Chapter 86: [Bonus Chapter] Arriving At Snowhelm

As soon as the beast collapsed, the golden beam came to a stop, revealing Nox, whose chest was rising up and down, tendrils of blue and golden lightning lingering on the odachi.

Everyone stared with wide eyes, mouths agape in disbelief. They couldn't believe that the powerful spider that had killed all those Awakened was dealt with in a span of 2 minutes!

"Who is this kid?" This was the thought of everyone.

"Hmmm, still not enough to level up, huh," Nox commented as he saw the increase in experience points, unaware of the stares. Since he reached level 14, it had been incredibly hard to level up. At this pace, Nox figured it would take months before he could level up again. A moment later, he dug into the spider's chest, retrieved the beast core, and threw it inside his inventory.

"He killed it!" one man shouted, snapping the others out of their daze. "He really killed it!"

"Sniff, sniff." The woman with the kids wiped away a strand of tears. "We're safe."

"Woah, I have never heard of a level 14 Awakened moving like that!" one of the Awakened who had listened to Nox's advice exclaimed. He was a level 20 Awakened, yet even he couldn't move like that.

"Thank you, mister!" The other travelers started to surround Nox and thank him profusely. Nox merely brushed them all off and their offers because it was beginning to become outrageous and lewd.

"Maybe, if I had intervened earlier, those Awakened might still be alive," Nox sighed.

Though he had come to realize that death was pretty common in this world, he still felt sour, knowing he could have prevented it.

"I have to remember that if I was not here… maybe more people would have died." Nox tried to justify his actions and didn't mull over the thought again when he arrived before Jack.

"Here, thank you," he said, handing the odachi to the scared youth.

"You… you were amazing!" Jack exclaimed as he took back the odachi. "Where did you learn to move like that?! Was that a skill?"

"That's a secret," Nox merely replied; he wouldn't really reveal his secret to a total stranger.

"Sorry, I might have come across as too intrusive," Jack apologized as the group of travelers resumed their journey.

"It's fine."

"So what are you going to do in Snowhelm?" Jack smiled foolishly as he scratched his head. "Ah, sorry, it seems I'm being intrusive again."

The group didn't encounter much trouble; the few beasts they met were easily dealt with by the Awakened. As they faced more of these beasts, Nox realized that the beasts were indeed stronger than normal.

'It's just like the python four years ago,' Nox mused but was soon jerked out of his thoughts by Jack, who couldn't keep his mouth shut… he was telling Nox a story about his annoying cousin, a very unnecessary piece of information.

"Thank the heavens!" Nox suddenly exclaimed when he saw a bright flash of light shining into the tunnel. He couldn't continue to listen to Jack's boring story; if he did, he might just bleed from the ear.

"Finally, we're here!"

"I don't want to ever use these tunnels again!"

Upon seeing the light, the travelers began to jump up in excitement and hugged each other.

"We're here, it seems." Jack had a bittersweet smile. "I guess we'll part ways from here. You're such an interesting fellow; are you sure you don't want to tell me about what you want to do? I might help you out… like I said before, I'm very familiar with this kingdom."

"You're a good person," Nox said, thinking back to what Jack had done in the tunnel. With his strength, the latter was capable of running past the spider and escaping, but he had stayed behind and fought to protect the non-Awakened.

"However, I don't need your help for now, maybe later but not now." Nox said and was about to leave, but Jack called out.

"How are you going to ask for my help?"

"I don't know!" Nox replied, walking out of the tunnel. "If fate allows us to meet, then we'll meet again."

"If fate allows us to meet, huh," Jack repeated as he watched Nox's back disappear.

[Such an interesting fellow, I like him! I hope we meet again.] A voice that didn't belong to Jack resounded in his head, but he ignored the voice as if he hadn't heard it in the first place.

"Young Master!" One of the Awakened came up to Jack. In fact, all the Awakened that had fought the spider had gathered around him. "Should I follow him?"

"No… no need," Jack said, his gaze still lingering at the opening. "Like he said, we'll meet again if fate allows it."

Then he looked at the Awakened and added, "Let's just focus on the mission."

"Yes, sir!"

"No matter what, we must not allow the others to get to that beast first." Jack clenched his fist. "That Elemental Crystal must be ours!"

Finally, Nox was out of the tunnel and entered the kingdom of Snowhelm. The first thing he noticed was the freezing atmosphere and the ground covered in ice sheets. He seemed to be in a valley with no sight of civilization.

Nox was confused about which side he should take to reach the nearest city. Luckily, one of the travelers showed him the direction.

After thanking the man, Nox set out towards his right. He trudged through a snow-covered path for two hours. He didn't encounter any beasts or hoodlums; it was a peaceful walk, and he soon arrived at the first city.

Nox paid the entrance fee, which was a dozen silver coins, and was allowed access into the city. Shortly after he entered the city, a tall woman standing on top of a valley outside the city smiled.

"It seems he got in without any problem."

***

New week:

So I fulfill the bonus chapter for the golden tickets, new goals are as follows: Searᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

200 Power Stones = 1 Chapter

100 Golden Tickets = 3 Chapters

1 Dragon = 1 Chapter

1 Castle = 5 Chapters

Thanks to all those who support this book. Also, let's make sure to hit this goal because it motivates me to write more.