Chapter 176: City of Wealth
“Am I really drunk?”
Aladdin shook his head and saw a water tank nearby. He tiptoed and dipped his head into it, coming out with his senses clearly much sharper. Despite his short stature and small belly, Aladdin could outdrink Soren by a long shot; some halflings could even down barrels of ale equal to their height. It might have something to do with their lifestyle—tobacco, beer, and good food were essential parts of their daily lives.
Aladdin trusted his perception, so he felt that what he had just seen shouldn’t have been an illusion.
After tidying himself up a bit, he headed in the direction where he had seen Vivian’s figure. The population of the City of Wealth was high, and there were plenty of easy marks to find, but Aladdin was very restrained. He had many rules known only to himself, such as only stealing once a day, not targeting the same person consecutively, and doing a good deed or donating to his faith’s temple if he made a decent haul, in hopes of seeking divine protection.
His alignment had always wavered between chaotic good and lawful neutral, but recently he had acted more on impulse.
If he hadn’t run into Soren, he likely would have drifted towards chaotic neutral. But since he had made a bit of money recently, Aladdin had actually toned down his stealing; after all, that little bit of Gind wasn’t worth more than adventure gains. Aladdin rarely stole from professionists because the chances of being discovered were too high, so he turned down the street and proceeded towards the market.
He lost sight of Vivian.
Due to his initial hesitation, it seemed her figure had already moved far away, but he tried to gauge the direction based on the flow of people.
The market district was the place with the most people and the most thieves.
Aladdin glanced around and quickly spotted several others also looking for targets. Thieves had their own rules and territories; it was best not to overstep boundaries casually. Aladdin didn’t see Vivian, but he did seem to spot the woman who had appeared with her at first, and she was purchasing a cart. Her lavish expenditure also attracted the attention of several fellow thieves. In the City of Wealth, mules and horses were commonly rented; purchasing them directly here required a significant amount of money.
Aladdin stealthily followed her. She appeared quite alert, furrowing her brow at other thieves pretending to walk by.
Then she slowly said one word: “Scram!”
This was a professionist!
Aladdin assessed her with a few glances and quickly concluded. He even deduced that she likely favored short weapons, possibly a dagger or a shortsword, with abilities around the third tier, leaning towards an agile combat style. However, he couldn’t determine her profession; warriors, wanderers, rangers, etc., often didn’t display their signs openly. Aladdin could only gauge her nature based on her attitude and tone, suspecting she might not be the most amiable person.
The woman soon agreed on a price and had someone move the cart to a certain location.
Then she turned and walked in another direction, looking quite alert as she surveyed her surroundings. Aladdin quietly followed at about a hundred meters distance and eventually arrived in front of a rather secluded inn. This location was two streets away from where he started, separated by an alley. It used to be a fish market, and he could still catch a whiff of fishy smell from here. The woman quickly entered the inn, and Aladdin hesitated; he still didn’t go through the front door.
He wasn’t yet sure if he had seen Vivian or if it was an illusion, or perhaps someone who looked very much like her.
Aladdin went around to the back of the inn.
He spat on his hands and then climbed up the wall behind the inn. He hardly needed many handholds as he easily made it up to the second floor. This process was almost completely silent; halfling wanderers excelled in this area. He quietly listened at the first room; it seemed empty, and then he cautiously moved to the second room. This room appeared to have a man inside, and he could hear snoring.
He thought he heard the sound of a door opening and quickly ducked out of sight. He then approached the corner room.
“Who?!”
Before he could stealthily sneak in for a look, a crisp cold snort came from inside the room. Then a little girl’s voice piped up, “How dare you act wild in front of me! Simply asking for d*ath!”
—“Human Immobilization Spell!”
Aladdin’s figure froze in place, and soon the woman he had noticed stepped out, casting a cold glance at him before lifting the puppet-like Aladdin and dragging him directly into the room.
“Eh?”
Sitting on the bed was an exceptionally beautiful little girl. She frowned and looked at Aladdin, then said, “It’s you?… Aladdin?!…”
Aladdin couldn’t move at all, only able to slightly turn his eyes.
