Talo was now in a state of emergency.

After the incident involving the infiltration of a demon, the entire city went into lockdown. Leaving the city was strictly forbidden, except in absolute emergencies. Security for those entering had tightened significantly, and all travelers—citizens and merchants alike—were thoroughly scrutinized.

Even after Enya and the others returned, the city would remain on high alert for another full week. As a result, Enya and Pell spent roughly five days keeping a low profile at the inn, careful not to draw unnecessary attention. After all, if Pin had the resources to send a demon from another layer to kidnap Enya, there was no telling what else she might be capable of.

Upon returning, Berry and Manny were immediately sent to the city healers. Their father, Henry, nearly suffered a miniature heart attack at the sight of their injuries. He'd assumed that with both a platinum-tier and diamond-tier War Paragon involved, his children would have been perfectly safe. Neither he, nor Nakrin and Josier for that matter, could have anticipated encountering Twisted Ents.

Still, despite his worry, Henry was quietly proud they'd gone. Danger wasn't new to him—he operated an armed caravan business, after all—and he understood that if his children truly wanted to become War Paragons, real missions with real risks were necessary. Facing unknown threats was always more valuable experience than controlled, simulated training with minimal danger.

Risha had also been quickly escorted to the city's medical clinic, though her injuries stemmed mostly from exhaustion and physical strain rather than severe wounds. Her caretaker, a longtime friend of her parents, had furiously berated her for recklessness. Apparently, Risha had gained permission by downplaying the mission, claiming it was merely tracking—not recovery from a demon kidnapping.

All three children were now recovering at the city's top medical facilities, currently overseen by Yvexis, the War Paragon healer specializing in battlefield support. Long ago, Yvexis had trained under Lady Celeste, though their relationship was not as strong as it once had been. Yvexis simply couldn't tolerate Celeste's harsh teaching methods, even if they had ultimately benefited her career.

Pell learned the following day that Celeste remained imprisoned. Normally, someone in her position would have swiftly faced justice, losing her status and being banished from Talo for abusing her authority. However, things were more complicated than usual in her case.

Celeste was still the city's head healer, and her many years of dedicated service had earned her widespread respect. Removing her wouldn't be a simple matter, not just because of her reputation, but because of her social standing. Most people in Talo had seen her once, or at least in passing. Getting rid of the best healer in town in favor of a little girl and her undead skeleton? That'd be asking for annoying trouble down the line.

"Unfortunately, dealing with Celeste is proving to be quite the headache," Lorrin admitted. He paused briefly, looking weary as he considered his words. "Although I sincerely apologize for her actions, the situation surrounding her is… nuanced. And complicated."

Pell sat at a table within the inn, arms crossed and leaning back comfortably in his chair. Enya remained upstairs, currently asleep. The city had showered her with sweets and hearty meals for the past few days, a well-intended apology that led to repeated bouts of food-induced comas.

"What exactly do you mean by complicated?" Pell asked, raising an figurative eyebrow.

Lorrin speared a tender chunk of beef with his fork. "If we publicly punish Celeste, the entire city would need to be informed. She's highly regarded among many of the citizens. Even I've been treated by her once or twice, although mainly for illnesses rather than injuries." He paused, chewing thoughtfully and swallowing before he continued.

"If we exile or even execute her—especially given her crime involved a High-Noble—there would undoubtedly be widespread public outrage. People would take sides. Although Celeste abetted in kidnapping Miss Empyria—a young girl—Enya's still a necromancer." He glanced at Pell, watching carefully for any subtle reaction. "No offense intended, of course. But the public doesn't exactly view chaotic or dark classes, or monsters, in a positive light—no matter the city."

Lorrin clearly chose his words carefully, attempting damage control by framing his explanation in general terms rather than specifically targeting Talo's citizens.

"If you and Miss Empyria intend to stay longer in Talo, it would be safest if Celeste remained imprisoned quietly, under the pretext of committing crimes against the city itself. Revealing her true offenses could create more trouble for you both, something we naturally wish to avoid."

Pell sighed deeply, nodding slowly. "Fine, fine. Honestly, I don't care what her punishment is, as long as it's reasonable enough. Just like with the draconid, make sure she stays far away from us."

Although, in Nakrin's defense, he'd actually went on the rescue with them to save Enya. Pell's annoyance with him was more personal than anything genuinely warranted.

Lorrin nodded slowly, appreciating Pell's understanding. Then, after a brief pause, he cleared his throat again.

