The battle that unfolded upon the shores left a clear mark, transforming the area into an unrecognisable wasteland. The pristine sandy beach, once a haven of serenity, was mercilessly swallowed by the relentless expansion of the ocean. All that remained were vast pits and craters, scattered across the desolate landscape. The once majestic palm trees, which adorned the shoreline with their vibrant greenery, now stood as shattered and decimated stumps. The battlefield had stripped away every trace of beauty, leaving behind a sombre reminder of the destruction that had unfolded.
As the citizens of Thira observed the aftermath of the battle, mixed emotions welled up within them. On one hand, they were relieved to learn that the cancerous threat lurking within their city had been eradicated. The eradication of the elder from power brought a sense of happiness and security. However, their hearts were also tinged with disappointment, as they reflected upon the fact that they had placed their trust in someone as treacherous as the elder of the thousand-head serpent tribe.
The betrayal of the elder felt far more personal for them. They knew him, laughed with him and happily received the elder's help after the city was destroyed. Yet, they never imagined him to be working with the enemies. Their hearts ached in pain as they gazed at the beach.
Amidst the gathering crowd along the beach, a young boy, no older than twelve, hurriedly moved about, attempting to sell bags of roasted peanuts. This stretch of shoreline had once been a popular tourist attraction, drawing in numerous young couples. To earn a livelihood, the boy had taken up the task of selling peanuts as a snack to these visitors.
Initially, he had expected the number of tourists to dwindle as the land's natural beauty was marred by the battle. However, much to his surprise, the flow of people to the beach had not ceased. On this particular day, an abundance of visitors had flocked to the shore, and the young boy joyfully sold bags of peanuts, earning a substantial income.
His earnings would be sufficient to sustain his family for an entire week, a tremendous relief for him.
Ever since his father's passing, the burden of supporting his siblings had fallen squarely upon the young boy's shoulders. Being the eldest among them, he took it upon himself to secure their livelihood. Amidst the turmoil and contemplation of the other citizens gazing upon the ravaged beach, the boy remained blissfully oblivious. His focus lay solely on the satisfaction of successfully selling his goods and earning the means to provide for his family for the upcoming week.
With a carefree demeanour, he hummed a tune, his mind wandering as he weaved through the bustling crowd. At this moment, his thoughts were far from the profound thoughts of the older individuals. Instead, he found solace in the simple joy of making a living and the hope of a happy week ahead.
"Hey! Kid!" Suddenly, a voice called out to him from the side. It was a man wearing white robes.
"White-robes? Another white-robed man?" The kid inquired reflexively as he looked at the person before him. He still went towards the person while carrying his bag containing roasted peanuts.
Like everyone else, he too had heard tales of the white-robed man's extraordinary feats. The courage, strength, and intellect attributed to him were the talk of the town, echoing through the crowd that had gathered near the beach. As he manoeuvred through the bustling crowd, the young boy caught fragments of conversation repeatedly praising the white-robed man's noble deeds.
However, the child harboured doubts, convinced that the figure standing before him was an imposter. Countless individuals donning similar garments roamed the area, masquerading as the hero. Yet, not a single one proved to be genuine.
"Yes!" Alex replied calmly.
Inspired by the sight of Thira's citizens proudly donning white robes, Alex entertained a daring notion: to try it out for himself. He ventured into the market and purchased a set of white robes, eagerly anticipating the thrill of blending in. However, his amusement came at a steep cost. The surge in demand had driven the prices of white robes in Thira's shops to exorbitant levels.
Regardless, the price didn't bother Alex. He possessed abundant wealth, rendering the cost inconsequential.
"Kid, give me a pack," Alex requested, gesturing towards a small bundle of peanuts the young boy carried.
"Okay, sir, here you go," the child responded, smoothly handing over the requested package. "That'll be two copper coins," he stated, prompting Alex to pay.
