“Good boy,” Daena said, patting Alnea’s shoulder, with a strange light shining in her eyes. “I was right. You are—

  “A foolish child who keeps overestimating himself,” Nyssa said, completing Daena’s words for her, as she glanced at Alnea, before turning back to Daena. “Still, he did get one thing right. The sooner we leave, the better it would be for us.”

  “You are worrying too much,” Daena said, shifting her smile from Alnea to his master. “Maybe, if the city had not warned them, they might have tried some tricks to prevent us from leaving, but after the sudden change in the Judgement Hall, they would not dare to try flirting with the city’s rules.”

  “Only within the city’s walls,” Nyssa added. “Outside, in the desert, once we leave the city’s jurisdiction, nothing would stop them from ambushing us. Especially considering the Judgement Hall’s strange reaction to the charges they levelled against my disciple.”

  “Then let them come. It has been decades since I have not had a hearty battle. I might as well take this chance to get some exercise.”

  “And what about your daughter?”

  “She…”

  Daena paused, and glanced at Daes, before letting out a sigh.

  “You are right. We should indeed leave this place as soon as possible. Still, we need to have a talk.”

  “After we get to a secure place,” Nyssa said, before glancing at Alnea. “What are you still dazing around for?”

  “…About that,” Alnea said, glancing at the mountain of resources piled up on the counter. And this was just the first batch of resources, barely worth a million Blood Coins. There were still more than fifty times as many resources, that the woman said they would summon after he collected the first batch. If he could, that is.

  “I think I may need your help, master.”

  “Help?” Nyssa said, glancing at the pile of resources, then back to Alnea, and the pouch hanging by his waist. “You do need a little help. But you should have thought of it before buying all those resources. What would you have done if I was not with you? Ask others to keep your resources for you? Is that what you have learned in the past year?”

  “No—

  “At least he can buy the things he need on his own,” Daena said, glancing at her daughter with a teasing smile. “Besides, what is wrong with asking his Dependents to store his things for him?”

  “Perhaps, you are right,” Nyssa said. “But it is about time for him to begin thinking about the consequences of his actions before doing anything.”

  “…Maybe leaving my daughter with you might be a better idea than I thought,” Daena said, glancing at her daughter once again. “Anyways, you can teach your disciple later. How about we help him out of his predicament first?”

  “…Put away as many resources as you can and ask your Dependents to keep the rest for you.”

  “…That is what I was trying to tell you master,” Alnea said, trying his best to fight the blood rushing to his face. In vain. “My storage pouch is ruined.”

  “Ruined?” Nyssa said, furrowing her brows. “Did you—

  Nyssa paused, glancing at the holes on her son’s robe. One on the shoulder, and another couple near the end of his sleeves. They even seemed to be a little singed.

  “…It looks like we have a lot to talk about.”

  “…I can explain—

  “Later,” Nyssa said, as the frown melted away from her face. “For now, just ask your Dependents to put away your resources.”

  “Ye—

  “There is no need to go through so much trouble,” Daena said, conjuring another bluish white ring in her hand. “I was wondering what I should give you as a meeting present.”

  “Is that…”

  “A storage ring. Though it is not as good as the one that I gave to my daughter, it should be enough to hold all the resources you bought, and still have some spare space left.”

  “But—

  “Do not think too much,” Daena said, stuffing the ring in Alnea’s hand. “Hurry up, or do you want other people to ambush us on our way out from the city?”

  He did not. But he did not do as she asked either. At least not immediately. Only when he saw his master nodding, did he put on the ring, and poured in some Oren. In the next moment, the senses of his Spirit showed him a dark, empty space, about the size of a room. Of the large kind, like in big sis Serena’s mansion. More than enough to store all the resources he bought.

  Without needing to be told twice, Alnea turned around, and began putting away his resources one by one, reaching out to them with his right hand, and directing the ring resting on his index finger to pull them into its storage space. That was until Daes’ mother pointed out his mistake.

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  “That is too inefficient,” Daena said. “Instead of going around them one by one, just wrap all the things you want to store in your Spirit’s senses, and imagine putting them away in your ring at once.”

  “That’s it?”

  “What else did you expect?”

  “…Maybe a little more security,” Alnea said. “What if someone tries to steal my things? Especially in battles. What is stopping them from just whisking away my weapons or even my Glyph Tokens?”

  “The most fundamental rule of the Mysteries of Space,” Nyssa said, answering for Daena. “Unless the difference between two sides is too large to ignore the backlash of the Origin Sea, no one can pull a living a being into a storage space without the other party’s consent.”

  “But my weapons—

  “Will be in your hands. So, if other people want to pull your weapons into their storage space, they must also pull you along.”

  “What if the weapons are not in my hands?”

  “Then unless the weapons themselves are alive, or have a special connection with you, it would be your fault leaving your weapons lying around for your enemies to steal,” Nyssa said. “Now, hurry up, and clear the counter. You are not the only one who needs to buy resources.”