"Speaking of the incident," Lorrin continued carefully, "the city council recognizes our responsibility for Miss Empyria's kidnapping occurring within Talo. Because of this oversight, we're willing to make some… special considerations."

Pell raised his head slightly, suddenly more interested. "Considerations? Like what, exactly?"

Lorrin's expression softened. "First, the city will fully cover any debts you owe to the Adventurer's Guild. In addition, the information-gathering fee you paid to the guild upon arriving here—we'll reimburse that as well."

Pell blinked, momentarily stunned. Money was always welcome news, especially when it involved clearing debts. But that still begged another question, something that the city had probably already realized.

Pell's expression didn't change, but his tone shifted as she spoke his next words. "You lot… you probably all know that I didn't come from the fifth layer, don't you?" He probed.

Setting his fork aside, Lorrin dabbed at his lips with a napkin. "Yes. We have been aware of your identity—or at least, your general identity for a while now."

"When'd you all find out?"

"Quite quickly," he replied. "We, of course, knew about your identity when you entered at the gate. Pell Meltere. Of course, we assumed this was a forged identity. There wasn't any way for us to actually confirm you were this person named Pell, given your—"

"Lack of human flesh?" Pell chimed.

Lorrin gave a quick and wry smile. "Yes. Because of your skeletal form, it was difficult to determine your identity's authenticity. You even went to the adventurer's guild to check up on your commissions—but we assumed it was just to keep up the facade. But we became confident of your identity on the day you went to meet with Lord Clament privately."

"My meeting with the City Lord?"

"Yes. You claimed to be a servant for Miss Empyria's family, right? You mentioned working for her grandmother or aunt, something of that sort. But on that same day, we confirmed that at the information guide, you wanted to send someone to check up on the first layer; that's when we confirmed everything from there."

"How so?" Pell asked, mildly intrigued.

"In the records, Pell Meltere was birthed in the first layer. The fact you also wanted to send a scout to your hometown back there seemed too meticulous just to keep your identity up. It wasn't a request to send a message or anything of that sort either. It was a completely unnecessary action to take—unless it was important enough to Pell Meltere, to do so."

"So if you know my identity is fake—that I don't actually work for high-nobility, why are you still accommodating me? Why even tell me this?"

Lorrin leaned back in his chair. Sheryl came by to pick up his plates. He gave her a warm smile before turning back to Pell.

"I wondered that too, if I am being honest. Your identity was revealed to us as just a regular citizen. However, it was Mrs. Veylan who spoke up. She insisted that we still treat you with respect as we have been—because of your relationship with Miss Empyria. Even if you are a commoner, it is obvious that you are her current caretaker, and that she values you deeply. This much was obvious considering how she acted at the guardhouse when you were imprisoned, and inside of the hunting grounds when Josier was alongside you all."

"Was Josier relaying back information about me and the kid?"

"Yes." He responded without as much of a flinch.

"I see," was all Pell could say in reply. Most of the interactions he had with the city officials so far had been smooth. Josier had been a great help all around, and Lorrin and Lord Clament were both very accommodating. Of course, he'd suspected they would try to pry into their background and identities, but… not to this extent. It appeared Lord Clament was much more capable than he led himself on to be.

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"Additionally, regarding Miss Empyria's earlier interest in Lightway Academy—the council has discussed granting her special admission directly, bypassing the remainder of the tournament."

Pell straightened a little more. "A special admission? Even though she failed at the tournament?"

"Yes. However, Headmaster Laventis has already stressed that neither he nor the academy staff will offer her special treatment beyond the initial entry. They insist on fairness and neutrality in their standards. Once admitted, Miss Empyria will be expected to meet the academy's high expectations, just like any other student."

Pell hummed thoughtfully. "Makes sense, I suppose. But that's ultimately her decision."

Lorrin nodded once more, smiling slightly. "Of course. The offer stands, regardless of whether she accepts. Consider it another apology from the city for our negligence," he said. He held a complicated look, before continuing. "And, just between you and me—it would be a great honor, to have a High-Noble attend one of our academies here. It helps with the city's image."

Pell sat quietly for a long moment, absorbing the information. While special admission was generous, the true relief was the financial help. At least, to him. With his debts paid off and the information fee refunded, his worries diminished considerably. Perhaps this unexpected chaos might actually result in something beneficial, after all.

"Alright," Pell said finally, leaning back again with a satisfied grunt. "I'll talk to the kid when she wakes up. I think she'll appreciate the offer."

