Rhode boarded the carriage prepared by the Silver Seal Merchant Group with the vampire.
There were two rows of seats along either side of the carriage, but the space was cramped. It had clearly been prepared for only a few passengers.
After entering the carriage from the side, Rhode sat down on one of the seats.
Looking at the decorations inside and the windows on either side that could be opened, Rhode realized the carriage had been designed to carry passengers.
Rhode guessed that, since transporting passengers brought in a handsome profit, the Silver Seal Merchant Group had also chosen to take a few along. However, they wouldn't carry too many. If the number of passengers grew too large, things could happen beyond the group's control.
Large, well-organized merchant groups were certainly cheaper when it came to transporting passengers. Those who wanted to travel to the City of Wailing had already left with the merchant groups that had departed earlier. As a result, the Silver Seal Merchant Group had been unable to find any passengers until two days before departure.
That was also why Yusuf hadn't immediately refused Rhode as a passenger when he learned Rhode was a necromancer. Instead, he had negotiated the fare with him.
At first, Yusuf had intended to use verbal pressure to make Rhode pay an exorbitant fare. But Rhode had seen through what cargo Yusuf was really transporting, forcing him to waive Rhode's fare as the price of his silence.
After realizing the Silver Seal Merchant Group was really transporting Soul Crystals, Rhode had merely asked to travel with them. He hadn't used the opportunity to extort a fortune from the group, and he had his reasons.
As Rhode had said, as a passenger traveling with the merchant group, he would need their protection along the way.
The Silver Seal Merchant Group had already shown weakness by agreeing to take Rhode and his companions without charging them any fare in exchange for his silence. If Rhode really pushed his luck, the merchant group wouldn't just take it lying down.
Rhode couldn't stay on guard against retaliation from the group every moment of the journey. A few veteran professionals and a spellcaster, with a carefully planned ambush, might well be able to kill Rhode and the vampire.
In a situation like this, the merchant group wouldn't forcefully surround and kill Rhode, whose strength was unknown, just because they couldn't collect his fare. That would only bring them losses. Rhode could travel with them to Dya, and both sides could get what they wanted.
"Soul Crystal..."
Sitting in the carriage, Rhode thought back to what had happened earlier. He took the Soul Crystal out of his Space Ring, examined it, then handed it to the vampire beside him.
The vampire accepted it as though it were a priceless treasure, clutching the Soul Crystal tightly and holding it close to his body.
The Soul Crystal constantly released Death Energy. This energy could help necromancers transform Undead Creatures, and it could also help Undead Creatures advance.
Because of this, Soul Crystals were highly sought after by necromancers in Dya. Elsewhere, however, they were usually treated as jewelry, and their value was far lower than in Dya.
Rhode's impression was that the vampire's advancement in the tomb earlier had most likely been triggered by this Soul Crystal.
Now that Rhode had decided to travel with the merchant group to the City of Wailing, he had no idea how long the journey would take. By letting the vampire hold on to the Soul Crystal, Rhode hoped he could absorb its Death Energy and improve his strength a little.
After his advancement had been interrupted, the vampire wouldn't be able to advance again for a while. But he could use the Death Energy released by the Soul Crystal to maintain his strength at the peak of the third tier while waiting for another chance to advance.
By now, it was completely dark outside the carriage.
As he watched the vampire calmly absorb the energy radiating from the Soul Crystal, Rhode began considering what he should do himself.
Rhode didn't choose to meditate. His mana had already reached the limit set by his Knowledge attribute. Ordinary meditation could do nothing but speed up his mana recovery.
At this point, only deep meditation could improve Rhode's strength.
However, the conditions for entering deep meditation were demanding, and Rhode also had his own thoughts on the matter.
Since coming to this world, Rhode had fought one battle after another without any time to rest. Even when he had a little free time, he spent it preparing for the next fight. Meditation was the only way he rested.
Even now, Rhode hadn't slept a single time. Meditation could restore his physical fatigue, but it couldn't dispel the mental exhaustion caused by battle.
In his current state, Rhode didn't think he could enter deep meditation successfully. His experience from his previous life told him that rather than waste time on ineffective meditation, he should first get himself into the best possible condition before trying deep meditation.
So Rhode chose to adjust his mental state by sleeping.
There wasn't enough room in the carriage for Rhode to lie down, so he could only sit on the seat, cross his arms, lean against the wooden panel behind him, close his eyes, and try to fall asleep.
Rhode wasn't worried that the Silver Seal Merchant Group would use this chance to surround and kill him.
A merchant group carrying a large number of Soul Crystals would be even more cautious than Rhode expected, terrified that one unusual move would attract the attention of other factions. Could they do anything more outrageous than attacking a passenger at their own base?
A long while later.
Perhaps because of the vigilance buried in his subconscious, even after falling asleep, Rhode couldn't fully sink into slumber. He remained half-awake.
The noise around him, together with the vibrations beneath his feet, quickly woke Rhode. The vampire, however, seemed not to notice anything and continued absorbing the energy released by the Soul Crystal.
In an instant, Rhode pushed open the window beside him just a crack and looked outside.
The sky was still dim, washed in a dark blue glow. The merchant group had already finished preparing, and a large number of carriages had gathered around them, ready to head in one direction.
"Awake?"
As if he had noticed the movement inside the carriage, a hoarse voice came from the front.
Rhode pushed the window open and leaned out to look ahead. It was the thief he had seen yesterday, sitting at the front of Rhode's carriage and whipping the horse in front of him.
"You should feel honored. The merchant group changed its departure time for you."
After making a point of telling Rhode this, the thief said nothing more and simply drove the carriage.
Rhode didn't say anything either. He closed the window again and sat back down inside the carriage.
Rhode understood what the thief meant. Since they weren't sure whether the secret would get out, the merchant group had spent the night making preparations and decided to leave a day early, setting off first thing that morning.
The sky had only just begun to brighten when the merchant group formed a long procession and left the Free Professional Merchants Guild's base, heading toward the town gates.
Under the dark blue sky, several black-robed figures watched the merchant caravan disappear into the distance, suggesting the journey ahead might not be peaceful.
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