  “…I know,” Alnea said, returning his attention back to the counter, and did as Daes’ mother had explained. Unfurling his Spirit to cover all the materials, before urging his ring to pull them all into its storage space. In the next moment, all the materials vanished from the counter, and appeared in his storage ring, clearing up the table for the man behind the counter to conjure the next batch. And another batch. And another batch…

  In total, Alnea had to put away twenty three batches of materials, before stepping away from the counter, clearing the way for the girls to buy the resources they needed. But not before asking if they needed to borrow some Blood Coins. After all, unlike him, they were not compensated by Grand Wanderers. The amount of Blood Coins they had was not even a tenth of what was left with after buying all the resources he needed. And that was when he counted their Blood Coins together.

  Yet, as he had expected, all three of them refused his offer. Even Tia was no exception. And since Daes’ mother had already given her all the resources that she could need in the next ten years, after Tia emptied her Blood Card of all its Blood Coins, they walked straight towards the three libraries. Though they were libraries only in name. Their outer appearance was the same as the other counters in the Blood Hall. Even the number of people manning the counter were the same.

  That was another thing different about the inner city’s Blood Hall. In the outer city, there were some counters with only one receptionist, and some with three, but in the inner city, all the counters were manned by two Wanderers. Apparently, it was for the more experienced Wanderers to teach the less experienced ones how to handle their work, while waiting to be assigned to the outer city’s Blood Halls.

  “Fortunately, the city recognised my talent, and allowed me to work directly in the outer city,” Daes said. “Otherwise, I would have been bored to death in here.”

  Alnea glanced at Daes’ mother, and then back at Daes, choosing not to break the latter out of her fantasies. It would be too much of a hassle to deal with. Instead, he quickly went through the three libraries, exchanging for all the Glyphs, Arcanas, and Martial Styles he needed. Except for the Blood Crystal Styles, of course. Those were already in his head, saving him forty five thousand Contribution Points in total.

  Though he still had to cough up ninety thousand Contribution Points for all the Blood Glyphs and Arcanas. The latter, mostly for reference, and the former, in hopes of triggering another legacy. After all, if Blood Crystal Martial Styles had a corresponding legacy, the Glyphs should also have one. And after experiencing the miraculous effects of one legacy, he did not mind getting another one.

  Yet, despite his extravagant spending, he was still left with twelve thousand Contribution Points, leaving both Cecilia and Vestia staring at him with a hint of confusion and pride. Yuri, on the other hand, only had pride in her eyes. As did his master, who glanced at Daes’ mother, and found her looking at her disciple in appreciation. Meanwhile, Daes and Tia kept staring at him in shock and envy. And maybe, a little awe.

  “I thought you only had ten thousand Contribution Points.”

  “What exactly did you do in the Judgement Hall?”

  “…It is a secret,” Alnea said, pinching his forehead, and even knocking on it with his knuckles. His headache was beginning to reach the limits he could bear. But he still had twelve thousand Contribution Points left…

  “Yuri, can you help me see what resources I can buy with my Contribution Points?” Alnea said, but before Yuri could answer him, his master did it for her.

  “Are you trying to make her suffer a headache too?”

  “It is alright, big sis—

  “No,” Nyssa said, not even letting Yuri finish her words. “It is not alright. I know you want to help him, Yuri, but you cannot continue pampering him all the time. He is already one of the best False Wanderers in this region. It is time for him to learn how to stand on his own. To bear the consequences of his choices and actions.”

  “But—

  “No buts.”

  “…It is alright, Yuri,” Alnea said, trying to put on a wry smile. “I did not plan on using the rest of my Contribution Points right now anyway.”

  “…Are you sure that you are not making an excuse?” Daes said, staring at him with a weird gaze. “You do not even know what resources you are missing on.”

  “But I already have a guess,” Alnea said, glancing at Daes. “Are they the kind that can increase my Spirit Power, or my temporarily raise my affinity with Mysteries? Maybe even help me in comprehending those Mysteries? Perhaps, even strengthen my body?”

  “…And you still do not want to use them?”

  “Because my strength has risen far too quickly in the past few months. What I need now is not another rapid strengthening, but precipitation of what I have gained in the Lost City.”

  “…Just hearing you say that alone makes me think that bringing you to the Lost City was worthwhile,” Nyssa said, replacing the solemness from her face with a smile, as she reached out to ruffle her disciple’s hair. “I am proud of you, Alnea.”

  “…Then can you stop treating me like a kid?”

  “…You cheeky brat,” Nyssa said, withdrawing her hand from her disciple’s head, only to pinch his cheeks. “I remember how you always liked to snuggle up to me. Now that you have learned to play with girls, have you forgotten your master?”

  “Joke, it was a joke, master!” Alnea said, struggling to free his cheeks. “You will always be my favourite!”

  “That is much better,” Nyssa said, nodding in satisfaction, as she released her son’s cheeks. “Do you still have anything else left to do in the city?”

  “No,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “I am ready to leave.”