Chapter 357: The City of Promises

The west side of Colossia City suffered a lot of damage. Rebuilding the city were tasks usually assigned to low-ranking squads since the jobs were risk-free. Back when the city needed to be cleaned up after the Shadow Army took Colossia City from the Heavenly Dragon Guild, a large portion of the cleaning was assigned to the 99th squad.

With his achievements making up for his mistakes, Sila finally received respect from people as the man who brought peace to the city. While there were casualties on both sides, they decided to not pursue the matter or ask for responsibility. The war naturally led to casualties. It would be counterproductive to the collaboration if they were to ask for compensation.

Sila had been in Colossia City for less than three days, but he felt like he had learned a lot from this place. Although he didn’t get to engage in a fight to the death like usual, the situation forced him to rely on magic power which he was bad at, and that helped him make another breakthrough. His mindset, techniques, and how he perceived lives had all developed from what he experienced as well.

Players and goblins dismissed their past grudges and contributed to restoring the city despite it not being required of them. The sight of this made Sila feel that a ray of hope always existed even in the worst situation as long as he didn’t give up.

Sila was a human representative, together with Yardpirun, to negotiate with the two goblin kings. It took a lot of effort and time for them to finish the agreement for both races to coexist in the same city. The meeting started at two in the morning and ended at seven o’clock. Sila was spent. The sunlight was already shining down as he exited the meeting room to help his squad clean up the city, indicating the dawn of the new day had arrived.

“Hey, Leader!” Upon seeing him exit the main building, Alpha, Miki, and Isaac came to greet him. Looking around, Sila found that his squad was one person short.

“Where is Midnight?” asked Sila.

Miki was surprised. “Ah? Isn’t he with you? We didn’t see him return, so we thought he was also in the meeting.”

Alpha added, “We actually came here to seek him. We don’t know what happened, but Lady Risa from the 9th squad suddenly stormed into our headquarters and demanded to see Midnight. We didn’t know what to tell her, but we thought you might know where he is.”

Isaac’s expression turned quite pale. “Her tone made it sound like he is important to her... like he’s more than a simple acquaintance.”

Miki tapped Isaac on his shoulder. “A pervert like you had no chance from the start, so there is no need for you to grieve. Actually, if I was asked to pick a man in our squad to be my date, I would pick Midnight as well.”

“Well, if I was asked to pick any girl in our squad, I would immediately choose you too, Miss Miki,” Isaac commented. “...Since you’re the only choice.”

“Hahaha!” Alpha laughed as he saw Miki become annoyed. She raised her hand and tried to punch Isaac, who bent his body to dodge it. Although he managed to avoid her fist, he lost his balance and fell over.

Seeing all of this, Sila smiled. “Midnight must be with Fowl. It’s a personal matter, so we should let him handle it himself. The city is mostly fixed. They won’t need us anymore, I guess. How about you go to the Skills Training Ground? I have something to announce tonight.”

“Aren’t you coming with us?” Miki asked as she pulled Isaac up.

“Not yet. I still have something to take care of. Oh, before I forget. Alpha, take this.” Sila handed Alpha a metal dagger. The man showed a confused expression at first, but he obediently followed Sila’s instructions by equipping it. Once equipped, the weapon transformed into a pure white dagger, illuminating.

“Just as I thought. If it’s you, you must have the Level 100 Dagger Mastery skill. You can keep it. This dagger suits you.”

Reading the dagger’s description, Alpha was stunned. This A-grade Seven Strikes Dagger had an amazing ability. Alpha was a tactical magic fighter. His weakness had always been his inability to deliver a lethal strike, making it difficult for him to finish off his opponent. With this dagger, however, he would always have a chance regardless of who his opponent was.

Before Alpha could say anything, Sila cut in, “Using daggers isn’t my style and I want to focus on practicing the skills I already have. I don’t intend to start learning how to use daggers any time soon.”

“Thanks, Leader.” Alpha was grateful, storing the dagger in his system window.

“Sorry I don’t have any gifts for you, Miki and Isaac. Well, goblins are going to open a weapon shop soon. If you want something they’re selling but don’t have enough money, you can tell them that I’ll cover the costs.”

Sila had told people about the truth regarding goblin-made weapons, so players were more than welcome for goblins to start their business in Colossia City. The prices of the weapons were expected to be expensive, however.

The three gave their thanks to Sila again before leaving. Sila waited a few moments before raising his voice.

“You must have waited a long time, Miss Risa. My schedule is quite tight today, so you should hurry up. Tell me what you want.”

Around the corner of the building he had just left, Risa’s body appeared out of thin air. Well, at least it should have looked that way for anyone else. Her illusion didn’t work well on Sila, however. Seeing the building blurry without a proper reason was undeniably eye-catching.

Risa’s Unique Magic focused on the art of illusion, so it granted her a decent level of concealment. It was thanks to Moon Reflecting Mirror enhanced by Monster Heir that Sila managed to see through her illusion.

“May I ask where Midnight is?”

Sila sighed. “You won’t be able to follow him even if I tell you where he is. He intends to leave you behind, for your own good.”

