Drayen had finally collected a good sum of Rank One cores to buy a weapon. He had approximately 29 cores. Counting the sale of Rockskins, together they had made a little over 100 cores. But Drayen hadn’t contributed much—especially after the fight with Zayden.
Jim, even though he had First Grade talent like Drayen, had abilities that were more effective against the Rockskin boars. The cooldown time for full recovery could take more than a day. This meant Jim could still use his self-poisoning ability two more times within those four days—that was his limit.
However, his other poison abilities were good as well. Not to mention, once he used his self-poisoning strength ability and self-poisoning speed ability, he could kill a group of five boars all by himself. If not for Kael constantly contributing more in the hunts, Jim’s three super hunts would have given him cores equal to Kael.
Drayen was not complacent. After the hunts, he constantly sought advice from Kira and trained without rest. Kira was also training every day and had no time to fully teach Zuko or the others.
Today was one of the days when Kira and the others had taken rest. It was important for Nightbornes to rest as well. Rest was not only for the body—after resting, one could assess themselves better and come up with new ways to use their abilities more skillfully. Abilities did not define skill, especially when you gained more abilities, like Kira had. She still believed there was much room for improvement. So she trained very hard. The number of cores she obtained on every hunt was something Drayen and the others could hardly imagine.
Today, Kira and Drayen were at the training ground of Rock Apple Town, where Zuko was practicing.
They were watching a leaf-green-haired boy killing Shadow Hounds with his sharp vines. The vines penetrated the Shadow Hounds’ bodies, blood flowing from the holes. Zuko was breathing heavily. His clothes were tattered, and his body was full of sweat. He bowed slightly, catching his breath.
Drayen complimented the boy. “Finally, he can take down a Shadow Hound without any problem. He has already killed three or four in a row.”
Kira clapped, cheering him. “Good, good. Take a rest and have another match.”
She sighed and continued, “If I had more time, he would have been much better.”
Zuko came before Kira. “Thank you so much, Teacher.”
Kira gave a light smile. “You’ve learned to speak without stuttering. Hehehe.”
She rubbed his hair. Zuko stuttered lightly, “Hmm… I–I’ll rest.”
Zuko sat down to rest for a bit.
Drayen asked, after a hint of hesitation, “Wh–When do you plan to leave, by the way?”
Kira slapped her head. “Oh, I totally forgot to tell you.”
She laughed, rubbing her nose. “I’m not leaving yet. I suddenly got some work to do in Rock Apple Town.”
Drayen forgot to breathe for a second.
---
On the day the incident with Zayden happened, it was already evening and the flowers were dim. She was at the Silent Spider Den.
Kira was covered with many boar skins. They shone like metal under the fire-lamp lights.
There was a tired expression in her eyes. She took a moment to rest as she pushed the skins off her shoulders onto the floor. “Check if I have the correct amount, will you? I’m tired. I want to go to the inn and sleep already.”
The branch administrator had shock written across his face. The Spider Den was an organization whose main business was information. He obviously knew the details of the owner of the Level 3 badge here. She had gone on a hunt only that day, and within a single day, she had collected all the cores and was ready to pay off the debt. It left him quite stunned.
He coughed. “Well, you can rest and have this while I count.” He offered her a Rock Apple after crushing it open.
She mocked him. “I still have the strength to crack a Rock Apple, you know.”
He laughed sheepishly. “This is VIP service. Don’t mind it.”
She took the apple but didn’t eat it yet. “Well, I would appreciate your VIP service more if you gave me my badge.”
“Of course, don’t worry. Here. I can count later. I trust the guest.” He handed over the badge.
She sat down while he began counting. As he did, he spoke, “By the way, there was a message for the badge owner. You, guest lady.”
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As an organization specialized in information, of course the badge had another function. It acted like a SIM card—well, a more specialized and secure one, to be precise.
“Someone named Kai called. His message was: ‘Sister, miss you. Call me after getting the badge back.’”
Before he even finished speaking, she had already inserted the badge into her mobile and called. “Kai.”
“At last, you remembered your brother, Kira.” A voice came from the other side.
“So, did you finally get fired for your bad teaching?” he added in a mocking tone.
“You have so much money, huh? To waste on jokes.” She mocked back. The Spider badge, which acted as a specialized SIM, obviously had an enormous cost for calls.
She sighed. “I’m already tired. Enough of your nonsense. Get to the point.”
“How heartless you are.” He clicked his tongue. “I heard you’re in Rock Apple Town. Although your Tellus mission failed, I have good news. In Rock Apple—”
She thought for a moment before agreeing. “This is tough.”
“Yes, but you can do it,” Kai said.
“I know. Bye.”
“Take care—”
She had already cut the call.
---
After explaining a few details, Drayen felt a sigh of relief inside. “So you aren’t leaving. That’s good.”
Kira flipped her lighter open and closed absentmindedly as she replied, “Yes, but it’s for work.”
“I’m waiting for the End Moon. By the way… you’ll be gone when the Bright Moon rises, right?” she said.
