"What are you talking about?" A man stepped out from the crowd and waved his sword to his side. "You didn't tell us we are going to die."

Max face-palmed when he heard the man's words.

Wasn't it normal to die in a mission? So what exactly were these people's problem?

Reith stood by the corner and closely watched. He only wanted a place to practice his skills. He had heard of the outskirts of the city. It was right before the border between the Azure Region and the Canfield Region.

The people of the Canfield Region were rumored to be strong beast fighters, and they never sought to fight.

It was merely what he had learned when he had been popular in school.

To think he'd find himself on his way there was a different problem.

Reith stepped forward. "How long would the journey take?" he asked, raising his voice to get Max's attention.

Hearing his question, Max raised his head. This was quite a reasonable question, and he suddenly felt happy that he had recruited this youngster.

"The journey would take three days. It's what we have planned. We have looked at the easiest and the safest of routes," Max said with a smile. When the others heard him, the murmurs reduced.

Seeing the effect of his words, Max continued. "You all wouldn't let me finish. Of course, we would face monsters, but the only time you'd be exposed to death would be if your abilities are below Core Realm," he said.

This time, it turned quiet, and everyone paid rapt attention to him.

Ray heaved a sigh of relief. He had finally confirmed that there was no problem, and if everything worked well, he would be present for his wife's delivery.

Max raised his hands. "These people are paying us a lot. And the reason why I need a lot of people is so the nobles can blend in as one of us," he revealed.

Most of the people formed a circle with their lips. It was a lot more reasonable now.

"They are even among us now, but I have sworn not to reveal their identities. So I hope you all would cooperate with me," Max said, releasing his charm with a smile.

Then he waited for them to voice their complaints. Although there were those who still didn't agree, none of them had the audacity to speak it out.

"I believe these people are leading us to our graves."

"Well, there'd be good money."

"Money won't bring you back from the dead, man. Use that brain of yours."

"Tch. Get lost. Why am I even talking with you? Take your bad luck somewhere else."

Despite Max's explanation, there were still whisperings, but it was normal with humans.

It was never easy to please everyone, and Max couldn't even be bothered.

If he completed this mission, he would be instantly promoted to an S-rank Adventurer, and then he could form his own guild.

"You all can go and prepare, and we meet at the gate of the city before the sun rises tomorrow. We can't afford to waste any more time. I don't wanna miss the Final Selection because of a simple mission," Max said.

People nodded their heads. No one wanted to miss the Final Selection.

Before the group dispersed, Max informed everyone to get their weapons ready, as nothing would be provided for anyone.

Reith clenched his fist. He couldn't help but feel riled up. Maybe he could get the chance to practice Crimson Flame before the Final Selection.

He walked away from the gathering, but then someone held his shoulders.

"Hey. You that SSS boy, right?" The person had an unfamiliar voice.

Reith turned around to face the man only to see that it was a person with an eye-patch on his left eye. There was a large scar passing from the man's left brow down his left cheek. He had the kind of face that would make you think twice before offending him.

"What are you talking about? Is there a problem?" Reith said. He had been hunted the last time. There was no way he'd make the mistake of slipping his identity again.

The eye-patch man looked a bit confused. "You look familiar," the man uttered, with his hand still on Reith's shoulder.

Reith didn't know how to escape the situation or what to say. There was no telling if this person was a spy or someone sent out to get him.

Just then, Max's voice sounded. "Do you have a problem, old man?" He was standing behind the eye-patch man with his hand on the man's shoulder, mirroring exactly what the man did to Reith.

Since Max had gotten involved, it attracted the attention of the rest of the people. Seeing this, the eye-patch man raised his hand from Reith and shook his head.

He couldn't afford to cause a scene here. At least not now.

"I'm sorry, Adventurer Max. I just thought the boy looks like someone I know," the eye-patch man uttered.

Reith raised a brow. If he actually thought that, then couldn't he have asked in a better way?

Max narrowed his gaze. He couldn't see through this person, and somehow he didn't remember recruiting him.

"What's your name? How did you get among my group?" Max asked.

The eye-patch looked a bit startled, but he pointed at Matchet. "He brought me here," the man said. "Levi is my name," he added with a harmless smile.

"Hmm." Max nodded. He would speak to Matchet later. That guy was always used to bringing in weird people.

"Please don't trouble my members like what you just did," Max cautioned, and then he pulled Reith out of there.

"I'm sorry about that," he said to the boy.

Reith nodded. "It's fine. Thank you. I didn't feel any ill intent coming from him," he pointed out.

"Ah, I see. Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow, right?" Max smiled at him.

"Yes."

After the whole scenario, Reith left the Alliance Spire. He would need to get some weapons at least. One that could channel the element of his technique.

He had been cultivating almost every time, and he could feel that he was at a bottleneck. Breaking through would have been the next step for any other person, but not Reith.

He needed Pure Hana. Unlike the normal cultivators, it was easy to use the Hana in the city atmosphere, and their body could still withstand some of the toxins.

"Core Realm: Initiate Stage," Reith said, reading the text that was written in his book.

He felt there was more to this book than he could currently witness. But the only obvious way to access more was simply to…

"I have to get stronger," Reith said, standing in front of a shop.

He had little money with him, so he wanted to get a weapon.

"I wonder what weapon to get." Reith sighed. The only weapon he was familiar with was the wooden staff he trained with before opening his meridians.

While Reith was busy contemplating, the store owner stepped out of the building. He had just finished building a weapon and was hoping there would be customers outside his door.

"You! Old Man Carter! Stop stealing my customers. Move your cursed cart somewhere else. This is my spot," the shop owner shouted sharply.

Old Man Carter turned his head with an ugly look. "I am not stealing them, they only come for the best."

"You mean the cheapest," the shop owner countered.

He knew his weapons were quite expensive, but that was because there was a lot involved in making them. Many times, he had wondered how Old Man Carter got his weapons made, and this old man always made his appearance during every Final Selection.

"Good day, Sir. I'd like to purchase a weapon," Reith spoke up, jolting the shop owner out of his reverie.

"Go buy at that old man's shop. They are a lot cheaper there," the shop owner dismissed the customer, not caring to take a look at the person.

"I'm serious, Sir. I'd like a spear with the lightning element affinity," Reith said.

Angry at the person who was proving to be stubborn, the shop owner turned around with a glare. "It's very expensive. Don't you want something cheaper?" he said, giving Reith a strange look.

All of his clients had rushed over to Old Man Carter's stand, so it was strange to have one so adamant.

"Cheap doesn't mean quality," Reith said with a smile.

"Uhn." The shop owner was in a bit of a trance. Expensive didn't also mean quality, so he couldn't understand what this youngster was on about. But the fact that the boy had chosen to stay despite being waved away meant something.

"Get in," he said. It was pointless to drive away someone that wanted to spend money so badly.

Reith nodded and stepped into the building. Inside, countless weapons shone and glittered as they rested on the wall. From the very looks of these weapons, it was obvious that they were expensive.

He currently had five gold credits. A gold credit was worth far more than a silver credit, and would be enough to feed a teenager two meals a day for a month. It could feed a family of four sparingly for a week or two, depending on the way it was managed.

The highest currency was the platinum credits. Reith heard from Isho that only truly elite people had access to the platinum credits, and even still, it was rarely seen.

"A staff with the lightning element affinity, right? Please sit down, I'll be back," the shop owner said, and then he entered a room.

Just then, the main door of the shop opened with a loud bang.

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