Penniless

"This is a Stonesword Key."

Xia Tong did not hesitate to spend 2,000 Runes on it.

This Stonesword Key was essential in certain places, such as opening catacombs or sealed evergaols.

After buying it, Xia Tong's gaze fell on the Misbegotten Greatsword planted beside Moen.

It was a broad-bladed two-handed sword with a V-shaped guard.

"This... Misbegotten Greatsword, may I give it a try?"

"Of course!"

Moen generously handed the Misbegotten Greatsword over.

Xia Tong accepted it with both hands.

The Misbegotten Greatsword was not light, considering it was a heavy weapon.

Still, after swinging it a few times, Xia Tong did not find it particularly heavy. His Strength had already reached 17, after all, enough for him to swing it one-handed.

Yet for some reason, whenever he wielded the greatsword, he felt slightly dizzy, as though something were rejecting him.

It felt incredibly awkward in his hands, nothing like the effortless control he had when using the Lordsworn's Greatsword.

"Mr. Moen, why does my head feel a little dizzy? Does this greatsword have some kind of side effect?"

Xia Tong stopped and asked in confusion.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Moen burst into laughter, his beard trembling wildly before he explained,

"Little brother, this Misbegotten Greatsword has a certain Faith requirement."

"Those Misbegotten whom the Golden Order considers tainted, who hack at anyone they see, actually have greater faith than you do."

"Faith?"

Xia Tong froze, then could not help laughing bitterly.

He remembered that his Faith was only 2.

In this world, even creatures like Misbegotten were probably more devout toward something than he, an atheist, was.

In the Lands Between, an atheist really did seem terribly out of place.

If he absolutely had to say what he believed in, Xia Tong probably only believed in himself.

Even the so-called god, Queen Marika, was merely a somewhat stronger person in Xia Tong's eyes.

Demigod bloodline? The will of a god?

To Xia Tong, it was all complete bullshit.

"This thing isn't for me."

He set aside the Misbegotten Greatsword and continued searching through Moen's wares.

Then something caught his attention.

"What's this?"

Xia Tong pointed at the yellowed parchment.

"This is intelligence on a Demi-Human Group. Interested, little brother? We're friends now, so I'll let you have it for 800 Runes."

"800 Runes?"

Xia Tong raised an eyebrow and cursed inwardly.

Fuck you!

He almost drew his greatsword and cut the man down in one stroke.

What a scammer—half price for strangers, full price for acquaintances!

Xia Tong truly could not remember the prices of many items.

But he happened to remember this intelligence document.

In the game, it should have been priced at 500 Runes.

"Brother Moen, how intelligent do you think I am?"

"Intelligent?"

Why was he suddenly asking that?

Moen was somewhat puzzled, but he still flattered him.

"Your intelligence must be extremely high. A strong man such as yourself could never have survived this long without exceptional wisdom."

"Then why are you treating me like an idiot?"

"Idiot? What is that?" Moen instinctively asked. He genuinely did not know what it meant, but he could tell it was not a good word.

And the person before him seemed angry already.

Xia Tong felt utterly speechless.

Under normal circumstances, he would not have cared much, but after buying the Stonesword Key, he was truly short on funds.

"300 Runes. I'm taking this intelligence."

"300 Runes? That's less than what I paid for it!"

Moen wailed miserably, but seeing Xia Tong's increasingly hostile gaze, he felt that if he kept bargaining, the deal would fall through.

He sighed.

"Fine. Consider it my way of showing respect for a strong man. 500 Runes. I can't go any lower."

"Deal."

Xia Tong paid without hesitation.

After buying everything, Xia Tong checked his money pouch.

There was truly nothing left inside.

The Runes within his body were completely depleted as well.

He had finally pulled off a major score by killing the Night's Cavalry and earning a huge fortune, only to end up penniless again.

The wandering merchant Moen, on the other hand, wore a broad smile. After all, he had made a killing once more.