Risa’s expression changed. “Do you know about Rin and I?”

“He mentioned your name to me only once, but that one time was enough for me to understand how much you mean to him. For him, this must be a painful choice, but he is willing to stick to it for you.”

Risa turned back, ready to leave. Seeing so, Sila couldn’t help but be amazed. He thought for sure she would press him for more information.

“I thought you would be more persistent.”

“There is no need. Because I will find him myself.” Risa stopped for a brief moment. “Just knowing that he is still around is enough. Whatever reasons he has, I would like to hear it from his mouth, not from someone else.”

“...The Decagate World.” Sila sent her a sound transmission. “You are probably unqualified to go to that place yet and I don’t know how long Narin plans to stay there. Still, that is his current goal. This is the most I can tell you.”

“Thank you.”

Risa left. Sila was sure that Zero wouldn’t mind him telling her. He knew that Zero, too, wanted to meet her. Otherwise, given Zero’s ability, there would be no way for Risa to recognize or even catch a glimpse of him.

“Phew~ That ended well.” Sila sighed.

His next destination was the Information Building. He went there in order to deliver a message. He couldn’t do it via his system window since his current status was offline from being dead.

The mail delivering service is helpful when people want to send messages to someone not on their friend list. The service cost was usually trivial but became more expensive during the war event. In a sense, everyone’s system window is like a smartphone, capable of making video calls and sending free messages. It wasn’t strange that the outdated mail delivery service was unpopular.

Sila wrote a letter, which was a very rare sight to see in modern times. In fact, most people in the current generation have no idea such a thing even exists. Still, by writing the letter, Sila felt a sense of nostalgia. When he lived in the dojo, he could only make phone calls for emergencies. Contacting another dojo for anything—like requesting a match—was always done via written letters, most likely because receiving a letter of challenge was cooler than receiving an email of challenge. While it was true that he couldn’t operate an automatic-cooker or drive new cars, he was quite knowledgeable when it came to analog objects.

As Sila finished folding the letter, the mail transformed into a white pigeon and flew away, ignoring his confusion. Asking a nearby NPC, the man said that it was because Sila had brought the cheapest type of letter—the pigeon kind. While it was romantic, it took time for the pigeon to reach the receiver.

“Will it reach the receiver for sure?” Sila asked.

“Definitely, sir. No one in their right mind would catch harmless flying birds. They’re like parts of the background.” The NPC ensured, totally clueless that such a person actually existed. In fact, that person had already caught ten thousand tailorbirds.

With that, another matter had been resolved. The letter he had just sent was for Varee. Seeing how she was in a bad mood due to the death of her close friend, Sila didn’t want her to worry about his death. He hoped his letter would help to soothe her mind a little.

“Come to think of it, Varee has more friends than I thought. She frequently showed up in front of me back then. I thought she only had a few friends.”

As soon as Sila exited the building, he suddenly heard the sound of quick footsteps approaching him. He moved away, not blocking the entrance. However, seeing the face of the person coming his way, he scratched his head in confusion.

The person was none other than Varee, her hand crumbling the letter he had just sent less than a minute ago. Coincidentally, she was nearby, so his mail was in her hand faster than Sila anticipated.

“I knew I was right. No wonder I thought you felt familiar.”

“I think you got the wrong person. I—”

Varee caught his arm, pulled a black invitation card, and announced, “Go to the Mansion of Secrets.”

The two of their bodies vanished from Colossia City and reappeared next to each other in the garden in front of the mansion. The scenery would be more romantic if a stern-looking wuxia man statue wasn’t standing there as part of the landscape.

As Sila was about to insist on denying her claim, Julia appeared and greeted them.

“Mister Sila, Mistress. Welcome back. Would you like some snacks?”

Sila sighed. He never expected Varee to use his maid against him. Julia could recognize him due to his status as her master, not his appearance, so she was the best proof Varee could ever ask for. It was too late for him to even rely on the ability of the Thief Lord’s Mask to temporarily disguise his face.

“Hello, Varee. Long time no see.” Sila removed his mask.

Varee’s gaze lingered on Sila’s face, which she hadn’t seen for a long time, to the point where she forgot to reprimand him for his past actions. Sila’s face was still the same, but his eyes had changed significantly. The first time they met, Sila’s eyes were like ones belonging to a child—clear and bright, stubborn, yet filled with determination. Now, however, his eyes were mystifying and arcane. They were ones belonging to a man who had experienced countless hardships and had been through the world. Not much time had passed since the last time they spoke, but it seemed Sila had become a totally different person.

“Varee?” Sila wondered. He rubbed his face. “Is there dirt on my face? Did I get it off?”

“No, there is— Kya!”

“Watch out!”

A small black silhouette lunged at Sila. Realizing what it was, he pulled Varee behind him using his left hand while using his right hand to gently receive the mysterious object.

“Don’t worry. This little guy is my pet. He is as energetic as Lookhin was in the past.”

