Chapter 51: 99% complete, a rare find!

Atiste stood there, looking at Rena’s still-dripping face for three seconds.

“Muse Kingdom?”

Rena nodded and carefully took half a step back.

She wasn’t sure if this person would suddenly explode, but retreating a little was better than nothing.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Rena said.

“Before I passed out, I saw the emblem of Muse Kingdom on the hem of their robes.”

Atiste didn’t speak.

Muse Kingdom.

Lillian’s homeland.

The birthplace of that princess he’d captured.

What a coincidence.

Really.

He looked down at Rena’s wound.

Blood was still seeping through the bandages, but it wasn’t as alarming as before.

That girl Su’er’s healing ability was impressive—she’d managed to drag someone back from such a serious injury.

“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 hand… very pale, with long fingers, like hands that had never done any work.”

Atiste nodded.

That description was as good as nothing.

But he didn’t expect a knocked-out person to provide useful clues.

“Alright, I’m going after them.”

He turned and left.

“You—you’re just leaving like that?”

Rena called from behind.

Atiste didn’t look back.

“What else? Buy you dinner?”

“No…”

Rena’s voice was weak.

“My wounds aren’t healed yet. Leaving me alone outside the city—what if I run into a monster…”

Atiste stopped and glanced back at her.

Rena sat on the ground, covered in blood, her wet hair plastered to her face.

She did look pretty miserable.

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 it.

A pungent herbal smell hit her nose.

She frowned at Atiste, but he was already more than ten meters away.

“Th-thanks…”

she called out to the retreating figure.

Atiste ignored her.

After taking a few dozen steps, he suddenly remembered something—Su’er was still asleep in Rena’s bed.

That girl was exhausted like a dead dog; she probably wouldn’t wake up anytime soon.

‘Forget it, let her sleep.’

He’d already placed a mark on her; she couldn’t escape.

He quickened his pace toward Muse Kingdom.

Muse Kingdom wasn’t far from Aoyi City—about a day’s ride on horseback.

Atiste didn’t need a horse, but he didn’t want to attract too much attention either.

So he found a secluded spot, slightly released his power, and his form turned into a shadow that skimmed the ground toward Muse City.

Occasionally jogging was good exercise, after all.

Half an hour later, he stood at the border of Muse Kingdom.

Before him was a vast plain, and in the distance, the outline of the royal capital was visible.

Torches lit the city walls, like a winding snake of fire.

Atiste didn’t enter the city.

He stood by the roadside and activated Item Detection.

This skill was useful because it could detect items within a one-kilometer radius—not as wide as Magic Perception, but very practical.

Especially for rare items like Naga Scale Powder—finding it was a sure thing!

Three seconds later, he opened his eyes.

The Naga Scale Powder was in an abandoned manor outside the city.

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 had all collapsed, leaving 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 well-versed in Stealth Art; it was his foundation.

A light was shining in the main hall.

He stood outside, peering through the damaged door.

Four people.

All wore black robes with white doves embroidered on the hems—was that Muse Kingdom’s new emblem?

They sat in a circle on the floor, with a small box in the middle.

The box didn’t look impressive—wooden, with a few scratches on the surface.

But around the box was a ring of silver powder, glowing eerily in the firelight.

Atiste’s pupils contracted.

Naga Scale Powder.

That silver powder was Naga Scale Powder.

They had sprinkled the Naga Scale Powder around the box instead of putting it inside?

What kind of operation was this?

As he was thinking, one of them spoke.

“Confirmed, it’s real.”

The man’s tone held a hint of excitement, his voice pinched, savoring it.

“Ninety-nine percent pure, a rare treasure~ At least three thousand~”

Another snorted.

“Three thousand? Are you crazy? On the black market, it starts at fifty thousand! Naga Scale Powder—a once-in-a-millennium find. Whoever gets it owns their life!”

The third person didn’t speak, just fiddled with something in his hands.

Atiste took a closer look—it was a compass.

An Arcane Compass, its needle swaying slightly.

“Stop arguing.”

The fourth person stood up, his voice low.

“We got the goods, let’s move. That Hero might be weak, but this item is valuable. If we run into rivals…”

“Rivals?”

The first man laughed.

“That Hero was nearly beaten to death by us. Who else can beat us? Besides, we’re perfectly fine. The item’s in hand—who can steal it—”

He stopped mid-sentence.

Because he saw someone standing outside the door.

Atiste pushed the door open and walked in.

The four stood up simultaneously, hands on their weapons.

“Who are you?”

the low-voiced one asked.

Atiste ignored him, looking down at the silver powder on the floor, then at the shabby wooden box.

“You sprinkled Naga Scale Powder on the ground?”

The four exchanged glances.

“Who the hell are you?”

the younger one asked.

Atiste still ignored him.

He crouched down, pinched some silver powder, and sniffed it.

That’s right.

Naga Scale Powder.

Very high purity.

‘They’re wasting it like this…’

He looked up at the four of them.

“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, brushing the dust off his hands.

“A treasure that appears once in a millennium. You snatch it, and you use it to sprinkle on the ground?”

The younger one couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Just who are you?”

“A passing Artist,” Atiste said.

“I’m taking the Naga Scale Powder.”

With that, Atiste directly used Storage Art, sweeping all the scattered Naga Scale Powder into his pocket and storing it in his Storage Space.

The four black-robed men drew their weapons simultaneously.

Swords, daggers, short knives, and one with a Magic Staff.

“You bastard! Give it back!”

Atiste looked at them and sighed.

“Did you beat that Hero?”

No answer.

“Then you had to ambush her?”

Still no answer.

Atiste shook his head and stepped forward.

The four took a step back simultaneously.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said.

“I’m not going to torture you.”

The younger one tightened his grip on his sword.

“What the hell do you want?”

“Nothing—just going to make you forget me.”

Atiste smiled.

“Rules of the trade, you know. Seeing my face might cost you one or two heads~”