Lorrin smiled politely. "Thank you for your understanding, Pell. And again—I deeply apologize for the city's oversight. We'll do our best to ensure something like this never happens again."

After the brief exchange with Lorrin, Pell headed out into the city. Recently, he'd found himself frequently meeting with various city officials—Josier, Shelmi, Lord Clament, and even Henry—each conversation short, to the point, but still tiring.

Among these many encounters, the most interesting had undoubtedly been with Mabel, Risha's caretaker. Initially, the woman had stormed toward them furious, ready to unleash a string of less-than-kind words upon whoever had dragged Risha into danger. When she found out the responsible party was, of all things, a skeleton—she had simply stood there, dumbstruck.

Her silence wasn't born from fear, but rather pure, unfiltered astonishment. Pell saw something almost like fascination behind her widened eyes. Apparently, the woman had never met a talking monster before. Intelligent pets were common enough, but a fully articulate skeleton? That was something entirely beyond her experience.

Thankfully, Enya had been there too, easing the tension with her trademark innocence—and her usual lack of common sense. Her reasoning as to why it had actually been a good thing that Risha had joined was baffling, bordering on concerning. Especially since the kid casually mentioned she could simply revive Risha if she happened to die, making it all somehow acceptable.

Pell had quietly resolved to have a long talk with Enya later about what was, and was not, appropriate reassurance.

He soon arrived at the Adventurer's Guild. Pell was there solely to confirm his debts had been cleared; he wasn't about to trust someone else's assurances blindly. Until he saw his balance officially marked clean, he wouldn't risk accruing unnecessary interest from administrative errors or neglect.

Stepping inside, Pell immediately noticed how drastically the guild atmosphere had changed from just a week prior. The place itself was unchanged, yet it felt strangely empty. Less than half the usual number of adventurers were present. Perhaps that was inevitable, given the lockdown; even adventurers were now barred from leaving the city, except through the guild's own warp gates for dungeon raids. Those present were likely the few parties continuing to delve into dungeon crawls within city limits.

A few curious eyes flicked toward Pell as he walked through the hall, though thankfully, these stares weren't nearly as intense as they'd once been. It seemed word of his identity had gradually spread throughout the city—people were slowly growing accustomed to the sight of a skeleton strolling casually among them.

After confirming with a notably bored-looking guild clerk—one blessedly free from the ever-present mob waiting to speak with the heartthrob elf, Katarina—Pell verified that his debts had indeed been fully paid off. Relieved, he left the guild in considerably better spirits.

He briefly considered visiting the Information Guild as well. But the fee he'd paid there wasn't nearly as substantial as the Adventurer's Guild debt. Since the larger sum had been covered, it was safe to assume this smaller charge had also been handled. When he received information regarding Elara's status, he'd formally request the reimbursement then.

Returning to the inn, Pell walked quietly up to their room, stepping inside with a tired sigh. There, he spotted Enya, still sleeping on the bed, covers a mess.

He sat down at the desk, eyes falling onto the dungeon core that rested upon a cloth. It remained unmoving, seemingly inconspicuous—though only if "inconspicuous" included a large white orb constantly emitting a soft hum, its surface pulsing with faint, misty light.

The past few days had been utterly exhausting, filled with nonstop chaos. Between recovering from the Twisted Ent incident, the numerous meetings, and navigating city politics, Pell simply hadn't had the time to review his updated status or fully explore his newly unlocked class perks.

He leaned forward slightly, bony fingers drumming thoughtfully against the wooden desk.

Perhaps now, finally, he could take a moment to breathe—and see just how much he'd grown.

Name: Pell Meltere Level: 15/33 EXP: 327/4164 Class: Merchant Innate Class: Farmer Skills: Lie Detection [F-], Appraisal [C-], Inventory [D+], Crop Analysis [B-], Coin Bag, Guaranteed Transaction, Ledger Titles: Realm Hopper, Merchant of Aces, Alchemist, Wandering Merchant, Black Snake Authority, Orphanage Assistant, Bound

Aside from his level, two things had changed. First, was he had gained a 'Bound' title. Clearly, this was regarding his soul being under the kid's control. The other was that his inventory skill had ranked up from E+, to D+. He wasn't sure when this happened, but it did feel like his inventory was slightly larger. He was pretty bad at actually checking up on notifications, especially when they piled up.

