Chapter 602 - 601: A Feeling of Anxiety

Chapter 602: Chapter 601: A Feeling of Anxiety

Colin couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.

According to the intelligence he’d gathered, the world was on the brink of a storm.

Demons, Gods, Cultists, and the traces of battle he’d seen in the ruins of the Ancient Empire... Although the City-States Alliance’s arrangements had greatly lessened the winter disaster’s impact on the Northern Lands, Colin still felt like the worst was yet to come.

Thinking of this, he sighed.

When he first transmigrated here, all Colin had thought about was saving up for a house and establishing a foothold in the city.

But after entering the city, a flood of information that no normal person could possibly know had poured into his mind, leaving him with a constant sense of unease.

And according to the history books, this world had seen its fair share of such disasters.

Now, Colin just wanted to accumulate intelligence, resources, and connections as quickly as possible so that he and his friends could safely navigate the coming crisis.

Of course, he hadn’t forgotten the triumphal procession he’d seen a while back...

Suddenly, Colin felt a gentle poke on the back of his hand. He turned to see Ale, her head tilted as she studied him.

Ale asked curiously, "What are you thinking about, Colin?"

"Just thinking about what to have for lunch. Let’s head to the Black Heart Tavern for now. I’m planning to take a break today, so I can go with you to the Great Dome this afternoon to read."

Colin saw her pale golden eyes suddenly light up.

Ale asked, pleasantly surprised, "Really? I’m so happy, Colin."

"Yeah, maybe we can even chat about those Knight novels," Colin said with a smile.

Looking at her expression, he suddenly felt his face grow hot.

"Oh, I have so many books to recommend to you! The adventures of Knights are really interesting. You definitely won’t regret it," Ale said cheerfully.

Colin suddenly felt a little dazed.

He realized he could no longer clearly recall the cold, arrogant expression Ale used to wear when he first met her. At least, the Half-Elf certainly hadn’t looked at him that way recently.

’It seems like this change started after we took down that White Dragon,’ he thought.

As they walked down the main road, Colin focused his mind and began to allocate the rewards he had just received.

First were the 150 Skill Level points. Colin allocated them to his Armor Skills, which were closest to leveling up.

This brought his Armor Skills to Empowering Armor (Expert) 2963/4000. Since he hadn’t practiced his other Skills in the past few days, their Skill Levels were mostly unchanged.

Next was the new Magic he’d been given.

Colin glanced at it and was instantly pulled into the Illusion Realm to begin practicing the Magic.

This Magic wasn’t particularly complex, and he learned it completely in a short time.

[Nondetection], Tier Three Magic. You can conceal a target, making it undetectable by Prophetic Magic for eight hours. It also cannot be detected by a Magic Detection Sensor. (This Magic requires Diamond Powder worth twenty-five Gold Coins as a material component.)

This Tier Three Magic was mainly for concealing one’s tracks and could be used to counter Prophecy Magic like [Object Positioning Skill] and [Locate Creature].

By the standards of Tier Three Magic, this Magic was actually a bit powerful, since it could block many types of Prophetic Magic. However, that was its only function; it had no other complex uses.

Overall, many forms of Magic were only useful under specific conditions. Simply possessing the Magic was valuable in itself.

However, when Colin thought about how casting this Magic cost money, his head started to ache. That was twenty-five Gold Coins!

It wasn’t the first time he’d allocated Skill Level points while chatting, so Colin was able to talk with Ale with ease.

The Half-Elf mostly talked about Knight novels, speaking animatedly about things like knightly tournaments and knightly honor.

Colin had read plenty of novels in his past life, so he casually recounted a couple of stories based on what she was saying.

Although he felt he didn’t tell them very well, Ale seemed to love listening.

The two of them chatted and laughed all the way to the Black Heart Tavern. As soon as they entered, they spotted Bob sitting in a corner.

"Old Black Heart, the usual for lunch," Colin called out.

"Got it." Old Black Heart was still wiping a glass, as if he had an endless supply of them to clean.

Colin and Ale walked over to Bob, pulled out chairs, and sat down. "Long time no see, Bob," Colin said.

"It has been a long time. I’ve been busy with the guild lately, driving the carriage back and forth. I feel like I’m about to die from exhaustion. By the way, there’s been a lot of movement up north. I feel like a war is about to start."

’And I have to participate in this "grand event,"’ Colin thought, then asked aloud, "Want some ice in that?"

"Thanks, Colin."

"Didn’t you tell me before not to always have ’thanks’ on the tip of your tongue?" Colin teased as he snapped his fingers, using the [Water Manipulation] enchanted on his ring to conjure a few ice cubes in Bob’s mug.

"By the way, is that Armor you’re wearing made from that White Dragon?" Bob asked curiously.

Colin nodded silently.

It was one thing in front of the Gray Squad, but another entirely in front of Bob. He didn’t want to show off to his friend.

"Can I touch it?" Bob asked. "My goodness, I’ve heard stories about Giant Dragons since I was a kid. I never thought one of my friends would actually be wearing Armor made from a Giant Dragon’s materials. This feeling is just incredible."

"Tell me about it. I never thought I’d be wearing it either," Colin said, grinning at Bob’s exaggerated reaction. "Go ahead and touch it if you want."

As he chatted with his friends, the anxiety he’d been feeling unconsciously and silently faded away.

After lunch, just as he’d promised, Colin went with Ale to read and chat, taking a day to relax.

Time continued to pass.

The streets remained as calm as ever.

Colin made a special trip to the slums to take a look around and chat with Don about the recent situation.

The gangs hadn’t made any rash moves, acting as if the people Colin had taken out a few days ago had nothing to do with them. Who knew what they were secretly plotting.

「Several days passed.」

Seeing that no further trouble had arisen, Colin refocused his attention on training and his daily life.

Besides, the members of those gangs weren’t very skilled anyway. If they were to target the people around him, the Hundred Eyes Gang would most likely be able to get wind of it in advance. There was basically nothing to worry too much about.