Bob smirked and was about to make his move, and so was I, but for the umpteenth time, I was interrupted.

Seriously, why the hell am I constantly getting interrupted? Especially when I’m trying to test my ability!

Nicholas, with his sword, slashed the open air between us and sheeted the sword back. We were confused as to why he did that, but we got our answers moments later.

The ground shook as a straight slit appeared from where Nicholas stood until the upper wall of the amphitheater, separating Bob and me.

I whistled in admiration. Isn’t this amphitheater like one of the great wonders of Vanteer?

That’s gonna be expensive to repair. I wonder if it’ll come out of his paycheck. His salary should be high, right? Considering he’s an Orange-graded Maven and a member of a strong guild.

“Look,” Nicholas groaned as he held his forehead. “Look what you’ve made me do. That’s coming out of my pocket.”

Well, I got my answer.

“Keep going, and I’ll dismiss you from the expedition and have you suspended for weeks,” Nicholas intimidated as he exerted pressure on everyone with his magic. “This goes for all of you.”

Although Nicholas can, in fact, dismiss us from the expedition, he can’t exactly suspend us for weeks simply because of a worthless squabble, even with his status.

However, there’s a good chance Bob doesn’t know that. It wouldn’t sit well for him to be suspended for weeks, especially since he’s in a well-renowned party. Besides, if he gets dismissed from the expedition, then his client—the kid—wouldn’t be able to go too; unless he’s that dumb, he should know that at the very least.

Bob and I stared at each other for a few seconds. Luckily, it seemed that his brain appeared to be functional still as he clicked his tongue and went back to sit beside the kid while I drew out a breath before also taking my seat.

“Good.” Nicholas nodded with a contented smile before saying sternly, “Our enemies aren’t supposed to be ourselves but the monsters that threaten our safety—the Jinn race. So I’ll say it again: I won’t tolerate any infighting during the time we’ll be spending together, alright?”

The others nodded tensely, probably still shocked by what transpired in just a short time.

“Kid, here you go.” Nicholas tossed me a healing potion which I caught easily. “Although you don’t seem hurt very much, it’s better to be safe than sorry since you took a blow from someone like him.”

Huh, well, that’s generous of him. From my previous experiences, people like him would usually be stuck-up, including me, but it seems like there are people who don’t let the fame get in their heads.

Well, I needed it anyway since my left shoulder is a bit dislocated and sore from the hit.

I looked up and noticed that he was staring at me intensely, but when I met his gaze, he shook his head and looked at the other adventurers as he asked, “Now that’s out of the way, do you have any more questions?”

They all looked at each other before shaking their heads.

“None? Good. We’ll be leaving at exactly one, so you better be prepared by then and don’t obviously be late.” With that, he left, and by left, I mean that he simply went to the seats under the shade and laid down.

Well, that’s that. There are about two hours before one, and I’m pretty much prepared to go, so until then, what should I do?

I thought about it as I poured the liquid from the healing potion into my left arm, stinging me a little as it healed.

Although it was an expedition that would generally take days to complete, I don’t plan on staying long. Once I’ve acquired the All-stone, I’ll immediately leave, lest the others find out that I have an invaluable treasure and try to forcefully take it from me.

Although I’m fairly confident I can take a few of them on, I’d rather not waste my time dealing with pests when I could be doing something much more productive.

I’m not worried about food either since on the other side of the dungeon is a dense forest filled with different kinds of beasts and edible fruits, so I don’t need to worry about my hunger.

Although, I held my stomach as it rumbled, eating and bringing a few… rations for the expedition wouldn’t hurt, right?

Looking behind me, it seems like they already forgot what previously happened as the adventurers surrounded Bob and the kid and bombarded them with questions. Bob was annoyed at this and wanted to push them all away, but the kid stopped him every time he tried to do so, so they were forced to entertain them.

Well, seeing them busy, I didn’t have to worry about someone following me, so I stood up, stretched my left arm, and went out to the city.

I simply walked around the downtown area of the city, sightseeing and eyeing any shops that caught my eye.

Although I’ve been here for days and know the city's layout, there hasn’t been much chance for me to see it personally.

Honestly, with the atmosphere the city is giving off, it felt like I was back in New York.

As I walked, I spotted a café just down the road and headed towards it.

Coffee Bloom was the name of the café. From what I remember, the café is known for its retro atmosphere and way of brewing coffee, and sweet desserts. Their reputation is known even across countries, or so I heard.

I went through the door, making a ‘ding’ as it opened. There is just one thing I’m obviously here for, and it was for… the desserts!

I have always had a sweet tooth, so I’m not particularly fond of coffee. I would always eat that milky, sweet chocolate whenever I got the chance. Oh god, just imagining that delicious sweet treat is enough to make me salivate.

There was this one time when I bought chocolates worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and ate them all in under one month.

Although I got a bit sick because of it, I regretted nothing. Haa, good times…

A male server noticed me enter and took several deep breaths before walking toward me. Once he was an arm's length in front of me, he slightly bowed and greeted me with a polite smile, “Good day, esteemed guest. Table for one?”

Esteemed guest?

Ah, right. Being a Maven by itself puts you in a higher position than others.

“Yeah,” I answered.

“Okay then, please follow me to your table, esteemed sir.”

I walked behind him and made our way to the second floor. In this café, there are two dining areas: one for regular civilians and the other for VIPs, including Mavens.

We made our way to the elevator on the side and entered it. The server pressed the button with a fancy ‘V’ on it, and we were taken up. A few seconds later, the door to the elevator opened, revealing the dining area for VIPs which was classy yet retained that retro atmosphere.

There were currently no other people here, so I took a seat by the window. The server gave me the cafe’s menu, and to order, I had to ring the bell at the center of my table.

There was a lot to choose from, whether it’s sweets or coffee, and they were somewhat expensive too but not unreasonably expensive like in Dublin City.

As I looked through the list of the available desserts, my mouth began to salivate.

Should I just order one of everything?

Although they were expensive, they were merely a fraction of my current wealth. What’s more, I don’t have to worry about getting diabetes or similar diseases since I’m a Maven.

No, I can’t. It’s not a good thing to get full before the expedition, but… it looks so delicious!

This is probably the hardest decision I have had to make so far.

As I was pondering what to get, six people appeared from the elevator, two of which I recognized—Bob and the eyeglasses kid. The others were another server, one male adventurer, and one female adventurer.

The former was a young man with dark brown hair and brown eyes, while the latter was a petite woman with long blonde hair in a single braid and brown eyes.

It seems like the two adventurers were acquainted with Ryan as they were speaking to him on friendly terms, although the one mostly initiating the conversation was the woman.

They immediately spotted me since I was directly in front of them.

The two adventurers were oddly shocked at me at the sight of me.

Bob glared at me and was about to approach me, but he was stopped by the kid who whispered something into his ear, causing him to click his tongue as he sat at a table near the corner.

The kid gave a friendly smile and waved at me as he approached me, and the other two followed suit.

Although the kid has a good reputation among the other adventurers so far, I still can’t help but be repulsed by him. And now, I am getting the feeling that he’s gonna be a pain in the ass, and I should be cautious around him.

I sighed. Although it was unreasonable, I’ll have to trust my intuition for now since it was coming from my ability, .

I’ll just have to get this over with, so I can confirm it and act accordingly.

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A/N: Another chapter will be uploaded in a few hours, so watch out for it, alright?