He'd been involved in more battles than he cared to count lately—from the skirmish with the crystal spiderlings to the chaos of Zerus and the Twisted Ents. The experience points had been stacking up slowly but steadily. But he'd mostly ignored the notifications. With a flat 50% penalty hanging over his head—and the fact that most of it was contribution experience, not full kills—it hadn't felt worth checking.

Even so, despite the penalty, despite the poor conversion rate… he'd finally hit it. Enough experience had accumulated to push him over the threshold.

Level fifteen. At last.

The level wasn't just a number. For most people, it marked a major breakpoint—the moment when their class finally began to show its true potential. Their first serious shift. The next came at thirty-five, but this… this was the beginning.

Pell gave a mental command, and his perk window opened before him.

Class: Merchant Innate Class: Farmer Perks: Critical Growth Analysis, Twin Harvest, Touch of Life, Marketplace, Currency Exchange

Perks were semi-random, but drawn from a relatively known pool. Theories existed—some claimed that specific actions or habits improved your odds of pulling particular perks—but Pell had never put much faith in those. It was mostly luck, like pulling seeds from a mystery bag.

Perks:

Critical Growth Analysis: Reveals all potential methods to significantly accelerate the growth of a plant. Different tiers of growth boosts can be selected, depending on difficulty.

Twin Harvest: Doubles the yield from any plant successfully cultivated.

Touch of Life: Allows you to prevent a plant from wilting or dying for one week. A maximum of ten plants may be blessed with Touch of Life at a time.

Marketplace: Access the merchant's guild marketplace from within your status screen, where you may buy and sell items freely using Guaranteed Transaction. Purchase fees will apply. Daily fees for unsold items will begin after one week.

Currency Exchange: You may exchange any currency into any other registered form of currency.

He hadn't had time to do much with his merchant class lately. Between near-death experiences and demon kidnappings, leisurely economic planning had been a luxury.

But now? Now he finally had a moment.

He closed the status screen and activated Marketplace.

A sleek new panel unfolded in front of him. It was nothing like the standard system windows. This interface was bigger, thinner—its design more refined, with sharp lines and a complex layout that practically screamed professionalism. And unlike the basic system menus, this one came with full images. And it was vastly different than the ones at the merchant's guild terminals.

He blinked. There were items. So many items.

Unfiltered, the catalog listed over a million different listings—ranging from the mundane to the absurd. There were simple goods, like carved wooden chairs or amateur paintings pretending to be masterpieces. Others were... less modest. Magical rings with ancient powers stored within, cursed artifacts locked behind twelve-digit prices, and weapons that probably required blood rituals just to swing.

Some listings were so expensive that even a thousand body parts wouldn't be enough to cover the cost—assuming the buyer had a thousand body parts to begin with.

He continued scrolling through the list, until one particular entry caught his eye.

"The hell?" he muttered.

Why was someone selling a pickle for one million copper coins? Was that person alright in the head?

Pell's jaw tightened slightly as he continued scrolling, soul-flames tiny and focused.

Fighting monsters? Sure, he could do it now without a penalty thanks to his Harvest Attribute. But this? He continued flicking through the expensive listings, artifacts ranked at Obsidian-Tier.

This was his kind of battlefield.

Every item on the marketplace list came with a set price, including a commission fee and the seller's name. Some names were clearly pseudonyms—thinly veiled attempts to stay anonymous. Others didn't even try to hide it, flaunting their merchant tags with ridiculous bravado.

Pell had little left to sell. Most of the loot he'd hauled out from the dungeon had already been offloaded to Talo's Merchant Guild. The only genuine item of value still in his possession was the Cloak of the Dead Spectres.

Fortunately, the system had a search function. With a thought, Pell entered in the name of the cloak. Maybe there was another listing out there.

It didn't hurt to check.

Instantly, the screen changed. A single result appeared. Someone else had actually listed one. Same item, same enchantments, same description. But… the price?

"Holy shit."

104 gold and 44 silvers.

That was nearly double what was originally appraised. His price had been around 66 gold. Was the guild appraiser trying to short him? Or maybe this new listing was just absurdly overpriced? Pell mulled it over carefully. The 66 gold might've been the instant buyout value. Something the guild would take immediately, no questions asked. But here? Here he could test the waters, maybe push higher.

Pell took off his cloak and set it on the table before him. He went over to the register screen, and tapped the cloak.

"How about… 95 gold."

Pell grinned to himself.

Let's see if a fish will bite.

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