cat and greeted them with a coy smile.

''Welcome to the Pink Pearl, young warriors.'''' Thanks, young… courtesan?'' Ethan offered. She burst out laughing, ''It's Xena. How may I help you gentlemen, tonight?'''' Just booze and music for now. Do you have a table in the lobby?'''' Of course, please follow me.'' The so-called lobby was huge, and it was swarming with people. Some of them were eating at the tables, and some of them were making out on the couches. Xena led them to a table near the stage where two girls were playing rather strange instruments.

The music was different from the earlier one but just as beautiful. Are they using something similar to mana sense? Another mana skill? And I think they are using artifacts. It might be an effect of those, Ethan thought as he sat on his chair, glancing at the instruments.'' Something strong but not too expensive, along with snacks. Surprise me,'' Ethan said to Xena with a wink. Watching the girl who left with giggles, he took out the cigar case he had bought from Zach and passed it to Pete and Rafael.

Unfortunately, they didn't want one. He shrugged and lit one up.

''So, what were you guys doing in the slums?''''Getting information,'' Rafael said.''And earning money,'' Pete added.

''I am working in a b-butchery, and Rafael joined a small-time gang recently. Our mission was to bring the others to Niamaris. Although we weren't sure you could come all the way here. There was also someone else, Martha, who had already left. Oh, right, y-you don't know–''''Another free-forest city, Niamaris. I'm guessing you made your base there and reached for others via teleportation gates?'''' R-right, the gates cost ten gold per person, though.

We had no choice but to earn some money while traveling,'' Pete said. Ethan nodded.

''Are there any of my friends in your group? Vince, Wu, or Adrian?''''No,'' Pete replied, shaking his head.

''But Rachel is with us.''''Rachel? Oh, the chemist girl.'' Ethan remembered the blonde girl.

''How is she doing?'''' She is okay. I think she found herself directly in the city and even got a job in an alchemy store not long after. You can see her when you come with us.'' Ethan hummed thoughtfully. Where the hell are the others? Azora is so big, I can't possibly travel everywhere. Are they even in Azora? he sighed as he realized his chances of finding his friends were quite low. No point in thinking. They are capable enough to survive. I'm sure we'll see each other again.

The drinks had arrived with some exotic food. Ethan hoped Xena wasn't pulling his leg. If the bill is too much, I'll just [Blink] away. Drinking the whisky-like beverage, he dismissed the bleak thoughts about his friends.

''Right, any idea about what happened to Ani?''''Not really. Though there are some theories,'' Pete said hesitantly.

''S-some say t-that this is just another simulation from Ani. That we are still on the ship, and this is a test.''''Is there no one without a biochip in your group?'' Ethan asked with a frown.''No, there are two, but they could also be part of the simulation.'' Ethan rolled his eyes.

''Come on. What is this? Matrix? And since when is Ani doing things without the consent of others?''''I don't believe them,'' Pete said hastily.

''But we've never considered what we would do without Ani, and it would make sense to get us ready beforehand,'' he said in a low voice before looking away shyly.''There is only one way that kind of thought would lead,'' Ethan said in a serious voice.

''Insanity. Plus, Ani would never put us in a position where we doubt its every move.'' Of course, this was only Ethan's thought, but it came from his experience with Ani, and perhaps it was easier to believe in the sincerity of an incomprehensible existence than to try to guess its motives.''They are just scared and looking for excuses,'' Rafael, who was quiet so far, piped in, still not touching his drink.

''This world turned out much different from what we expected. Even with Ani, we wouldn't have much to offer as diplomatic allies. Now, all we can do is get strong and have a place here. We can all think about Earth after that. Will you join us, Ethan?'''' Nope. I'm not joining anybody. I'm gonna look for my friends as I slowly travel across Azora. If your group needs help with something, I don't mind helping, though. What you said about getting strong was correct.

That should be our priority, and that's what I am going to do,'' he replied in a rather laid-back manner.

''Right, who is your leader?''''It… It's Leo,'' Pete responded. Ethan's jaw dropped as he stared at them.

''You gotta be kidding me. Among all the capable professionals, you guys actually picked that asshole as your leader?'' Leo Kovacic, the Throne of God's Fist, the most famous pugilist game. Where Ethan was annoyed by the attention, and Wu Qian didn't care at all, Leo basked in it. He used and abused it however he liked. Without a question, he was an absolute dipshit.