Chapter 57: Troublesome matter
Rando continued, "I will take you through the capital’s teleportation gate to the border region of Stonehelm, where the Commerce HQ of the Greenroot Guild resides."
Kale nodded and followed behind the man; both of them reached a large, wall-isolated section of the capital, a bit far away from the Association grounds as well as the Royal Palace.
There were lines of high-status people coming in and out of the place’s massive doorway. As he entered, the scenery seemed to change, catching him by surprise; he looked back and forth.
Rando explained to him, "This is the teleportation zone of the capital. An energy barrier isolates this place. For safety reasons."
He added, "The five teleportation gates each lead to each of the five regions’ cities nearest to their border posts."
Kale nodded, somewhat fascinated by the prospect of the five spatial gateways swirling in a bluish spiral. He was greatly intrigued by how this civilization had achieved such a marvelous feat.
’Perhaps with some advanced applications of the Elemental Magic’, thought Kale in his mind.
After Rando stated his purpose and showed a letter to the personnel in charge of operating, both of them stepped into the swirling unknown territory of space.
Kale’s heart pumped with excitement as the world seemed to bend and twist; even his mind felt lost, stretching into an unknown dimension, leaving him extremely dizzy.
The little that he could observe with the last ounce of his willpower felt like he himself had turned into glittering starlight, traveling at an incomprehensible speed as the world blurred.
And before he could try to comprehend it, he was already at the destined location. Kale stumbled, feeling a splitting headache.
Rando helped him stabilize as the two of them moved away from the gate ahead of them. One after another, many others were arriving.
Rando asked, "Are you okay?"
Kale nodded, bringing out a bottle of water from his storage space as he drank it all greedily.
Rando chuckled, "It would feel like that for the first time, feeling extreme dehydration, but you’re already holding up much better than most."
The Cursed Tamer did not respond, continuing to drink more water. Only after a minute did he feel somewhat alright.
He looked back at the swirling teleportation gate and mumbled to himself in a low tone,
"How fascinating, I thought it could be Quantum Teleportation, but it’s not; rather, it’s something in between space warping and wormhole travel, but I still don’t understand the theoretical process of it."
Rando became confused by the words, "What?"
Kale shook his head and urged Rando to hurry along. While his mood was somewhat somber, after all, this region was where Dagan village was located; just 3-4 viscounties away was his home, where his family and people lived.
And yet, he could not go there. He could not meet them, not until he was strong enough.
As the Cursed Tamer walked out of the Teleportation Zone, he saw a medieval town bustling with activities. Compared to the capital’s sophisticated, advanced vibe.
This place looked like a wild and almost chaotic market on a grand scale.
Carriages being pulled by powerful Beasts; many were riding strange-looking beasts in the middle of the road; small shops spread on the sides of zigzagging roads—customers and Sellers hastling for various products.
Larger stores and Organizations were a bit on the back side of the roads.
Moving through the bustling town, the two of them finally reached a wide open space where a single large three-story building stood, with a bold sign at the front reading... Greenroot Commerce HQ.
Rando explained, "There are three major Tamer Guilds within the Human Empire, and each of them has two fronts; one side is the Commerce HQ, responsible for business and logistics."
"While the other is the Field HQ controlling three prominent Outer Zones, responsible for killing Beasts and supplying the Empire with a continuous input of resources."
Kale nodded, already aware of that information.
As they went in, Rando showed the special envelope of the letter in the reception of the Commerce HQ. Kale noticed the receptionist’s expression change abruptly as the receptionist took the letter somewhere else.
Not long after, the receptionist came back and brought the two of them into the manager’s chamber.
The manager was a Grandmaster-rank entity, but he looked frail and thin; there were dark circles under his eyes as if he had not slept for ages. The man spoke tiredly, "Please sit."
Both Kale and Rando sat down, while the manager continued, "The prince is truly putting me in a tough spot. Master Rando, I apologize, but we cannot spare any workforce for a special escort to the Tigerwood Forest."
"You should already know that the Beast Tides are but a few weeks away from now. Most of our Awakened are already either on the borders or the Outer Zone; we’re already struggling with the Logistics operation due to a lack of workforce."
"At best, within a few hours, there is a shipment of Resources which will be sent to the Outer Zone; you two can tag along with that. Though, I don’t recommend it."
Rando frowned, "Going with a resource Caravan is too dangerous at this moment, and the few powerful Awakened with the Caravan will only prioritize keeping the resources safe. In case of danger, we won’t have any help."
The manager sighed, "The prince should have already thought of this matter."
Kale thought to himself coldly, ’As expected, even though Renard did help, he didn’t pay much heed to this matter, since I don’t have my previous talent anymore because of the Curse.’
Though Kale wasn’t much surprised by the matter because he did not even presume Renard to agree to his request in the first place, he was already grateful for this much help from the Prince.
He spoke for the first time, "May I ask if it is possible to hire a few trustworthy mercenaries?"
The manager gave Kale a long look and revealed, "Currently, you will not find a Grandmaster-rank Awakened for hire; even peak Master rank individuals will take too much price."
"Besides, going towards the Outer Zone without a Grandmaster-rank powerhouse is basically suicide."
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