Oblivion's Heir: Rise of the Sovereign - Chapter 44: Suspicion

Chapter 44: Suspicion

“Don’t worry, I am sure your opinion is based on the kind of people I have gathered here.” Kade walked to the racks and retrieved the regeneration potion Ren had been staring at earlier.

“And no need to answer. The fact that I brought you here already means that I acknowledged you as a worthy candidate for the new world.”

Ren kept his lips tight, waiting for Kade to get to the point.

Kade noticed the silence and tossed the vial toward Ren.

“This is what I meant by everything. I know why you want this potion, Caleb. It’s for him, isn’t it?” The smirk returned on his face as he leaned back in his chair.

Kade couldn’t care less about a tiny pest like Caleb and the rest of the friends. So he didn’t care if he had to take a couple more people. For him, if Ren were to agree, everything would be worth it.

The vial was now present in Ren’s hands, the only problem now was figuring out how to take it back to Caleb. He didn’t question if the potion was potent enough to regenerate a limb as Kade already had insiders in the citadel, the reason he knew about Caleb, and hence should know why he needed it.

’He knows too much.’

It felt like standing bare naked with all his secrets laid down before someone.

“I-I need time to think.” Ren wanted to agree immediately and could then escape from this place but a sudden compliance might raise Kade’s suspicion, so Ren forced himself to act naturally.

A brief silence followed before Kade finally said, “Fair enough, come with me.”

Both of them exited the building and moved through the dome.

The top of the dome was only twenty-four metres high, what truly surprised him was its length. It stretched for more than a quarter of a mile.

“Oh, right. You are an other-worlder so you wouldn’t know about this place.” Kade recalled the information he had received about him.

“This place had a purpose. An emergency hideout meant to be used during sieges for protecting citizens, and was built by the king of this nation.”

’King?’ Ren only knew he was in the kingdom of Duskforge and had never once heard about the king from others.

’Maybe because most of the people I know are from villages, but still, shouldn’t a king be widely known?’ As Ren pondered, the duo crossed past the potion trading area and reached another market. Some people tensed at the sight of Kade, then bowed slightly and resumed walking as if nothing happened.

That’s when his attention shifted to the items that were being exchanged here.

’Weapons?’ If Ren was surprised at first, now he was shocked and completely speechless.

Multiple types of weapons were being used for trade. Some were forged from steel while others were crafted with materials he had no knowledge of.

The very thing that was so scarce that the survivors of the citadel had to train with wooden variants of it was being sold here openly, or traded to be precise. Everywhere Ren looked, people who were purchasing it seemed to trade it in exchange for monster drops and food.

“How did you get so many weapons and potions?” Ren asked, unable to hold back his curiosity anymore.

“I knew you would be curious, anyone would be.

And the answer is very simple. Classes.”

Kade didn’t explain more and considered Ren smart enough to piece the rest together.

He froze, and only now did the implications settle in.

’Class to craft potions and weapons? Then what about the mini-boss thing that Selene said? I thought they were clearing multiple mini-bosses to hoard these resources.’

And then it clicked.

If there were actually mini-bosses that could drop loot, why hadn’t he faced one until now?

Selene had said she faced a level fifteen vermin, yet he had already faced a vermyrex more than twice that level and the system still hadn’t classified it as a mini-boss.

’Was she lying, but why?’

Now Ren seriously thought that she was hiding something. And this unknown was what actually made him even more wary of her.

She was one of the few people who had reignited the warmth in his soul just with a simple gesture, one which he didn’t want, but needed the most.

But now he was unsure about her goals.

“Kid. Now tell me, will you join this faction?” Kade asked, awakening Ren from his stupor.

“Alright,” and with that, Kade had gained a vital person whom he could use against the other two factions, not realizing that Ren had planned to dump him the moment he got the chance.

Nothing had to be asked aloud. The fact that only people in age where they could work were present already showed how things worked in this place.

’Create a new world my ass.’ Ren didn’t care about Kade, though he could somewhat understand his thinking.

In a world where only one rule was followed… survival of the fittest—it wouldn’t be strange that someone would want to create a similar world but this time, the fittest represented strength literally, not power held by the nobles.

And even then, it still didn’t change his decision to betray him in the future.

Kade returned to his residence with Ren trailing behind, he wanted to talk with Ren about the reason he was thrown out of the citadel, and conversing in the open wasn’t wise.

Ren was surprised to hear the question, though when he thought about it, he realized Kade wanted to know about his talk with Lucien, something which he wouldn’t know as Ren was alone with him that day, at least that’s what he thought.

Before Ren could even start speaking, his minion tried to reach out to him mentally.

’Pr-prince. Someone is rushing this way, and I feel their presence is similar to mine.’ A weak, disgruntled voice echoed in Ren’s head, reminding him once again that vermyrex that were strong enough could communicate with him.

Not wasting another second, Ren stood up and was about to rush out when Kade asked, “What’s the issue?”

But before he could even reply, a huge noise echoed through the dome.

BOOM.