After the Purple Moon came the Bright Moon. After the Bright Moon came the End Moon. In the Nightmare Realm, both the Bright Moon and the End Moon held special significance. As said before, the Nightmare Realm had eight moons that interchanged one after another.
Drayen looked away from her as though evading her upcoming questions. “I’m not planning to return.”
Kira responded automatically, “Don’t worry, the situation has somewhat calmed down—Wait, what?”
She suddenly realized she hadn’t heard wrong. “You aren’t joking, right?”
Drayen looked her in the eye. “No. I’ve already informed my home.”
She took a moment to digest that. “Do you know what you’re doing? You should return to Tellus with Zuko’s father’s help.”
“This is the Nightmare Realm,” she said, her tone clearly revealing her concern.
Zuko had already contacted his father. It had taken a few days for his father to assess the situation and make the necessary arrangements. Although the Houndswell incident was still sensitive, he had finally managed to arrange for the group’s return.
Using Zuko’s family gate was far from simple.
The portals were strictly controlled. Anyone traveling from the Nightmare Realm to Tellus required a portal pass. The system existed to regulate trade and prevent the uncontrolled movement of goods between the two worlds.
On top of that, Zuko had recently asked Kira to train him personally. His father had not rushed the matter and took his time.
Finally, Zuko’s father had already dispatched zuko's brothers to escort them. They were expected to arrive at any moment.
Two days had passed.
The Nightmare Realm was twenty times larger than Tellus. In Tellus, the distance between the Etherion Gate and Zuko’s family gate was a little over one hundred kilometers. But here, that same stretch translated to nearly five hundred kilometers.
From Houndswell alone, they would need to travel more than four hundred eighty kilometers to reach the family portal.
Unfortunately, they were currently in Rock Apple Town—positioned in the opposite direction. That detour pushed the total journey beyond six hundred kilometers.
And distance was not the only problem.
Although the Nightmare Realm had official routes that made trade and logistics relatively smooth, those routes did not extend everywhere. Along the path to Zuko’s family gate stood a steep mountain pass with no road. The terrain there was harsh and dangerous, forcing travelers to slow down significantly. That was the real reason for the delay.
She looked into his eyes, waiting for his answer.
He met her gaze. “I came to the Nightmare Realm to become a Nightborne.” He smiled. “You don’t need to worry. I know it’s dangerous to live here with a fake identity. But this is my final decision.”
In that smile, she clearly saw how firm he was.
She actually understood him. This was the best way for him to grow as a Nightborne. If he returned to Tellus, it would be difficult for him to come back through Etherion. Not only that, if he stayed here, he wouldn’t have to pay the portal fees again.
Still she tried one last time. “I don’t think Zuko’s family would object if you used their portal, you know.”
Zuko and Drayen had a good connection now, so he could use the Valtor family’s mobilized portal to come to the Nightmare Realm.
He understood her intention. “Sorry, Instructor. You have a rebellious student.” He laughed.
Then he changed the subject. “Let’s go. We have to buy me a weapon, remember?”
Drayen and Kira headed to a sword shop in the Titan Guild’s area. The shop was full of cracks and looked rather ugly compared to its surroundings.
A burly, bald man with a beard was managing the store.
Kira stepped forward. “We’re looking for a suitable sword for him.”
The man sized up Drayen. He stepped out from behind the counter and showed several swords mounted on the left-side wall. They were made from a variety of materials.
“I recommend this one,” he said. “It’s made from Blade Cat material. This blade is sharp and very lightweight.”
Blade Cats were one of the Tainted, similar to Shadow Hounds. The difference was that Blade Cats’ claws were much easier to process into weapons.
The blade he showed looked like a normal steel sword at first glance. But if one looked carefully, they would realize its sharpness exceeded that of ordinary steel.
“These are also good,” he added.
Most of them were extremely sharp.
Kira said, “It’s for basic Wing Thrust.”
“Oh, then Moss Iron is the best choice. It has weight and is sturdy.” He pulled out a sword from the bottom rack.
It was the same type of sword used in the academy. The academy’s version only had Moss Iron along the sharp edge, but this whole blade had a faint green hue spread across the entire metallic surface.
It was similar to Instructor Miller’s sword—except Miller used Dark Moss Iron, which was a Rank Two material.
“How much is it?” Drayen asked.
“It’s 30 cores, sir,” the man replied casually. “We’re already giving it at a fair price. Not to mention, Bright Moon is coming. It’s natural for goods like weapons to have a price spike.”
“Well, can’t you lower it a bit?” Drayen asked.
“No.”
“How much do you want?” Kira asked in a frustrated tone.
“One core.”
“You should’ve just asked.” She knocked him lightly on the head and handed over a core.
And just like that, the shopping came to an end. They were about to return to the inn when Kira finally asked the question Drayen had long been expecting.
“Anyway, since you’ve decided to become a Nightborne, I recommend you examine the bloodlines you have. The bloodline is the core of a Nightborne, you know?”
While speaking, there was a trace of frustration in her tone—likely from her own past experiences.
Drayen felt conflicted.
What should he do?
20× larger in surface area than Tellus.
not increase by the same amount. It increases by the square root of the multiplier.
480–500 km for simplicity.
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600+ km total travel