Alex withdrew a handful of coins from his pocket and tendered the payment. However, instead of two copper coins, he gave the boy twenty copper coins. Perplexed, the child glanced at Alex, unable to comprehend why the man had given him so much money.
Knowing he had requested only two copper coins, the boy wondered why he was being handed twenty.
"Don't worry. That's for you. But, did you see this person around here?" Alex took out a hand-drawn picture of a person before asking the kid. He has been looking for the man in the picture for a while.
The individual in question happened to be one of the elder's associates. The ledger Alex had acquired from the elder's body had shed light on this person's affiliation with the evil organisation.
Following the elder's demise, most of the individuals mentioned in the ledger had fled in fear. However, a handful remained, and among them, this particular individual stood out as one of the most wicked. His sinister role involved abducting innocent children and delivering them into the clutches of the evil organisation.
Driven by the information provided by members of the spice garden, Alex ventured to the beach to investigate why this man was still loitering in the city. He yearned to uncover the motives behind the individual's presence and the dark secrets he might hold.
"Yeah! I've seen that person over on the west side of the beach," the kid cheerfully pointed Alex in the direction of the individual.
However, before the child could turn back to face Alex, an astonishing phenomenon occurred—the person vanished into thin air, as if by magic.
'Did I see the real white-robed man?' The kid scratched his head while thinking.
In mere seconds, Alex's found the person in the portrait. With lightning speed, a stone bullet propelled through the air, striking the target directly on the head.
The shock from the impact was just enough to render him unconscious. Seizing the opportunity, Alex swiftly approached and lifted the limp body, disappearing from the beach and retreating to one of his hideouts.
After recuperating from his injuries, the first order of business for Alex was to retrieve the ledgers from his inventory. These valuable documents contained a wealth of information, which he entrusted to the spice garden for duplication. With their help, he uncovered the identities of the individuals mentioned within the ledgers.
For the past day, Alex embarked on a relentless mission to apprehend each person listed in the ledger, systematically transporting them to his secret hideout. Ten of these despicable characters, including Penthe, had already fallen into his clutches, condemned to imprisonment within the confines of his hideout.
None among them were good. Every one of them was a mass murderer, kidnapper, assassin or a total psycho. Alex had no sympathy towards them. He just wanted to use them as evidence in the future.
After all, he planned to reveal the information present inside the ledgers to the public. And to show its validity, he planned to use the evil bastards as witnesses.
After completing his errand, Alex returned to his house in Thira. The peanuts he bought were quickly taken away by the twins, Ammu and Malu.
Returning to his room, Alex closed the door and entered the interdimensional farm. Yesterday, when he entered the farm after a hefty meal, he had seen a weird notification popping up before him.
After days and months of dormancy, the interdimensional farm suddenly sprang to life, initiating a conversation with Alex.
A message appeared, stating, "[Unknown biological material detected. Please place it in the research pod to analyse.]" Alex's attention was immediately drawn to a peculiar item within his inventory—the purple lump of flesh he had retrieved from the elder's space ring.
Overjoyed by the message, Alex couldn't contain his excitement. He believed that he had reached the farm's maximum potential after upgrading it to level 10. However, it seems like there is more to explore.
In the past, he tried using the research pod function to analyse seeds and improve their quality. But, for that, he needed a hundred biological variants of the same seeds as a base template.
Upon realising the limitations of finding numerous seed variants, Alex relinquished his hope of improving the seeds available in the farm shop. The daunting task of acquiring such a vast array of seeds left him questioning the feasibility. Furthermore, the time it would take to gather such a collection seemed impractical.
Aware that he couldn't afford to waste precious time, Alex made the decision to completely disregard the task, instead assigning the members of the spice garden to acquire any seeds they could find. However, even with their efforts, not a single type of seed with a hundred variants had been obtained. Consequently, Alex had entirely forgotten about this particular feature.
Nevertheless, the revelation that the research pod could analyse the mysterious purple lump of flesh reignited his interest.
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