Atiste stood there, staring at Rena’s still-dripping face, silent for three seconds.
“Muse Kingdom?”
Rena nodded, carefully stepping back half a step.
She wasn’t sure if this person would suddenly lash out, but she’d retreat as much as she could.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Rena said.
“Before I passed out, I saw the emblem of the Muse Kingdom on the hem of their robes.”
Atiste didn’t speak.
‘Muse Kingdom. Lillian’s hometown. The homeland of the princess he’d captured.’
‘Coincidence, really.’
He looked down at Rena’s wound.
The bandages were still seeping blood, but not as alarming as before.
That Su’er girl really had some skill—she managed to pull her back from such severe injuries.
“What did those black-robed people look like?”
Rena thought for a moment.
“I couldn’t see their faces—they were all covered. But one person’s hands… very white, long fingers, like hands that had never done manual labor.”
Atiste nodded.
‘That description is as good as nothing.’
But he didn’t expect much useful info from someone who’d been knocked out.
“Alright, I’m going after them.”
He turned and left.
Rena called out from behind, “Y-you’re just leaving?”
Atiste didn’t turn back.
“What else? Invite you to dinner?”
“No…”
Rena’s voice was weak.
“My wounds aren’t healed. You’re leaving me alone outside the city—what if I encounter a monster…”
Atiste stopped and looked back at her.
Rena sat on the ground, covered in blood, hair wet and plastered to her face.
She really did look pitiful. He thought for a moment, pulled a small bottle from his pocket, and tossed it over.
Rena fumbled to catch it.
“Drink it all,” Atiste said.
“You’ll be able to stand within half an hour.”
Rena opened the bottle and sniffed—a pungent herbal smell hit her right in the face.
She frowned at Atiste, but he was already more than ten meters away.
“Th-thank you…” she called out to the retreating figure.
Atiste ignored her.
After a few dozen steps, he suddenly remembered something—Su’er was still asleep in Rena’s bed.
That girl was as tired as a dead dog; she probably wouldn’t wake up for a while.
‘Forget it, let her sleep.’
‘I’ve already placed a mark on her anyway—she can’t run.’
He quickened his pace and headed toward the Muse Kingdom.
The Muse Kingdom wasn’t far from Aoyi City—about a day’s ride by horse.
Atiste didn’t need a horse, but he didn’t want to attract too much attention either.
So he found a secluded spot, released a little of his power, turned into a shadow, and skimmed across the ground toward Muse City.
‘Occasionally running and exercising is also good.’
Half an hour later, he stood on the border of the Muse Kingdom.
Before him was an open plain; in the distance, he could see the outline of the capital.
Torches on the city wall looked like a winding fire snake.
Atiste didn’t enter the city. He stood by the roadside and activated Item Detection.
This skill was great for detecting items within a one-kilometer radius—although not as large as Magic Perception’s range, it was still very useful.
Especially for rare items like Naga Scale Powder—he could find them spot on!
Three seconds later, he opened his eyes. At an abandoned manor outside the city—the Naga Scale Powder was there.
Atiste headed in that direction.
The abandoned manor was larger than he’d imagined.
It must have been quite a grand place once, with walls, gardens, and stables.
Now it was all collapsed, with only a few crooked stone houses and rubble everywhere.
The smell of blood drifted from the main building.
Atiste walked in, his steps light. Not the sneaky kind of light—he was simply well-versed in the Stealth Art; it was his foundation.
The main hall was lit. He stood outside the door and peered through the broken panels.
Four people, all wearing black robes with white doves embroidered on the hem—was that the new emblem of the Muse Kingdom?
They sat in a circle on the ground, with a small box in the center.
The box’s material looked unremarkable—wooden, with a few scratches on the surface.
But around the box was a ring of silver powder, glinting eerily in the firelight.
Atiste’s pupils contracted.
‘Naga Scale Powder.’
Those silver powders were Naga Scale Powder.
They sprinkled the Naga Scale Powder around the box instead of inside it? What was that about?
As he was thinking, one of them spoke.
“It’s confirmed—it’s real.”
The person’s tone carried a hint of excitement, his voice strained as he said with a look of enjoyment, “Ninety-nine percent, a rare find~ At least three thousand~”
Another person snorted, “Three thousand? Are you crazy? On the black market, it’d start at fifty thousand! Naga Scale Powder is a once-in-a-millennium item—whoever gets it owns their life!”
The third person didn’t speak, just kept fiddling with something in his hands.
Atiste took a closer look—it was a compass.
An Arcane Compass, its needle trembling slightly.
“Stop arguing.”
The fourth person stood up, his voice low.
“We’ve got the item, let’s go quickly. That hero was weak, but this thing is valuable. What if rivals catch wind of us…”
“Catch wind?”
The first person laughed.
“We almost killed that hero—who else can beat us? Besides, we’re all fine here. With the item in hand, who could steal it—”
He didn’t finish his sentence before abruptly stopping.
Because he saw someone standing outside the door.
Atiste pushed open the door and walked in.
All four stood up at once, hands on their weapons.
“Who are you?” the low-voiced one asked.
Atiste ignored him, looked down at the silver powder on the ground, then at the broken wooden box.
“You actually sprinkled Naga Scale Powder on the ground?”
The four exchanged glances.
“Who are you?” the younger one asked.
Atiste still ignored him.
He crouched down, pinched a bit of silver powder with his fingers, and smelled it.
‘Correct.’
‘Naga Scale Powder.’
Very high purity.
They were really wasting a precious resource…
He looked up at the four people.
“Do you know how hard this stuff is to get?”
The four didn’t speak, just stared at him warily.
“Naga Scale Powder,” Atiste said as he stood up, dusting off his hands.
“A once-in-a-millennium item. You stole it just to sprinkle it on the ground?”
The younger one couldn’t hold back.
“Just who are you?”
“A passing Artist,” Atiste said.
“I’ll take the Naga Scale Powder.”
With that, Atiste used the Storage Art to instantly collect all the scattered Naga Scale Powder into his Storage Space.
The four black-robed figures simultaneously drew their weapons.
Swords, daggers, short blades, and one with a magic wand.
“Bastard! Give it back!”
Atiste looked at them and sighed.
“Could you defeat that hero?”
No one answered.
“If you could beat her, why resort to a sneak attack?”
Still no answer.
Atiste shook his head and took a step forward.
The four simultaneously stepped back.
“You don’t need to be afraid,” he said.
“I won’t torture you.”
The younger one tightened his grip on his sword.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing much, just making you forget me,” Atiste said with a smile.
“Rules of the trade, you understand. Seeing my face might cost you one or two heads~”