The gate was in front of him.
It was as magical as any other exit, and it would bring him back to the association.
Noa knew what kind of changes this new system announcement would cause, especially when the last one had been issued only a day before.
The average population would barely feel any changes.
At most, their interest would be piqued, wondering what had induced the system to act this way.
As for the government, huge clans and guilds, this was where the main spectacle would start, and shake the world from the shadows.
Various hidden powers, mainly the Red Order, would show themselves, threatening those at the top.
It didn't mean that the guilds or the government would stay still.
Rather, they would increase their activities and invest more resources in conquering the Fifth Abyss.
All of them saw that the new power might rise and threaten their position.
Most of all, the Scar incident proved that Velrox was no longer the safe haven everyone thought it was, and if it appeared once, there was no guarantee it wouldn't show up again.
And if its strength increased even further and reached Abyss level, the world might be doomed.
It birthed fear and uncertainty.
However, it shouldn't have involved Noa.
Yet, the system had to screw him over, and even though his identity was safe for now, millions of unique skills and abilities existed, and who knew when his Deviant status would come to light?
Noa wasn't scared.
His desire to pull a feast on Arthur hid his fear.
But he knew he had to be careful, as even a single wrong step might extinguish his life.
The magical energy before him was guiding him inside.
He walked through the gate, basking in its warmth and coldness alike.
A couple of seconds later, he was back in the dark room, and by the metallic scent and lack of sounds, he guessed he was back on Velrox.
Soon, the door creaked open, revealing the same woman who had led him inside.
"Welcome back!" she saluted, showing only a drop of elation upon seeing him.
"Thanks," Noa nodded, leaving the chamber. "Do I need to report anything?" he asked, fully knowing that there was no such protocol.
"No. But things are a bit chaotic because of the announcement."
Her answer and the sweat that still covered her forehead showed how taken aback she truly was.
'It would be like this for a while,' he thought.
Before leaving the area, Noa had one more concern, greed flashing from his eyes to his face.
"Do you know if the merchant is still here? I have things to sell."
He pointed at his almost-filled bag.
"I believe he should be around. See for yourself, and if not, try to come back another day."
Appearing stoic and collected, she responded calmly before her walkie-talkie bleeped, causing her to dash out of the picture.
Shrugging his shoulders, Noa strolled toward the vendor.
It was evening outside, time before Aeris finished her work, and he wanted to reach home before it was too late.
Before encountering the merchant, he studied the hovering, transparent screen.
[ Noa Osborn ]
[ Species: Human ]
[ Grade: Evolved ]
[ Class: Wizard ]
[ Level: 2 ]
[ EXP: 112 → 250 ]
[ Strength: 8.7 → 11.7 ]
[ Agility: 9.6 → 12.6 ]
[ Vitality: 13.9 → 19.9 ]
[ Intelligence: 11.1 → 38.1 ]
[ Attribute Points: 0 ]
[ Talent: Death's Companion ]
[ Talent Rank: SSS ]
[ Skills: Echo of Doom, Mana Rage ]
[ Class Skill: Corpse Puppet (Proficiency: 5.8%) ]
Considering that he died only twice, gained ten levels' worth of attributes, and had added every free point in intelligence, Noa looked proud of his accomplishments.
He was already ahead of every Ember solely with his stats if one didn't have a talent that specifically boosted their attributes.
As for his orbs, he knew his bank account would gain good weight.
"Evening!" he said to the muscular dealer.
Noa had spent over 10 hours inside the Abyss, yet the guy was still here, almost as if he spent every waking hour working.
The merchant was smoking a big-ass cigar, and the generated vapor made his face barely visible.
His rough mustache peeked out of the smoke.
"Ohh. It's you, young lad. It's a good evening to be alive. How was your first day there by yourself?"
He initiated the conversation even before Noa showed his orbs.
"How do you know it's my first day?" he asked, because the man hadn't seen his ID, and it was their second time meeting.
"Trade secret, good boya," he answered, showing his white teeth.
They were so sharp that using them as a weapon seemed a plausible option.
Noa guessed the muscular guy had a special ability, allowing him to peer into people, but in what way or how, he had no idea.
"Do you live here?" he asked the man, reaching for his bag.
"I see you are interested in me," the merchant frowned. "My name is Rico, and you can consider me a friend."
Noa wasn't the most social person.
Spending most of his time indoors reading novels and playing video games, he wasn't experienced in making friends.
Yet instead of responding to his question, the weird offer came his way.
He nodded, displaying his orbs for assessment.
"Someone had a good day," Rico joked. "I'm always befriending the right people."
Then he devoted the next minute to inspecting the spirit orbs with a strange, tiny object that was attached to his finger.
"Your total is $19,800. What a rich young fellow. You should invite me to dinner sometime."
Rico's words caused an uproar in Noa's stomach.
He made almost 20k just by selling nine Evolved orbs of different rarities.
For an average human, it was a huge sum, but as an Ember, he knew it would be gone in minutes.
"We are friends, right?" Noa spoke to the muscular man. "Why won't you round it up?"
Hearing his daring words, Rico laughed, shooing him away.
"Go home, you brat," he scolded Noa with a smile.
Leaving the association and seeing $20,000 being deposited in his bank account, Noa smirked and hopped gracefully, pondering how to spend it.
'It's time for a shopping spree,' he thought.
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A/N: Extra chapter for every two reviews. Only until we reach ten in total.
Thanks for your support.