Sila’s palm wasn’t particularly large, but the two-headed small puppy could manage to balance itself on it using its two legs. One of the heads stuck its tongue out, panting, while the other head opened its mouth, playfully chewing Sila’s thumb. If it wasn’t for his qi aura protecting him, the thumb would have already become the puppy’s snack.

Varee distanced herself from Sila, hiding her embarrassment. “Another pet? Is it because you’re the Monster Emperor that you have to surround yourself with pets?”

“That’s not true. Aside from Lookhin, this guy is the only one. I only have two pets. The rest come and go as they wish,” Sila replied before turning to Julia. “By the way, have you come up with a name for him yet?”

“Not yet, Master. Knowing that you got him from Zhongsuyuan City, I thought about giving it a Chinese name such as Hei Se (Black) or Fu Qi (Good Fortune). However, he was very adamant about rejecting all the names I suggested.”

Observing the puppy, Sila frowned. “Well, this guy came from the Town of Beginnings, actually. He became the Werewolf King, then was possessed by souls in the Inverse Zhongsuyuan City...”

Julia clapped as she got an idea. “Soul? How about we call him Ling (Spirit)?”

“That sounds great. Okay! From now on, your name will be Ling.”

Chomp—! Chomp!

Its two heads simultaneously bit Sila’s hand. Witnessing the scene, Varee couldn’t help but chuckle. “Could it be that it doesn’t like the singular-sounding name because it has two heads? How about Ling Ling?”

“Is that so? Ling Ling. Do you like it now?”

You have successfully submitted the name of your pet, Ling Ling, the Two-Headed Orthos, Level 1 Squire Rank.

“Finally.” Sila put the puppy down, letting it run around. “Took you long enough, Ling Ling. Do you want to go outside?”

Julia put a dog bowl on the ground. “Master, while Ling Ling’s rank is low, his skill pool is far beyond standard. It seems he is still not used to cultivating Vast Sky Qi. I sometimes saw him squirming in pain, prompting me to carry him to sleep in the dojo. I think it’s safer for him to stay with me in the mansion.”

“I guess so.” Sila turned to Varee. “Can you please take care of him for a while, Varee?”

“Eh? Where are you going?”

“I have to complete a certain quest. It’s a quest that I have to do alone. I can’t tell you much, but I will explain once I come back in the evening. Can you wait?” Sila told her the truth. Knowing her personality, he was finally aware that being honest with her was the most effective way to deal with her.

“Is that a promise?”

Sila nodded. “It is. You don’t need to take a bet for killing bandits or anything like that to force me. I’m considered the Thief Monarch, remember?”

Varee chuckled. “Hahaha! That’s right. You’re the boss of bandits. If you don’t keep the promise, I will teach you all the way by hunting you down.”

“It’s good that you can laugh. See you again in the evening.”

Sila teleported, exiting his mansion. He exited the city and visited the goblin’s temporary camps, located on the east side of the city.

He had talked to the two goblin kings last night. The two didn’t agree to help him, however, though they did so out of their concern for him. Still, Sila insisted on meeting them again today.

Since the agreement regarding living together was more or less finished, today would be the last day the goblins lived outside the city. They were removing their camps. Some of them had already migrated to the city, setting up areas to open their businesses.

Each goblin wore a bright smile on their face. For the first time after ten years, they finally got to return to their beloved hometown. While it was true that Colossia City wasn’t their birthplace, it was still the town they had built from the ground up. Sila’s current feeling was similar to when he had just befriended Rex and the Single-Horned Dragons.

Even though the world of Monster Soul was brutal, he was confident that there was more to it than just the darkness.

“You should reconsider, Sir Sila. I personally think that you’re not ready for this task yet,” Remdier dissuaded Sila once he saw the human arrive.

“I’m ready. I promised everyone I will meet them again this evening. I’m going to come back no matter what.”

Remdier and Ramidas looked at each other. They no longer stopped Sila. Each of the goblin kings took out a small dagger, which was identical to the one Sila got from the tournament. They stabbed the daggers into the ground, then pointed at an empty spot.

“Plunge your dagger down to make the area become a triangle, then stand inside.”

Thrusting the dagger into the ground, a white line formed between the three daggers. The triangular area inside was glowing pure white.

“The Holy Sanctum of Weapons is a domain that requires at least three monsters of Lord Rank or above who possess the Weapon Enlightenment skill as activators. It’s fortunate that your rank is Lord, so we can pull it off. For the Dichotomous Crucifix Sword, you may spend a lifetime trying to find it but to no avail. One of the Blade Daughters is Anastasia—the World Detester. Unless she is willing to appear before you, no one will ever find them.”

“Thus... Unless they are interested in you and decide to show up, you will have to display what you’re capable of in order to summon them. Please be careful. They were originally swords, so they can activate their abilities even without external energy. And... exactly because they were originally swords, their swordsmanship is top-class.”

Remdier gave Sila a metal sword. “I will let you borrow this sword. You’re going to need everything you can ask for in order to survive.”

Sila didn’t reject their good intentions, and gratefully received the sword. Walking into the domain, the last thing he heard was Ramidas’ parting words.

“Make sure you come back, my friend. May Lady Igsia smile upon you.”