Chapter 31: Temporary Bodyguard?
Terrence finally had the options laid out before him. There were three active locations available: Nara City, Hanging City, and Looming Bridge. While under normal circumstances it shouldn’t be a question of where he would go, he picked the option that was located furthest from the city.
Anyone looking at his choice would naturally wonder: why on earth would he pick Looming Bridge? It was by far the furthest away, and traveling there would take a full day and a half. A round trip meant burning three whole days just in transit.
Terrence exhaled deeply, feeling a faint sense of fulfillment. This was exactly where he wanted to go. Even with the crucial upcoming duel between him and Lucas looming around the corner, he still wanted this specific mission because it offered the largest payout of contribution points.
He currently had 200 points saved up—points he had earned simply by participating in the recent B-Rank expedition. Although the dungeon hadn’t been cleared by their squad, the run still awarded him a hefty chunk of contribution points just for surviving and logging combat data.
"I’m so sorry, sir. It seems there was a sudden system error... Uhm..."
The female attendant behind the counter hesitated, the reluctance to share bad news clearly written across her face. After gathering her courage, she continued in a soft voice.
"The A-Rank rift at Looming Bridge was officially cleared by a high-tier just a moment ago."
Terrence clicked his tongue in frustration. It seemed gathering a thousand contribution points wasn’t going to be as easy as he had hoped. With that amount of points, he could at least comfortably establish a residence in Nara City.
Alas, he wasn’t meant to get there anytime soon.
He let out a tired sigh. "What are my remaining options now?"
"The nearest available one, sir," the attendant replied with a polite smile, though the nearest A-Rank rift only offered a meager three hundred points upon clearing. Moreover, plenty of eager tamers had already registered their names on the entry list for that gate. "Your only real option right now is the Hanging City. The one near Nara City had been cleared as well. "
It seemed he had no other choice but to go there. He had originally wanted to pick his second choice, Nara City, since he was somewhat familiar with its layout and transport routes. But now he was forced to head to Hanging City—a settlement built directly onto the walls of a massive cliff.
With a heavy sigh, Terrence added his name to the official registry of tamers entering the rift.
"I guess I have to go prepare my gear now," he muttered to himself, turning away from the counter.
Traveling to Hanging City would take a full day by public transportation. However, Terrence already had a different plan in mind.
He returned to his hotel room and changed into a fresh set of clothes. Sitting down on the edge of his soft bed, he closed his eyes and recollected his thoughts for a moment, using the quiet space to map out his future strategy properly.
First, he planned to purchase a plot of land or set up a shop in the outer sector of Suran City. However, that idea still felt insufficient since he lacked a steady, reliable supply of beasts. The System hadn’t issued him a clear mission enough to properly establish a physical shop just yet.
He reasoned that with a physical shop, he could complete his System missions at a much faster pace. Even if there were inherent problems and major risks attached to that idea, he couldn’t care less. Finishing System missions was his absolute top priority. If he had to fight off suspicious organizations, then so be it—it would simply serve as another valuable learning experience, a luxury he couldn’t afford in the past.
Second, he could buy a place in Nara City instead. Given that if he had enough contribution points accumulated, he could build a shop there just like he had planned for the outer sector of Suran City.
Yet, those grand plans were completely dead in the water without a reliable supply pipeline from the System.
At the moment, having no available beast for sale wasn’t an issue, but in the long run, if he wanted to maintain a fully operational shop, he wouldn’t be able to make it work on his own.
Terrence sighed heavily. After carefully refining his thoughts, he decided to stick with his initial plan: he would live in Suran City and buy a plot in the outer sector. However, there was one massive hurdle he needed to overcome first if he wanted any semblance of a peaceful life there.
The Lee Family. He had to fix things right soon and put an absolute end to their tyranny once and for all.
Just as Terrence made up his mind to leave the hotel, stepping through the glass doors of the main entrance, someone suddenly called out and stopped him in his tracks.
It was a young man with bright blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He appeared to be roughly the exact same age as Terrence and shared a similar tall frame.
Before Terrence could step past him, the young man reached out and firmly grabbed Terrence’s wrist, calling out to command his immediate attention.
Adorned in pristine corporate attire that was tailored to fit his athletic physique perfectly, the young man looked him up and down before speaking.
"Excuse me... Are you Terrence? The one who sold ninety-nine Guard Slimes to Lady Commander Clame?"
Terrence froze on the spot, his body stiffening.
’Where did that information come from?’
Knowing Clame’s strict, highly secretive personality, she would have done everything in her power to hide that transaction from the public. However, the possibility of leaks inside the military hierarchy was never zero.
Besides, Terrence eventually planned to let people know he could supply high-quality beasts, but certainly not this soon—not before he fully understood the inner intricacies of his System.
"What are you talking about?" Terrence asked, his voice instantly turning cold as he yanked his arm back. "I don’t sell beasts. You definitely have the wrong person."
Terrence escaped from the young man’s grip and turned to continue walking down the street. But he was abruptly stopped again as the blonde youth called out after him.
"Can I at least interest you in a job as an additional bodyguard? Even if it’s just on a temporary basis?" The young man stepped in front of him, locking eyes with Terrence. "I am heading to Hanging City right now. And for a person like you who managed to sell a massive hoard of beasts, I must assume you are a formidable fighter."