novelraw Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Chapter 2. If You Won’t Chase Me, I’ll Have Someone Else Chase You
“Enough nonsense. Are you going to back off or not?”
Kyle glanced up at the sky. He did not want to drag this out any longer and asked directly.
O’Brien frowned tightly.
Having only been in this city for a few months, he did not know much about Kyle. From the scum in the black market, he had only learned that Kyle truly dealt solely in intelligence and never participated in any other activities.
And through his own investigation, he had indeed never heard of anyone in the city being attacked by a vampire—nor even of any dark creature harming anyone.
Was it done too discreetly? Or was there another reason?
Just what did this fellow rely on to survive? Feeding on animal blood? That would only make a vampire weaker and weaker.
Yet the other was outrageously strong—at least an Intent-level Vampire Marquis, a full major rank above him, a Master-tier Paladin.
As for the auction…
It was the once-every-decade grand event of the Coral Thorn Duchy. At that time, regardless of identity or race, anyone with sufficient wealth or bargaining chips could enter and bid on rare treasures.
Countless powerhouses would gather then. The fact that a vampire dared to participate showed just how confident he was.
Sigh… forget it.
“Since you’re bold enough to attend an auction of that level, and I truly have no ability to do anything to you, I just hope you won’t regret participating in it.”
“That won’t trouble you, Lord Paladin! So you won’t keep staring at me anymore, right? You’ve already interrupted my business several times!”
“Hmph.”
O’Brien gave no reply. With a cold snort, he leapt off the rooftop. The heavy sound of his footsteps quickly disappeared into the depths of the alleyways.
“Phew. Finally got rid of that big nuisance.”
Kyle looked up at the sky again. Good—there was still time. He should be able to take on another client tonight. He had never lacked customers. His figure quietly blurred and vanished into the night.
······
“These monsters… they’re finally gone.”
Only after the heart-pounding presence had completely disappeared did the residents curled up inside their homes and the constables hiding in the shadows finally let out a breath of relief.
They cautiously pushed open a crack in their windows. Once they confirmed the streets were quiet again, their suspended hearts finally settled, and they slumped down in exhaustion.
Another day survived. How wonderful…
Though it was the largest city in the duchy, it was also a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers abounded. From time to time, powerhouses clashed.
Fortunately, these individuals were relatively restrained and would not truly go all out. After all, this city was a default trading ground for the strong. Damaging it would mean offending all the other powerhouses.
Precisely because of this, the city had become the largest and most prosperous among the dozen duchies along the Silver Sand Coast.
In a place without modern skyscrapers or advanced infrastructure, it had managed—through magic, alchemy, and profit—to sustain the lives, healthcare, and sanitation of nearly ten million people.
Desperadoes, wealthy merchants, nobles, adventurers, and slave traders together formed this chaotic metropolis.
As for the duke, the highest legal ruler on the surface, he was merely a puppet responsible for cleaning up the mess for the powerhouses. Most of the annual taxes were carved up by various factions, and what remained was not even enough to pay the palace guards’ salaries—he had to make up the difference from his own pocket.
————
Within an underground district overgrown with green moss and glowing grass lanterns.
More than a dozen figures cloaked in black robes and wearing strange masks stood anxiously before a small shop built into the rock wall, waiting for the shop owner to return. They were naturally Kyle’s clients.
A shadow flickered past. The wooden door of the shop slowly opened.
“Come in.”
The leading black-robed figure almost ran inside, swiftly shutting the door behind him.
Kyle sat behind a wooden table with a crystal ball placed upon it, waiting for the visitor’s inquiry.
The black-robed man stepped before the crystal ball, bowed nervously and urgently, then pressed a gold coin still tinged with the smell of blood onto the table—the fee for asking a question.
“Sir, I want to know the location where the merchant ship Black Flood Dragon sank half a month ago!”
Kyle’s brow lifted slightly. The question itself was not troublesome. The troublesome part was that the cargo of the Black Flood Dragon had already been secretly salvaged by other adventuring teams and was now listed in the auction catalog.
He tapped the table. “There are two pieces of information. One costs 300 gold coins. The other costs 500 gold coins. Which do you want to hear?”
The breathing beneath the black-robed man’s mask suddenly grew heavy. That was practically an explicit hint—what he sought was likely already gone.
This was one reason Kyle had so many clients. For useless intelligence, he would generally indicate clearly or subtly, sparing customers wasted time and money.
The black-robed man placed another gold coin on the table and took a deep breath. He desperately needed a chance to turn things around. In his last mission, his adventuring party had suffered grievous casualties. He needed enough money to compensate for the losses and seek a comeback.
“Then… are there any other valuable shipwreck locations?” His bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at Kyle.
Kyle’s brows rose fully this time. “Do you know the rules? For non-specific intelligence like that, the consultation fee starts at one magic crystal. You think one gold coin is enough? Are you joking with me?”
The black-robed man froze. He had indeed forgotten. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out a stained cloth pouch from his robe and, trembling, poured out three dull magic crystals. “This… this is everything I have…”
Kyle looked at the pitiful three crystals. After all that, this guy could not even scrape together 200 gold coins, yet he still wanted intelligence?
But as he glanced at the chaotic and despairing threads of causality entwined around the man, Kyle decided to give him a path to survival—on account of the fact that he was actually a decent person.
As a transmigrator, Kyle naturally had his own golden finger—one could also call it a talent.
By consuming mental energy and life force, he could read the causal threads of people or objects, obtaining crucial information and images. With this ability, he could even analyze the essence of all things and deduce possible futures.
The other was merely an Elite-tier warrior. A few glances were enough for Kyle to know what had happened.
Escorting a merchant caravan, ambushed repeatedly by bandits and magical beasts. In the end, not only was the caravan destroyed, but most of his teammates were lost. Decades of hard work were gone overnight. Nearly all his savings had been used for compensation and pensions to his teammates’ families.
If that were all, Kyle would merely think slightly better of him. But the man was also secretly funding an orphanage and acting as its protector. That stirred something within Kyle.
In such a chaotic society, someone still willing to quietly do good deeds was as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
Kyle lightly tapped the crystal ball. An illusion slowly emerged.
“Half a year ago, in the cargo hold of the Silver Scale, there were two crates of magic scrolls. They are now buried on the seabed about thirty nautical miles southeast of Coral Reef Island. However…”
As the image within the crystal ball shifted, enormous Ghost-Eyed Sharks swam through the scene.
The black-robed man’s body trembled slightly. A hoarse voice came from beneath the mask. “...Thank you.”
Seeing him about to leave just like that, Kyle stopped him.
“With just you and your remaining teammates, going there would be suicide. And my consultation fee isn’t that low.”
The black-robed man froze mid-step and turned, looking at Kyle with hopeful eyes.
“Go to the Rhino Tavern. Find a fellow wearing a worn-out warrior’s uniform, with brown hair and gray-blue eyes. Tell him your situation—everything—truthfully. He’ll help you. After it’s done, I want the profit from one crate of scrolls as my fee.”
After speaking, he tossed the three magic crystals on the table back to the man. “I don’t want to wait too long. Use that money to buy salvaging equipment first.”
The black-robed man stared at the recovered crystals in his hand. Saying nothing more, he gave a deep bow and rushed out the door.
Watching his departing figure, a smile curved at the corner of Kyle’s lips.
You chased me for so long—this time, I’ll make sure you have a good time suffering at sea.
But soon after, he rubbed his brow lightly. Forcibly peering into a fairly strong Paladin protected by Holy Light had not been a small drain on his mental strength.
“Next!”