"Instant spellcasting?!"
"This bastard is Tier One, Level One?!"
"Boss... that fireball's pretty big..."
"Boss, do we attack, or..."
The moment An Kai showed his strength, Reed and his three companions lost their nerve.
In all their experience, they had never seen anyone cast a spell instantly, let alone two at once!
On top of that, these fireballs were more than twice the size of any they had ever seen!
That only made An Kai's strength all the more terrifying to them.
In an instant, they all thought of running.
But although they wanted to run, An Kai had no intention of letting them!
He hurled the fireballs in his hands, one at Reed and the other at the warrior behind him.
The moment he threw them, two more fireballs appeared in his hands, which he hurled at the warriors to his left and right...
"Vine Armor!" Reed shouted hastily as he saw the fireball hurtling toward him!
Vines appeared across the surface of his body...
But his resistance barely did anything!
The fireball struck him, instantly destroying the vines!
The impact knocked him to the ground!
Before Reed could catch his breath, another fireball came hurtling toward him!
Bang!
The other three warriors suffered the same fate. They racked their brains and used every ounce of strength to block the first fireball, only for another to come crashing toward them before they could catch their breath...
Reed bitterly hated the merchant who had sold him the detector. That unscrupulous bastard had utterly screwed him over!
Instant spells, unfathomable mana reserves, and not even a change in expression after throwing so many fireballs—this bastard was definitely not Tier One, Level One!
Five minutes later...
Reed and his three warriors had been stripped naked and were blackened all over, with a faint smell of roasted meat wafting from them...
Eating the roasted meat Reed had used as bait, An Kai wore a gentle expression, as though he had run into old friends. He said slowly, "Start talking. If you lie to me, I'll feed you to the Thorn Bugs."
Reed had survived because, on the verge of death, he had said he possessed a membership card for the Bounty Tower in Chaos City.
It still had credit on it that he could use to buy things.
When An Kai asked how many Lower-grade Magic Stones he could buy, Reed answered that he could get around thirty.
An Kai had decided then to spare Reed.
At least, he would not kill him for now.
An Kai knew a little about the Bounty Tower from Hanks. After all, one of Hanks's favorite pastimes was bragging about his Bounty Tower membership.
Hanks had also told An Kai that only the owner could use a membership card.
Otherwise, An Kai would never have believed Reed on his word alone.
Twenty minutes later.
An Kai made a decision.
He decided to go with Reed to Chaos City, the only city in the desert.
Previously, he had only heard its name and had never actually been there.
That was partly because he had never had any money to his name.
According to that old bastard Hanks, Chaos City was the desert's true holy land.
There, as long as you had gold coins, you could buy anything!
Even the throne of a duchy!
Likewise, the Bounty Tower was the most famous establishment in Chaos City.
There, with enough money, you could have even a nation's ruler beheaded.
Reed and his three warrior guards had improved so rapidly over the past year because they had happened upon a down-and-out noble.
As luck would have it, that noble had a bounty on his head at the Bounty Tower.
The poor, fallen noble had thought he had met kindhearted souls, only for Reed and his companions to turn around and sell him to the Bounty Tower.
The resources they received in exchange had allowed all four of them to successfully enter a class and become class holders.
Each of the four had a membership card, and pooling their credit would let them exchange it for roughly thirty Lower-grade Magic Stones.
Had Reed not divulged that information quickly enough, An Kai would have already snapped the other three warriors' necks...
With their hands tied, Reed and his three companions walked ahead while An Kai followed at the rear like a shepherd...
He toyed with the detector in his hand.
With a thought, one warrior's rank appeared: Tier One, Second Level.
All three warriors showed up as Tier One, Second Level. He then pointed it at Reed.
"Tier One, Stage Three? That weak?"
Hearing An Kai's muttering, Reed gave an awkward smile but did not respond.
He thought to himself, Am I weak? You're just a fucking freak! What Tier One, Level One mage can cast spells instantly—and has such astonishing endurance, too?!
"Hanks, you old bastard, if you won't go earn money, how are you supposed to support me?"
"Hehehe, what do you know? I had a sudden inspiration today. I feel an honored guest is about to arrive!"
At Chaos City's gate, behind a stall, Widow Wang's eyes flashed. Then, with a smack, she slapped the back of Hanks's sparsely haired head...
"You son of a bitch, I've been hearing that same line for a month!"
"If I'd known, I'd have rather died in that town than come here with you to suffer!"
The slap jolted Hanks, and he hurriedly stood up, reaching to cover Widow Wang's mouth...
"Keep it down... keep it down... everyone's looking..."
"Hmph!" Widow Wang glared at him, but she did stop cursing aloud.
"Hanks, if you don't bring back any gold coins today, don't even think about getting into bed!"
Leaving him with those words, Widow Wang swayed her way into Chaos City, leaving Hanks standing there with an adoring look on his face...
After leaving the town with Widow Wang, he had come to settle in Chaos City.
Hanks continued his old trade of buying low and selling high.
Unfortunately, Chaos City had plenty of trading venues, which dealt a heavy blow to his business.
Hanks could only camp out by the gate every day, waiting for first-time visitors whom he could trick into buying or selling a few items...
Although business was worse than in Nameless Town, Hanks lived quite comfortably.
Widow Wang's company had rekindled his lonely heart...
Over the past year, Hanks had come to believe that the best decision he had made was carrying Widow Wang off when he fled the town.
Of course, whenever business was slow, Hanks would often think of that little rascal.
Young as he was, he could bring Hanks handsome profits. Of course, An Kai was also a ruthless bastard.
Had Hanks not been so strong, that brat might have long since stripped him bare and snapped his neck.
He had seen An Kai give him vicious looks plenty of times...
I wonder how the town's doing? With that brat's personality, he must have run off ages ago, right? Basking in the sun, Hanks could not help reminiscing...
"Sir, Chaos City is just ahead. Do you think... you could... untie us?"
"Oh? You want to die? I can oblige!"
Suddenly, Hanks thought he must have misheard.
He sprang to his feet and looked a short distance away.
Behind four charcoal-black figures stood a handsome young man holding an iron sword...
He looked poised to hack the four lumps of charcoal in front of him to death...
Hanks rubbed his eyes. He had never imagined that merely thinking of the brat would make him actually appear...
His professional instincts prompted him to sweep his gaze over the group. From those four naked, charcoal-black figures, Hanks could already tell that whether he got into Widow Wang's bed tonight depended on An Kai!
"Hey! Young master mage! Long time no see!"
Hearing the shout, An Kai looked over and smiled, but under his breath, he muttered, "Rotten luck!"