A Deal Worth at Least 1,000 Gold Coins

An Kai and Hanks took a few looks around, then chose to leave the Mountainbreaker Gang.

As they passed the trio, An Kai confirmed that the disheveled figure was the unlucky fellow Polpi had tried and failed to sell at the Bounty Tower.

Polpi was rather surprised by the nameplate hanging on An Kai's chest.

He remembered the two of them. He hadn't expected this fellow to be a mage. It seemed letting him join the Mountainbreaker Gang hadn't been a complete waste of food and resources...

As for Richardson, the mage at the eighth tier-one level, he merely glanced at An Kai before raising his chin and paying him no further attention.

His arrogance was plain to see.

After leaving the Mountainbreaker Gang, An Kai politely declined Hanks's halfhearted invitation and checked into a tavern that doubled as an inn on the same street as the gang.

He spent the night in Meditation, and dawn arrived.

[Attribute points +1]

[Endurance +1]

[Endurance: 51]

A warm current flowed through his body as An Kai spent the attribute point he had earned through Meditation.

Rather than hurry outside, he opened the system's story forum to verify his theory...

[1: The Mage Association is seeking to confirm the God of Magic's whereabouts. It is now searching the entire continent for clues. Anyone who provides useful information will receive a generous reward!]

[2: In the Bukelin Duchy, the orc faction supporting the first prince has clashed with the dwarf faction supporting the third prince.]

[3: The fifth princess of the Bukelin Duchy has reportedly appeared in the desert in the eastern part of the Bukelin Duchy!]

Scanning through the information, An Kai finally found the story he wanted in the forty-eighth Side Story...

[48: The wastrel Will-Bukelin secretly hoarded the Mountainbreaker Gang's resources. His escape attempt failed, and he was captured and brought back to the gang's headquarters. His life hangs by a thread!]

"So that really was it!"

An Kai let out a long breath.

Today's Side Stories proved one of his theories.

The Side Stories all covered events that had happened the previous day.

That included the unlucky fellow the Mountainbreaker Gang had dragged back, Will-Bukelin!

Tsk, tsk!

"If that name has nothing to do with the Bukelin Duchy, I'll spell my name backward!"

The Side Story further confirmed An Kai's suspicions.

The ring in that disheveled fellow's mouth was almost certainly a Storage Ring!

Inside it were the 200 gold coins he had stolen from the Mountainbreaker Gang.

Exchanged for Lower-grade Magic Stones, they would buy around 200!

That was a genuine fortune.

A fortune worth taking a risk for.

Over the years, his strength had steadily increased, and he seemed to face little danger.

In reality, that wasn't the case.

Leaving aside the desert's harsh environment, which he couldn't change anytime soon...

Mage Donglin, the Second-tier Mage who headed the Mage Association in Nameless Town, had given An Kai a three-year deadline.

An Kai didn't believe Dong Lin would greet him kindly when they met again.

The only way to make it through safely was to become strong enough himself.

His infinite lifespan gave An Kai ample time to pursue strength.

As long as he had enough resources, he could turn them into power.

That was why An Kai didn't want to let Will-Bukelin's 200 gold coins slip away.

This was a big fish, the kind he rarely had a chance to catch...

But he needed to plan this carefully...

After tidying up and eating breakfast, An Kai headed toward the Mountainbreaker Gang.

When he arrived at the Mountainbreaker Gang, most of the gang members were still asleep. Only a handful were on the training ground, which covered over a thousand square meters.

An Kai didn't linger and headed straight to old Frank's room.

He pushed open the door to find Frank already there.

Frank was delighted to see An Kai.

The two soon launched into a lively conversation, each with his own agenda...

At noon, An Kai once again heard Will-Bukelin's vigorous screams.

After confirming that he wouldn't be beaten to death that day, An Kai left the Mountainbreaker Gang.

As luck would have it, he ran into Richardson again on his way out, that eighth tier-one level mage who always looked down his nose at everyone.

"Hmph!" Richardson gave a soft snort as he passed An Kai...

Back at the tavern, An Kai ate a little, then began his Meditation for the day.

For the next half month, An Kai's routine remained steady: tavern → Mountainbreaker Gang headquarters → tavern.

He even turned down Hanks's repeated invitations to go fishing in the desert.

When Hanks suggested taking on a bounty, An Kai rejected that without a second thought as well.

Over that half month, An Kai gained another 10 attribute points.

All four of his attributes reached 53.

As time passed, An Kai's funds dwindled.

After all, the taverns in town were expensive.

That day, as usual, An Kai carried a plate of snacks to go with drinks as he headed toward the Mountainbreaker Gang.

Over the past half month, he and Frank had grown fairly familiar with each other.

He brought Frank something to eat every time he visited.

Frank didn't eat his food for nothing. In exchange, he told An Kai gossip and amusing stories about the Mountainbreaker Gang.

"What?! He still isn't back?!"

"What the hell are you good for?!"

"Polpi, if you can't find my younger brother, prepare to die with him!"

An Kai was just about to step through the entrance to the Mountainbreaker Gang's headquarters when he heard a string of furious roars...

Soon, he saw Polpi leading a large group of Mountainbreaker Gang members as they rushed off into the distance.

Among them was that eighth tier-one level mage with his nose in the air...

An Kai stepped aside to let them pass.

Only after Polpi and the others had left did An Kai carry the food into the Mountainbreaker Gang's headquarters.

Inside, the Mountainbreaker Gang headquarters, which occupied over a thousand square meters, was deserted. Not a soul was in sight!

An Kai casually glanced toward the house in the southwest corner. Sure enough, Polpi had taken Will-Bukelin's guards with him when he left.

That made sense. After all, Will-Bukelin was already badly injured and barely clinging to life...

He was still inside the Mountainbreaker Gang's headquarters, too. The guards were only there for show; their presence hardly mattered.

An Kai smiled at the sight. After half a month of waiting, his opportunity had arrived!

Composing himself, An Kai went to Frank's room...

"Ah...! Lord An Kai, you're here..."

The moment he entered, he saw a dejected Frank. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought his father had died...

No, at his age, his father must already be dead!

An Kai muttered inwardly as he carried the food over to Frank.

He didn't ask about Frank's sighing.

It was painfully obvious that Frank was acting this way because the gang leader's younger brother, Lei En, hadn't returned. He was waiting for An Kai to ask so he could trick him into searching for Lei En...

Unfortunately, An Kai had long since seen right through Frank's routine.

No matter how much Frank coughed or sighed, An Kai refused to take the bait. He stayed off to the side, pretending not to know anything...

Cough, cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough!!

Crafty bastard!

Frank exhaled heavily and cursed bitterly to himself...

Perhaps because An Kai refused to take the bait, Frank wasn't in much of a mood that day.

Over the next several hours, he barely spoke.

That suited An Kai perfectly. He simply stood, brushed off his backside, and left.

After leaving the Mountainbreaker Gang, he didn't return to the tavern.

Instead, he headed straight to Hanks's house.

When An Kai arrived, Hanks opened the door with sweat covering his forehead, his face flushed and his breathing slightly heavy...

"Huh? What are you doing here, brat?"

"If you've got something to say, spit it out. Don't interrupt my daily routine!"

Looking at Hanks, An Kai wondered, Isn't this old bastard afraid all that strenuous exercise will make him keel over?

But he swallowed the words before they left his mouth. He had come on serious business today!

"Hanks, I've got a deal worth at least 1,000 gold coins. Do you have the guts to do it?"