The caravan moved slowly at first but picked up its pace soon after as the rhythmic sounds of Zenith Pluggers stomping the ground resounded throughout the area. Krune saw the walls of Sunkan City gradually move farther and farther away as he felt a sense of melancholy.
It was the first city he stayed at in the God Realm. With that, he would be lying if he said he wasn't attached to it. He had only been at the First Stage of Mortal Rejection Realm when he visited the city. Now, he was already at the First Stage of God Foundation Realm.
Even though his progress was thanks to his talents and abilities, Sunkan City was still a haven where he could obtain God Stones without having to risk his life. Just look at the Silver-Winged Mouse couple, for example. To earn 1000 Rank One God Stones, they were risking their lives in this long journey.
In Krune's case, all he had to do was work on One-Star Godly Fusion equipment, and he would get 100 Rank One God Stones every day. And, when he awakened its spirit, he would get 1000 Rank One God Stones, which was what the mission reward entailed.
Considering his current cultivation, he would earn the mission reward within a day once he started awakening One Star God Foundation equipment. Such was the difference. On top of that, even while he was on his journey, the Spirit Awakener Guild would constantly give him a job. That way, he wouldn't ever be short on God Stones.
All sorts of emotions danced in his mind as the silhouette of Sunkan City disappeared from view. The caravan had picked up its pace now. Krune was seated on the balcony of his room, gazing at the surroundings. Sitting in the room was boring, especially since he had nothing to do.
As the journey had just started, he didn't wish to begin cultivating immediately. That would have just been tedious. Just when he thought as such, Yulian jumped down from above, landing before him. He held two items in his hand, a brooch and a sword.
"The reward is the same as before for this sword. When you finish awakening its spirit, I'll collect it from you. We'll only come across a city after three months, so time is ample." He then placed the sword on the table. It was a piece of One Star God Foundation equipment. It wasn't anything special, other than the fact its hilt gleamed a faint green.
"This sword looks different from the ones I have handled till now." Krune inspected it as he muttered, noticing how the quality of the blade and the hilt differed.
Seeing that he had already figured it out, Yulian smiled as he explained, "It's part of the City Lord's collection. The hilt is made from a mysterious material, while the blade is made from standard materials. The blade can be swapped with numerous others in his collection. The task this time is to awaken the spirit of the blade. As for the hilt, the Spirit Awakener Guild told me to tell you not to care about it."
"Alright." Krune nodded, directing his gaze to the brooch.
"This is for you." Yulian then threw something else towards Krune. "It can help you withstand a single, full-powered attack from a Semi-God Realm cultivator. Until it reaches that threshold, it wouldn't shatter."
"Thank you." Krune strapped the brooch on his shirt, liking how its design complemented his aesthetics.
"Dima, the Spirit Awakener Guild Master laughed as he gave me this brooch." Yulian disappeared as the remainder of his sentence resounded in Krune's mind. "He called it the Rainbow Calamity."
"…" Veins popped on his forehead as Krune cursed, "Fuck that name!"
"I'll just name you Little Rainy." Krune grabbed ahold of the brooch as he stared at it. However, he noticed something amiss as he gazed at its back, soon seeing the name 'Rainbow Calamity' carved into it. "Fuck!"
He never thought Guild Master Dima would pull off such a stunt on him. After a moment, Krune realized something, "It was you, right, Little Cally?"
There was no response, but Krune felt a faint fluctuation in the Calamity Laws that vanished immediately after. This proved that it was Little Cally's prank on him, once again. Since Dima knew of its identity, he wouldn't have been able to refuse its orders.
'What the hell is it planning to do now that I have this shield with me?' Krune frowned as he thought about it. Eventually, he decided to place it at the back of his mind as he got ready to work. He planned to awaken the spirit of the sword first. Once he was done with that, he planned to take a break from another task while he concentrated on the brooch. It was a treasure that would save his life, so he wished to strengthen it further by awakening its spirit.
When he activated the brooch by pouring in his Godly Energy, it erected a barrier around him. Using his Mental Energy, he could alter the shape of the barrier as he pleased. It was a type of one-off protection equipment that would shatter once the damage received by the equipment reached the maximum it could bear.
But to make that a reality, it would have to defend against a full-powered attack from a Semi-God Realm cultivator or countless attacks from weaker cultivators until the total was achieved. So, until it accumulated damage of that level, it was an impenetrable shield.
Moreover, Krune realized that he could use it as a regular shield until then.
