The Rich Cultivator

Dark, bat-like creatures with oversized glowing eyes squirmed restlessly inside a reinforced iron cage. Their wings twitched, their skin glossy and obsidian, and their shrill, echoing screeches made the bystanders flinch. A bulky man grunted as he pushed the cart down the busy market street, trying to keep the creatures from tipping over.

"They’re even selling Abyss Creatures now," Mathilda muttered, narrowing her eyes as one of the creatures hissed in her direction. "Should I buy some...?"

She turned her attention back to the street, where strange items from the seas and even from continent were being traded openly. Enchanted bones, whispering herbs, beast horns still dripping with blood—it was a chaotic mess of ancient mysticism and raw savagery.

Just then, Lily emerged from a tall building made of jade stones and inscribed with blue glowing runes. She held a parchment in one hand and wore a slightly annoyed expression.

"The NN network isn’t connected to the main continent," Lily explained as she walked over. "And the Continent Network isn’t synced to the North’s channels. Sending messages to the academy quickly is basically impossible."

Mathilda raised a brow. "Tyler mentioned he wanted to divine something— something about the mysterious aura that has been sealed in his Glabella. If not for that ’mysterious friend’ of his, he might’ve never noticed it. Even though there are no hidden dangers, he wanted to know who did that to him."

Lily nodded. "I already paid them to forward our message to the academy. Told them to send the reply from the academy to our NN ID. Might take a few months before we hear anything, though."

Mathilda sighed, brushing her hair back. "So where is our boss?"

"He said—" Lily replied with a pause , because she also noticed Abyss Creatures being sold, "He said he’s changing identities and visiting every place for fun."

Mathilda was about to say something, but Lily continued, "Just like someone who dresses as Man and visiting all Brothels."

Mathilda froze, then scratched her cheek with a mischievous smirk.