Looking at the man's smug, mercenary grin, Xia Tong wanted nothing more than to draw the Lordsworn's Greatsword and cut him down beneath his donkey!

That donkey's packs had to contain plenty of good stuff, right?

The drop rate had to be high, right?

But Xia Tong quickly suppressed that dangerous thought.

He might not have faith, but he had morals.

Morality was something very few people in the Lands Between still possessed.

After buying his things from the wandering merchant Moen, Xia Tong returned to the tent and slept for a while. Before he knew it, dawn had arrived.

Afterward, he did not set out immediately. Instead, he rested where he was and continued nurturing his Spirit Ashes.

In this real world, Spirit Ashes recovered rather slowly, especially after suffering serious injuries.

If he left them alone and merely recalled them, allowing them to recover passively in his consciousness space,

then Spirit Ashes such as the Stray Wolves, whose spiritual forms had been completely destroyed, required an entire day to recover. It basically depended on the severity of their injuries.

For ordinary minor injuries, a few hours would be enough.

Fanged Imps took longer to recover than Stray Wolves. If their forms were dispersed, they would probably need around a day and a half.

Kulala had not yet been dispersed in battle.

But Kulala was currently the strongest among his Spirit Ashes. If she were dispersed, she would probably need a full two days before she could be summoned again.

Of course, all of that was under the assumption that Xia Tong did not personally nurture them.

If he actively used spiritual power to nurture those spirits, their recovery time would be reduced by at least half.

If he nurtured them near a Site of Grace, the process would be even faster.

And as his Mind increased in the future, that time would surely be shortened further.

Naturally, the stronger the Spirit Ashes, the longer their recovery time would be. Forget it, forget it. He did not want to think about it anymore.

Xia Tong felt his head aching.

While nurturing them, Xia Tong occasionally chatted with Melina.

Naturally, their conversation turned to yesterday's stunning attack—his Botched Lion's Claw.

"Your Lion's Claw looked powerful, but it was mostly brute force. When you fought the Night's Cavalry, it only worked because your opponent was restrained. Otherwise, that move would actually have been easy to dodge."

Melina assessed.

Xia Tong smiled somewhat sheepishly.

At present, he did not really possess any proper Ashes of War.

He had only used three combat skills in total.

One was Barbaric Roar, the skill carried by that huge wooden club he had used at the beginning when he had barely been clothed.

After using it, his whole body became much more excited, and his strength increased considerably. That was how it felt.

Moreover, the club became easier to wield. It was a pure release of wildness.

The other was Square Off, the skill of the Lordsworn's Straight Sword.

After using Square Off, the sword in his hand felt much lighter, and his stance became more relaxed.

When facing attacks from all directions, he could handle them with far greater ease.

Whether thrusting forward or cutting upward, everything felt natural, as though the sword were an extension of his arm.

As for the Lordsworn's Greatsword's skill—Upward Cut.

When using it, he felt much steadier.

Because the greatsword was heavier, its swings also carried tremendous momentum.

But when he used the skill, his center of gravity dropped extremely low, and his feet felt as though they had taken root.

When slashing upward, it was as though strength accumulated within his body for a long time suddenly erupted.

He seemed to become a bull, with the strength of his entire body concentrated upon the blade. That was why he could easily send the massive Night's Cavalry flying.

Of course, Xia Tong's own physical abilities were also exceptionally strong.

Otherwise, how could he have managed to imitate the form of Lion's Claw?

"Although I only copied its appearance, I feel that this downward strike is extremely powerful. It was also this strike that dealt the Night's Cavalry its fatal blow."

Xia Tong savored the feeling of that move.

"I have seen the real Lion's Claw before."

Melina raised her head to the sky, seeming to recall some distant past.

"In Redmane Castle in Caelid, there are many White-Maned Lions."

"Huge, sharp blades are tied to their forelimbs, and the way they generate force is very similar to how you spin through the air."

"Nearly every one of those Lion Guardians can use Lion's Claw."