The little girl frowned slightly, waved her hand to dispel the spell, and said in a condescending tone: “How did you end up here? You dare to follow me!…”
The halfling plopped down on the ground, staring wide-eyed at the little girl in front of him, muttering, “Vivian?… When did you become so impressive?…”
The little girl looked a bit frustrated, shot him a glare, and muttered under her breath, “I’m not that idiot!… I’m Lily… No, wait!… I am Vivian!…”
“Is it strange that I became powerful?”
Saying this, the little girl lifted her chin, raising her voice considerably, appearing quite fierce and self-important.
Why do her words seem so disconnected?
Aladdin began to doubt whether the little girl in front of him was really Vivian or perhaps her twin sister or something. In any case, his intuition told him that the little girl before him was quite different from his memories. Although her appearance was nearly indistinguishable, her demeanor, expressions, and way of speaking were all unlike the Vivian he had known. In his memory, Vivian was a well-behaved little girl who spoke softly, always gentle and kind to everyone, with none of this condescending attitude.
Moreover!
Vivian seemed to like white, right? Many of her clothes were white dresses!
But the little girl before him was wearing a black princess dress, and her small hands had black silk gloves, giving her an air of pride, much like those spoiled princesses in royal courts.
But!
She really did seem to be Vivian!
Aladdin trusted that his eyes would not deceive him; even if they were twins, they couldn’t be identical. As a skilled wanderer, he could distinguish those subtle differences.
“Vivian!…”
The halfling’s expression was somewhat hesitant as he softly said, “How did you end up here? Didn’t you go north with Soren?”
The little girl’s big, round eyes darted around.
For a brief moment, her cute face revealed a mischievous charm, the corners of her mouth hinting at a slight smile, but it quickly vanished. A hint of moisture appeared in her beautiful large eyes, as if stirred by sad memories; her small frame looked somewhat frightened, with teary eyes resembling the look about to cry, as she spoke in a heart-wrenching, tender voice: “It was like this. But my brother and I ran into bad people!…”
“And then we got separated.”
“Fortunately, I met this kind sister who helped me and brought me here.”
The woman truly had a natural talent for acting.
The adjacent lovely woman immediately reacted, her expression shifting to one of validation.
The little girl then stood up and looked at Aladdin, who was about her height, with a sweet, plaintive voice, “I thought you were the bad guy, so I used a spell on you!…”
“Please don’t blame me, okay?…”
Her appeal was successful.
The little girl’s pitiful appearance quickly made Aladdin set aside his suspicions because this version of Vivian was indeed much like his memories.
Perhaps she just looked a bit different because she had encountered trouble, right?
“Who attacked you?”
Aladdin’s gaze waned slightly, though he didn’t notice himself, and he spoke indignantly: “Don’t be scared! If there are bad people bullying you, I will certainly help deal with them!…”
Charm successful.
A sly smile crept across the little girl’s lips, her expression somewhat mischievous, and a strange light glimmered in her eyes as she continued in her pitiful tone: “It’s a really, really bad vampire!… But it seems he has also offended others!… A really powerful paladin is chasing him!… You definitely look like a remarkable wanderer!… Brave Aladdin!… Can you help me find out where he is?…”
“And then we could tell that paladin!… Let him deal with that vampire!…”
Without hesitation, the halfling pounded his chest and said: “No problem!…”
………………
In the vast wilderness.
Soren’s figure approached from the distance, having left the shipwreck harbour some time ago.
He was now heading towards the City of Wealth, the most prosperous area along the coast, where the latest information was always available. If one of the Demon Sons of Fear appeared, he should be able to gather some intel. Moreover, it seemed that one of the Demon Sons of Fear had appeared there; Soren felt they wouldn’t leave so soon. After gathering the materials needed for the bloodline purification ritual, he quickly made time to complete the ritual, as the requirements for advancing beyond the non-legendary tier were not high; the bloodline rituals at the legendary tier would require the assistance of higher-level spellcasters.
Soren gained a new specialty: [Strength].
“Strength [Talent Specialty]: You are significantly stronger than others; this is a powerful bloodline ability that can be gained through a deity’s blessing. Possessing this talent specialty grants you an additional 1 HP for each profession level and increases your fortitude saving throws by 2. When you are subject to certain d*ath check attacks, you may enter a dying state instead of dying immediately!”
[Prerequisite specialty for Epic Strength.]
……………… (To be continued ~^~)
