Chapter 102 What Do You Want?

In an hour or less, it should have begun to dawn, and only then would the city gradually return to normal. The feast had come to an end, so it was time for the inhabitants to move back to their usual pace.

Zayne and the others were well rested, but they were a little sleepy. Zayne would have been glad to fall into his bed right now, but he and Alden still had some unfinished business.

"Thank you, this thing always makes a decent impression." Alden smiled, taking his sword from Zayne's hands.

"Alden... Why did you bring me here? And why are we the only ones here?" Zayne muttered in confusion, staring at the massive iron doors, seemingly hide something important.

Alden smirked, "Isn't it obvious? Perhaps Fate and Solomon have already thanked you, but what about me? After all, I'm the one who sent you on this mission, aren't I? The others will be rewarded later, but you are right now."

Zayne's eyes went wide.

[Invasion in the Orcs Dungeon - Quest Completed!]

[Your mission is finally over, so it's time to get what you deserve!]

"I have much to offer you, but something tells me you're going to ask me for the same thing as last time, aren't you?" Alden leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yeah... It might seem strange to some, but I need money, the more the better." Zayne's gaze grew sharper.

Alden nodded slightly, "I knew that, so I've already prepared everything, I hope it will be enough." Alden smirked as his ring shone brightly. A pouch appeared in his hand, which he tossed to Zayne.

Zayne opened the pouch and got goosebumps from the white sheen that showed the value of the contents.

[You got 10 Platinum Coins!]

In Zayne's mind, calculations immediately began which led him to the obvious conclusion.

'Ten Platinum Coins is... Damn, doesn't that mean I have 10,000 Credits in my hands now!' Zayne inwardly exclaimed as a happy smile appeared on his face.

"Isn't that too much...?" Zayne muttered with a dazed expression.

"Hmm? What are you talking about? Hah, Zayne, the very fact that so many people came to Red Feather City because of you will allow me to earn more, even considering the cost of the feast. What's more, do you really think that's the main reward?" Alden smiled slyly.

"What...?" Zayne opened his mouth.

"It's just a nice bonus. I don't know why you want the money, but it's none of my business, your reward is behind those doors." Alden pointed to the side with a confident smirk, "Although, I must admit, if it wasn't for the gift from Mr. Solomon, I would have chosen something different."

"Agh...? So do you know what kind of potion he gave me?" Zayne muttered in confusion.

Alden nodded silently, "Obviously it's a purification potion. It's what I, my sister, Lucia, and most of the nobles used. I'm no mage or alchemist, but as far as I know, such a potion must be consumed once every 5 years or when you reach new heights of power."

Alden sighed, walked over to the gate, and pulled a short knife from his pocket. He ran it across his palm with a slight frown and put his hand on the cold metal.

Whooooooooooosh.

Various symbols flashed red on the iron gate, and then the massive plates slowly came into motion, opening the passage.

"What is this...?" Zayne's eyes went wide at the sight of a lake of glistening white water. Around the lake were many, crystals emanating pale blue waves that were mana.

"This is the Purification Lake under the control of the Redfall Family. Normally, a common person would never be able to get here, but you're a special case." Alden waved his hand and stepped through the scarlet barrier that kept the energy out of the cave.

Zayne gulped and stepped forward, following Alden. Once he was inside he felt his body fill with power.

[You are in a zone with an extra high concentration of energy! Your Health and Mana are increased by 20% Training efficiency in this zone is boosted by 30%!]

'Damn... Such big bonuses just from walking in here?' Zayne muttered inwardly, looking around.

"Zayne, listen to me carefully." Alden became more serious which made Zayne concentrate, "I'm actually grateful for everything, but even so, the best I can offer you is time until the afternoon... That means you'll have about six hours."

Zayne nodded. This was the first time he'd encountered something like this, but given such severe restrictions, he knew he was very lucky to be here.

"This lake is one big potion Mr. Solomon gave you, but it's ten times less concentrated, I think that's obvious." Alden said, looking at the white water and waving his hand, "Well, good luck, I'll be back when your time passes, and yes... Use the potion while in the lake, for maximum effect."

Without further ado, Alden left the cave, closing the doors behind him, so now Zayne was here alone, and nothing could disturb him.

"Hah, how unusual, I should probably be jumping for joy that I could get in here, but it's all too puzzling..." Zayne muttered, scratching the back of his head.

He didn't rush and try to take advantage of every second, he decided to do everything at his own pace.

"Every time Roland and I went to the hot springs after training, so I should do the same now, right?" Zayne smiled slightly and threw off his outerwear.

Zayne repeated what he was doing with Roland, first the standard warm-up exercises, then he started swinging his sword and practicing certain movements.

Zayne took each training session seriously, but now he had a happy smile on his face because today he felt better than ever.

In just one week his life had drastically changed, for the better, and he wasn't going to stop there!

[Your Title - Wild Metamorphosis, increases the effectiveness of your training!]

[Your Strength has been increased by 1 point!]

[Your Endurance has been increased by 1 point!]

[Your Agility has been...!]

"Agh... Agh... Agh..." Zayne was breathing heavily while hot steam was coming from his body. All of his muscles were on fire and he had reached his limit at this hour, now he urgently needed to rest.

"Hah... Unbelievable... In just one hour all my stats have increased by 3 points... well except Intelligence, hah, that's even a little ironic..." Zayne muttered with a bitter smile and headed for the lake.

He took a deep breath filling his lungs, and pulled out a potion. Zayne glanced at it, then at the lake, and with a slight nod said, "Yeah, Alden is definitely right. Even though this potion is only enough for one sip, it's obvious even to me that it will be more effective than this lake."

Zayne opened the potion and drank it completely, then, without waiting for the potion to work, he jumped into the lake with glowing eyes, expecting it to get even stronger now.

'I don't know what awaits me in those ruins, but I have to prepare properly. Whether or not I can handle the challenge, my fate depends on it.' Zayne inwardly whispered, sinking to the bottom.