“Where is it?” Soraline’s voice trembled with rare urgency.
She hadn’t been in the meeting hall when the letter arrived, because Mayne had already pulled her out of the Guild.
Now, the two of them were weaving through the chaotic bustle of the Free Market.
This was the playground of adventurers and petty merchants. The air reeked of leather, herbs, cheap tobacco, and sweat, while haggling and bragging rose in a constant din.
“There!” Mayne pointed toward a small stall tucked against the crowd’s edge.
The stallholder was a weasel-faced man, flanked on either side by two grim Church warriors.
Soraline’s eyes swept over the messy jumble of scrap.
Then her breath caught.
At the edge of a heap of broken bronze lay a plain silver pendant—her pendant!
Like a fallen star, lost and found again.Recently, more and more of the Church warriors’ stripped gear had been surfacing here. The humiliated men had no choice but to scavenge through stalls daily, buying back armor they couldn’t even be sure was truly theirs.
Today, while digging through a pile of junk, two such warriors had stumbled on a pendant containing a tiny photo. Recognizing it at once, they had guarded the stall like hawks and sent word to Soraline at once.
Her hands trembled as she picked up the pendant, opening it to reveal the familiar photograph.
She had thought it lost forever. Yet now…
“How much?” Soraline pressed down her surging emotions and fixed her gaze on the stallholder.
No matter that it was stolen, the pendant’s ownership now rested in the vendor’s filthy hands.
The man’s eyes gleamed. Glancing at the two stern warriors and Soraline’s obvious desperation, he grinned greedily and raised one finger. “Flat price. Ten gold coins!”
“You greedy cur!” The outrageous demand hit the Church warriors like a spark to powder. One stepped forward, eyes blazing. “A silver pendant, and you dare ask ten gold? You’re courting trouble!”
The vendor quailed slightly at the man’s presence, but the hunger in his eyes only grew.
He snatched the pendant back, clutching it to his chest, and deliberately raised his voice, sharp enough to cut through the market’s din.
“Tch! Now, now, lords, don’t say that! A deal’s a deal—value depends on the buyer, eh? And besides—”
His eyes flicked to the holy sigils on the warriors’ chests, his tone mocking as he shouted, “This is honest trade! No tricks, no lies! Free exchange! By the great Light God, surely the holy Church wouldn’t break the market’s sacred rules?”
His words rang out. Emphasizing “free trade” and “Church” drew a crowd at once. Adventurers gathered, pointing and murmuring.
“You bastard!” The insult stoked the warrior’s rage until veins bulged at his temples. His hand went to his sword. The vendor staggered back in fright.
Just then, Soraline’s hand clamped firmly onto his arm.
Her face was cold as ice, but her eyes were calm.
Without sparing the vendor a glance, or acknowledging the crowd, she untied a heavy leather purse from her belt.
From it, she counted out ten gold coins.
The vendor’s eyes lit like a wolf’s. He snatched them up with claws quick as lightning, clutching the gleaming disks in both hands.
His wrinkled face blossomed into a disgusting grin, bowing low as he held the pendant out. “Heh! A true lady of fortune! Here you are!”
Soraline ignored him. She took the chain delicately, lifting it from his hand.
The cold metal pressed into her palm, the familiar weight trembling with the echo of survival.
She didn’t close her fingers. Instead, she lowered her head, eyes tracing the tiny photograph inside, fingertip brushing the two young, smiling faces with infinite tenderness.
And at last, her lips curved into a complicated smile.
——
What do you mean, the Sword Saint is coming to my home?
Fight the Sword Saint? Are you kidding?
Of course Aiden relayed the news to Lin Jun.
And in the dungeon, one particular mushroom trembled in place.
He had only wanted to lure over the pink Pujis for a simple operation. How had this escalated into running alongside an “Expert Team”?
But after a moment, Lin Jun reconsidered.
Sword Saint?
He’d actually seen him before.
That time, the man had only noticed a scout Puji, without destroying it.
What did that mean?
It meant he wasn’t some master of detection. Not the kind who could pierce illusions at a glance and cry, “You’re no human!”
For all Lin Jun knew, Aiden himself might end up in charge of reconnaissance.
So long as Lin Jun’s true body stayed far away, there should be no danger.
Sword Saint or not, he was still a swordsman. Not a mage. He wouldn’t carve up all the fungal carpet like a farmer tilling a field, right?
At worst, Lin Jun would lose a few Pujis.
And with the whole dungeon’s fungal network fully laid, cutting the carpet was only shaving the skin. The roots were untouchable.
More importantly, this didn’t interfere with his plans. All he needed was the pink Puji’s cooperation. The strength of the escort didn’t matter.
His thoughts shifted.
Sword Saint. One of humanity’s peak warriors.
How strong was
he?He’d already tested a LV61 disciple of the Sword Saint. Very strong, yes—but not invincible. Not beyond reach.
So what about the master himself, less than ten levels higher?
Aiden could recite battle honors until dawn: slaying demon lords, triumphs beyond count.
But none of that meant as much as Lin Jun testing the steel himself.
He had no illusions. If he lost, so be it.
But only by crossing blades could he know where he truly stood in this world.
The thought stirred something.
Tch. He was actually looking forward to it.
Still, the “Expert Team” wouldn’t arrive for another half month.
Before that, Lin Jun intended to clean up his own backyard.
…
An invisible scout Puji clung upside down to a jagged ridge of stone.
Across the cavern, something vast yawned open.
The largest, most savage rift Lin Jun had seen since the Demon Tide itself.
It tore through the rock like a gaping maw, its edges flickering with unnatural light, exhaling waves of killing frost.
All before the Puji lay frozen solid.
Lin Jun hesitated. Should he push the Puji closer through the deadly cold?
Before he could decide, a massive eye-creature drifted soundlessly from the depths of the rift.
Its monstrous gaze fixed instantly on the hidden Puji above.
A pale beam lanced across the cavern, striking the scout squarely.
In a heartbeat, the Puji froze stiff, its translucent body turning gray, brittle, stone.
It dropped from the rock, and on impact shattered into lifeless fragments.
Lin Jun only had time to glimpse its status.
【Race: Chiss – Evil Eye】
【Level: LV50】