Devourer System : Infinite Paths

Nero made his way through the wide streets of the inner section, reaching the main gate of the core area in no time. The two guards who manned the gate quickly spotted him.

The two guards who had just arrived on their duty, squinted their eyes in focus as they saw him, their gaze freezing on his dark mask, and after exchanging a silent look, the two quickly rushed toward him.

'Did the Governor issue a warrant for my arrest?' Nero imagined the worst scenario, seeing the two guards rushing toward him with blank looks.

Nero stepped back, ready to deal with the guards if they attacked. In the back of his mind, he also considered the possibility of the guards recognizing him as the person they were instructed to escort to the governor.

"Sir, are you here to meet the governor," The guard in the lead stooped a few feet away and asked after a slight bow.

"Lead the way," Nero said calmly, trying his best to appear like Draven.

The guard smiled as if he had won the lottery, and without a moment's delay, he turned around and began to lead the way, staying silent while occasionally sneaking a glance back every few moments.

On his way to the governor's mansion, Nero noticed a few guards eyeing him with surprise and a hint of envy for the two guards accompanying him. 

It became clear to him that the governor had likely informed the entire guard force of his arrival, perhaps even offering a reward for spotting and bringing him to his mansion.

Once they arrived at the mansion, the two guards at the main door greeted them. One of them took the two guards to the side while the other asked Nero to follow him inside.

They led him through a side entrance directly into a private room, where the guard quickly instructed a maid to attend to him before hurrying off to inform the governor.

The first maid stood in silence while another brought freshly cut fruit and juice shortly after the guard left before promptly taking her leave.

After a few minutes of waiting, the room door swung open, and the fat figure of the governor walked in, followed by two figures, a man in dark cloaks and another muscular figure in gray wolf fur coat armor.

"Sir, It is my pleasure to see you again," The governor greeted with a smile, trying his best to sound energetic.

One look and Nero could tell the governor looked tired. His breathing was a mess, showing his fatigue and dark circles beneath his eyes were possibly a sign of not getting proper rest.

"How can I be of use to you? " the governor asked politely, not even mentioning their deal.

"Do you trust these people with your life?" Nero asked after a moment of silence.

The governor was about to reply quickly when he stopped and looked at the maid, then at the armor-clad figure, before pointing toward the door.

The two did not waste any time and quickly left the room, leaving Nero with the governor and his cloaked bodyguard, and just as they did, he pushed the fruits and juice aside, before taking out the map and spreading it on the table.

"This is the location of a low-grade Thundrite mine, and offering it to any noble family will guarantee your rise to the Rank of a Baron or even a Viscount, depending on the choice of family," Nero calmly explained, his finger-taping on the market place, located deep in the elderwood.

The Governor gulped as he suddenly felt his throat dry up. His barely under-control breathing got worse as his trembling hand moved forward to touch the map like there was something magical about it.

The governor took the map, his fingers tracing over its surface with a growing smile, and after seconds of silence, he looked up, his eyes filled with excitement but also doubt and disbelief.

"It is the real deal, and you can confirm it," Nero said, and after a small pause, he continued, "I understand that you must be wondering what else you need to pay for my help since even a low grade, Thundrite mine is still worth many times more than what you gave me,"

"It's something inside the Mardatis Ore Mine that you will dig up for me as quickly as possible, and that's all," Nero said before he stood up, ready to leave.

"I will meet up with you at the mine in some time, and I hope to see your best men working on the mine and removing the ore,"

"I am dealing with you in good faith, and I expect you and your people to do the same because if you try to betray me, then there will be far more severe consequences than you can even imagine," Nero said, giving the governor one final look before leaving.

'This was easier than I thought,' Nero thought, happy with how things went.

Draven gave him simple instructions, leaving the choice of making the governor look for whatever secret the mine hid up to him.

At first, he wanted to keep it a secret, but after thinking it over, he realized that even an idiot would figure out that the mine held some secret worth far more than the Thundrite mine.

So he decided that it was best to make the governor uncover the secret for him and then decide whether it was worth taking it or leaving it to the governor.

'So, what should I do next?' Nero asked, having some plans of his own in his mind, but decided to ask Draven if he needed something done first.

'I presume you are itching to test the Moon system in battle, and that's exactly what you should do,' Draven answered, satisfied by how Nero handled the situation.

'I should buy a sword, right? I am not very good with any real weapon, but I am used to short swords since they are easy to swing, but now that I have the physical strength, should I buy a battle axe or a Broad sword,' Nero said, eager to try his new strength and skills.

'You should pick a long sword or a spear since they are both versatile weapons, great for both offense and defense and also easier to learn and wield for someone inexperienced like you,' Draven answered and added a moment later.

'You should visit the adventurer guild and ask to buy a weapon from their reserved armory,' Draven added, knowing in this small city only they had half-decent weapons.

Nero contemplated between the two weapon types as he quickly left the core area, reaching the adventurer guild building in just a few minutes.

"Greetings," Nero stopped before the inquiry desk, greeting the black-haired girl, who was busy marking a few papers.

"Greetings, Sir. Can I help you with anything," She replied with a calm smile.

"I want to buy a weapon from the reserved armory," Nero said, a look of surprise flashing on her face before the gentle calm returned as she replied, "Sir, it would be ten gold if you are an adventurer guild member and a hundred if you are not," She calmly stated, even though she expected him to already know the rules.

On the other hand, Nero was left stunned since, in his understanding, a few silver coins were enough for an iron sword, and even the best weapons would only cost a few golds.

'Is she trying to scam me?' Nero asked Draven, not buying the wild fee she was asking for.

'The weapons you are familiar with are of common and uncommon grade, while the adventurer guild reserved treasury only houses rare and upper-grade weapons,' Draven cleared his confusion.

'A hundred gold just to enter the treasury. It better be worth it,' Nero murmured under his breath but quickly accepted the price.

'How am I supposed to pay her? All the money is inside the space ring,' Nero thought, realizing he had no money.

"Sir, is there a problem? " the attendant asked, seeing Nero remain silent after she mentioned the price.

'Just release some of your mana into the ring, sense the contents inside, and begin to touch the item you want with your mana, isolating it before pulling out your mana and the item with it,' Draven said, making it seem like it was very easy.

'Sense, control Mana, Draven, you might have forgotten, but I was half crippled just a week ago,' Nero said, feeling uneasy seeing the attendant stare at him in silence.

'Try to do it before whining,' Draven said, making it clear he was on his own.

Nero clenched his teeth in anger as he decided to try it. Draven was not going to help, and with every second, he felt more and more ashamed seeing the attendant's empty gaze.

He closed his eyes, trying to feel the mana flowing through his veins. After a moment in the darkness, he saw the light, pure white energy that slowly took the form of his body before even the surroundings became clear.