All he needed to do was pour his Godly Energy into the brooch and mend its damage once he was done battling, bringing the damage count to zero once more. That way, he could use it again and again without trouble.
As someone well-versed in the field of smithing, a simple inspection was all it took for him to realize its inner workings and come up with a plan to abuse its usage. Well, all it needed to mend itself was Godly Energy, after all.
As a Spirit Awakener, he earned a lot of God Stones. So, he never lacked Godly Energy. But just when he was about to head into his room, Krune sensed the presence of Vardin on the roof of the carriage. He was talking with someone else.
When he was finished talking, Vardin noticed Krune sitting on the balcony of his room. With a jump, he landed in the area, saying, "I was just told about our travel route."
Seeing Krune nod in response, he continued, "We'll be going through 2 cities, 3 demon beast habitats, and 5 danger zones. Based on what I was told, the Pitlook Merchant Caravan has some arrangements in this route as they frequent it. As for the specifics of the habitats, I wasn't told anything. The worker seemed to be tight-lipped about that."
"I'll ask about it later with Trivar when the caravan stops to rest." Krune nodded as he said, judging that it wasn't a problem. Maybe Trivar didn't wish to leak the information of his route beforehand to prevent any troubles. Or maybe he just thought that it wasn't needed. After all, mercenaries were supposed to be knowledgeable about the land since they traveled a lot to complete various missions.
With that, the mercenaries should be able to judge the terrain the caravan was proceeding into based on the route or any landmark they came across and prepare accordingly. It was their job description. Of course, Krune didn't know anything about the terrain since this was his first exploration in the God Realm.
He knew that demon beast habitats were exclusive territories where the demon beasts roamed around in their true form and allowed their bestial natures to be out in the open. It was risky venturing into such places without enough strength to protect oneself.
Krune then thought, asking, "But, what are danger zones? It's the first time I'm heading into one of them."
' Well, that's not counting danger zones of the realms below.'
Thought Krune...
"You mean... You've never come across them?" Vardin's eyes widened as he looked at Krune in shock. "Have you been living under a rock till now, brother?"
"Pretty much." Krune laughed before asked, "Are they common?"
"Yes." Vardin sighed as he started to explain, "They're one of the reasons traveling beyond the city is dangerous for most cultivators. A danger zone is a place where the laws of nature are active. Also, depending on the quality and quantity of the laws active in the region, it becomes dangerous for everyone below a certain cultivation base. Almost no beings inhabit any danger zones, except for the low-level danger zones that are only dangerous to those in the Godly Fusion Stage."
Just when he was about to explain further, their carriage jerked violently. Krune got up in alarm as he looked around, failing to find anything dangerous. He then noticed the caravan moving over an unbeaten path. The irregularity of the ground was what caused the violent jerk.
"What happened to the roads?" Krune was shocked.
"There are no roads beyond 200 kilometers of any city." Vardin sighed as he answered. "If we extend it any further, they would be destroyed by the numerous demon beast groups living around. Most of the demon beasts love to live freely in their natural forms. If they wanted anything, they would enter a nearby city in human form. But beyond that, they don't like seeing the existence of roads spanning through their territory."
"Will this caravan be okay, then?" Krune looked around, noticing the figures of cultivators flash atop the carriages from time to time as they relayed messages and proceeded about their tasks.
"I hope so." Vardin nodded. "From what I heard, all Zenith Pluggers are managed by Trivar's daughter. She's a Beast Tamer. So, the caravan should move at a controlled pace."
Krune recalled the information of this profession from what he had learned in Sunkan City. Every being in God Realm had sentience. But that didn't mean all demon beasts could behave like humans.
They could only behave like humans while in their human forms. But when they entered their demon beast forms, their bestial instincts would surface. They were still sentient but at times acted on their instincts.
To prevent these demon beasts from wreaking havoc when spurred by their bestial nature, the Beast Tamer profession had appeared. A Beast Tamer placated a demon beast and allowed it to maintain the same level of intelligence it had when it was in its human form.
Demon beasts were stronger in their original forms but were smarter while in their human forms. Beast Tamers brought out the best of both worlds, becoming a favorable profession.
"But even then, controlling one or two demon beasts is a person's limit," Vardin said as his eyes sparkled. "But here, Trivar's daughter manages all 120 Zenith Pluggers without problems. She's the top genius of Sunkan City and beyond in the Beast Tamer profession."
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