Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
The night went past very quickly.
When Soran saw Gloria again, he noticed another layer of silver on her hair, which made him feel a little guilty. Divination spells needed costly sacrifices, especially when done on a person like Vivian. After all, Vivian was a child of Fear, and the cost of prophesying her fate was comparable to that of a king’s.
Soran’s heart was filled with gratitude, and this was the first time he felt that he owed someone so much.
“To the south. Mountains that are near the sea.”
Gloria’s had a calm expression as she gazed at Soran quietly and said slowly, “The last card is a snake. I don’t know what it means, but it must have something to do with Vivian’s whereabouts.”
The snake had a lot of meaning.
Its complex meanings were difficult to infer in a short time. In some beliefs, snakes represent wisdom, and may also represent other meanings. Even Gloria a northern witch who was proficient in Divination would have difficulty predicting the exact meaning. Even legendary Divination could only make a general prediction; not even the gods could do better. Otherwise, the believers of Fear would have found Vivian before Soran could take her out of Amber City.
Soran bowed once more to show his gratitude and went out of the wizard tower.
Now that there was a clue, it was much better than his aimless search—at least it wouldn’t be as difficult as looking for a needle in a haystack. Besides, he had traveled all over the mainland, even the outer islands several times over. In his memory, there were not many places where he could connect ‘South’, ‘Mountains’ and ‘Sea’ together. It was very likely that she was near the cities near the sea. The last card, the ‘Snake’ was the key to finding Vivian, but Soran did not know what it meant.
Soran left very soon.
He was not someone good at communicating and didn’t know what he should say.
Even though he was grateful and willing to repay the favor, he was still too weak.
Even after reaching grade 3 in just a months time, he was still too weak compared to Gloria. He also didn’t have the wealth that the northern witch had. Thus, repayment was almost impossible. All Soran could do was to keep it in mind until the day when he becomes powerful enough to repay her help.
Gloria did not go along with him.
She stood on the tower and watched Soran go away silently. Then she reached out and touched her heart—the wound there had not healed yet. The emergence of the Hand of Despair strengthened her determination to enter the realm of legends; she was already slowly moving towards the realm of legends.
She performed Divination more than once last night. In fact, she also checked on another thing. She saw that Soran would find Vivian because their fates were one.
The northern witch’s long silver hair blew in the wind, and her face was still so beautiful. She looked at the distance and murmured, “Soran!… I’m afraid you’re a son of a deity too!… But whose blood did you inherit?…”
Reaching grade 3 in a months time.
It was something Gloria didn’t even dare think about. That’s why she was sure some of the energy was in Soran.
The figure of the gorgeous woman stood in front of the window. She felt it when Soran had left and she looked at the figure that was fading away. “Who on earth is he? Both siblings of different mothers are actually children of gods! Is his mother a descendent from the gods as well?!…”
She could not help going into deep thought.
…
The City of Wealth.
A place where endless caravans come and go. Rich-faced businessmen were bargaining everywhere. From time to time, they would yell the phrase “Goddess of Riches, highest” hoping their spit would hit the seller in order to get a better deal. This place was the center of trade along the southern coast. The open canal links the inland areas and is close to the Soros Islands, so it was convenient for shipping. This was the most developed trade city. It was the focus of the Goddess of Riches where there was the largest temple of wealth.
The merchants were believers of the Goddess of Riches.
The city was so wealthy that even the buildings were painted in gold. Of course, it wasn’t real gold, it was just a kind of paint that looks golden after painting.
The overdeveloped trade had also stimulated all kinds of degenerative cultures and the pursuit of pleasure and enjoyment; a place where the Lady of Joy develops its followers. Whether it was a luxurious banquet or a variety of unique enjoyments, as long as one could afford it, the priests of the Lady of Joy would prepare it for you; they could even invite the priests of the Lady of Love to attend.
While maintaining its prosperity, the city was also full of all kinds of vice. Countless eyes also looked to it for wealth.
Even when the good deities had their presence here, there was never a shortage of corpses in the sewers.
Kettle Tavern.
The noise here would almost alarm the guards outside. A large group of drunks, tourists and adventurers laughed and looked at the halflings standing on the table in front of them; shouting from time to time. At the other side of the room was a depressed bard who no one cared about anymore; everyone was attracted by the drunken halfling. Despite the fact that he seemed to be completely drunk, he was still able to throw down a man trying to steal his purse.
Many people were amazed at his skill. The adventurers around the halfling also looked at each other and evaluated his strength.
A knowledgeable Rogue was popular everywhere and would never be missed on an adventure trip.
Aladdin held a mug bigger than his face, lifted it up and drank it. Then he belched and continued, “It was a very dangerous situation at that time! Five ten-foot-tall Earth Elemental surrounded us all!… Its arms were thicker than those pillars!… One punch down the ground and a pit was formed!… A slight slip up, and it’s a one-way ticket to hell!…”
“Fortunately, I had a good companion! Even though he was a little worse than I am!… He still helped me hold down two enemies! What a dangerous situation it was! I fought back three Earth Elementals alone!… If it weren’t for my stature and natural agility!… It would have been impossible to escape their attacks!…”
“Dodging and attacking while taking care of my companion at the same time!… Burp!… Glory to the Goddess of Riches!… I almost didn’t make it!…”
Next came a breathtaking process in which Aladdin, a heroic halfling, defeated five Earth Elementals at an absolute disadvantage and saved his companion who was a little weaker than him. The guests in the pub knew he was boasting, but they were amazed by this guy’s eloquence. His storytelling style was full of suspense, and he could even act out some of the situations from time to time. It was truly impressive.
After being given three drinks in a row, Aladdin finally finished this wonderful adventure story.
He brilliantly defeated a large group of Earth Elementals. At the critical moment, he was able to help his companion, used a gap in the valley and escaped from the awakening Stone Talus.
After completing his daily bragging, Aladdin staggered out of the tavern.
He was different compared to previously. His clothes were much more exquisite, and there were some odd ornaments on him. It seemed that he had become more wealthy after he had sold his jewels.
He walked out of the pub and peed in the alley. There was a purse in his hand and he looked at it with a smile. He then muttered with joy, “Today’s harvest was good! Drinking didn’t cost a lot of money, and I even took a bag of money from that dumb dumb.”
“Ah!… the south is definitely better!…the sun is warmer!…and money is everywhere!”
After a little shiver, he put the money in his pocket and turned to where he came from.
He was still drunk and a bit dazed. He was greeted by people from time to time as it seemed that he had a good reputation nearby.
Suddenly.
He seemed to have seen something. He opened his eyes more, shook his head and rubbed his eyes, “Are my eyes dazzled?”
“Why did I see Vivian just now?!… Illusion! It must have been an illusion!… she and Soran had already gone to the north!”
“Seems like I really am drunk! Hahaha!”