116 A Savage Screech

The overly large comprehensive book I expected to find only contained two words on the first page 'Hire Seji', the rest of the grand tome was blank. This shameless troll had added such a despicable book to the marketplace. His shame knew no bounds. I immediately went to go find Seji to give him a piece of my mind.

It wasn't hard to locate the troll; as he spent most of his time around the arena. When I spotted the troll, I eyed him with daggers.

"Hey mon, why the long look? You're a valuable customer," said Seji with no sense of shame.

"You You You," I said, unable to even make a coherent sentence in my fury. This damned troll had scammed me out of another 500 phallic points!

"You should hire me to guide you, mon. The Savage Land is no walk in the park."

"What makes the Savage Land such a difficult place?" I said.

"I'll be honest with you, mon. Few people return from the Savage Land, it's a horrible place filled with many dangers," said Seji.

"You damned troll, being so cryptic! I'll hire you for 7 days to watch after me and my alchemy assistant," I said.

"Excellent choice, mon. My price is 500 a day for the Savage Land, mon," said Seji.

I figured a week would be plenty of time to determine for myself if the Savage Land was truly this pit of death Seji described it to be. If it was something I could handle myself, I would just ditch Seji after a week. If not, I could only swallow my pride and pay this troll.

"Good, mon. The more the better. Meet me back here in two days," said Seji as he headed off. He seemed excited to have found a new customer.

I went back to the alchemy lab to discuss this with Shi Da.

"For us to get Tier-3 herbs we have to head to the Savage Land. It's a Lower World. That damned troll is offering to be a guide for 500 points a day. What do you think? I say we split it evenly and find out about this strange place?" I said.

"If it's really a fight for survival, having that damned troll by our side would be for the best. I smell a conspiracy though, that troll isn't any kind of honest businessman. He's always looking for the easiest way to make a quick dime at other trial taker's expense," said Shi Da.

"We make points together fast enough, at most we lose 1750 points each to the trolls scam. It's better than dying an incomplete corpse," I said.

"True, how could a few meager points be worth more than our lives. I agree with this plan of action," said Shi Da.

Everything was all settled now, with Shi Da to split the cost of hiring Seji we could head into the Savage Land. I was looking forward to this entry to a foreign lower world. I spent the rest of the day mentally and physically preparing myself for the journey. I even called back Destiny \u0026 Freedom to my side for this adventure.

"You three wish to enter the Savage Land?" said the Satyr.

"Yes, mon. Please grant us three entries," said Seji.

"Bring out your Aphallas," said the Satyr.

We each brought forth our Aphallas as a white light shined from the Satyrs' hand. I got a notification that 5,000 points had been deducted from my Aphalla.

We walked through the cave into a faded stable portal among a layer of fog. After stepping through the portal, we were immediately met with a captivating world. Gravity was far stronger here, and I could feel its pull with every step I took. It was exhausting. My immediate instinct was to take shelter, to find some time to acclimate to this hostile environment.

I knew no doubt that this world held many secrets and dangers after feeling the gravity. It wasn't the time to get complacent and reckless.

I looked toward Seji for guidance, as I heard a loud screech from up above. In the skies, I see a massive flying savage beast with leathery wings soaring across the sky. It was closer to a reptile than a bird. From its aura, I could tell it was at least a Tier-5 existence, equal to a Count. This place would be no walk in the park.

The screech held a hidden meaning that resonated with my soul.

'I see you. Do not violate my dignity.'

"What do we do now, Seji?" I said after feeling the threatening screech.

"I've never been here before, mon," said Seji as he shook his head.

"What do you mean, you've never been here before!" said Shi Da as he looked visibly upset and took out his sword.

I also prepared Destiny and Freedom. How dare this troll scam both of us! Together we should be able to beat some sense into this shameless bastard.

"Calm down, mon!" said Seji as he jumped back from us.

"Who's going to stay calm after being scammed again by you troll?" said Shi Da as he sent a slash towards Seji.

Seji brought out his club and knocked the slash to the side.

"I'm always ready for a fight, mon. But here's not the place," said Seji.

Moving within this high gravity was difficult. I could tell battling here would take a great toll on my stamina.

"Let the troll speak," I said, attempting to calm down the battle-ready human.

Shi Da was a hothead. I didn't want to get killed by a random savage beast after getting exhausted fighting because of his reckless actions. There had to be a good reason Seji hadn't been here before. He wasn't shameless to that extent! At least, I hoped not.