The inspiration ca unexpectedly. Small and fragile, like every great eureka.
The only thing he was sure of was that it was there.
Gabriel remained seated on the chair in his apartnt. He stared at the open conversation with Noel.
There was no reply, and it probably wouldn’t co anyti soon.
Even so, sothing inside him slowly settled into place. He rembered the Patron’s words about resilience and his role.
That stubborn human capacity to keep moving forward even when the world insisted on collapsing.
Maybe he couldn’t help Noel. He didn’t have the strength to bring Kael back.
But he could still move forward. And that was enough for now.
He activated the neural helt and the interface appeared before his eyes.
Then the world began to disappear.
***
When he opened his eyes again, Bersáic was still there.
Firm and extrely solemn.
The northern wind swept through the cobblestone streets as the first activities of the day began.
It was a very different city from those that constantly appeared in the forums. It had no impressive avenues or markets overflowing with riches.
It possessed another kind of beauty.
An austere detail that went unnoticed.
Those aspects were not unfamiliar to him. Austerity was often born out of necessity.
And the walls proved that point.
Beyond them stretched an imnse world, full of dangers and opportunities.
*The Heaven Above All* was absurdly vast.
The beginner cities barely represented a small fraction of the known lands.
There were entire regions that remained unexplored, with mountains stretching into infinity.
And Bersáic was just a small piece within all of that.
But Gabriel had no intention of wasting opportunities. That was exactly what he was looking for.
He opened the interface. Several notifications were still waiting.
Most were irrelevant.
But one imdiately caught his attention, shining among his personal ssages.
They all belonged to Bella.
Gabriel stared at the screen for several seconds and seriously considered ignoring them.
Then he saw the last ssage.
"I have an opportunity!"
He finally replied.
"What happened?"
He sent the ssage and closed the window. If Bella wanted to talk, she would do so later.
Now he had more important matters.
***
His ti passed with almost chanical efficiency.
Gabriel visited different comrcial areas of Bersáic. His pockets felt particularly empty that day.
He sold materials obtained from the Forbidden Cetery. Bones, corpse herbs, alchemical minerals, and special components extracted from the creatures.
The prices were lower than in other cities. Sothing he had expected beforehand.
Even so, he managed to gather a respectable sum, to his relief.
Every coin ended up in the sa bag.
The bag intended to recover the silver that thieving official had stolen from him. And, eventually, to multiply it.
While making transactions, he took the opportunity to gather information. Especially about one specific matter.
Blood Crystals.
He needed to find them—his class evolution depended on them. The problem was that no one seed willing to talk.
Information was usually coated in gold.
So rchants simply denied knowing anything about it.
So didn’t even hide their contempt when they saw his worn clothes.
Gabriel began to notice a pattern. The more he asked, the more rejection he encountered.
After the seventh shop, he began to suspect it wasn’t a coincidence. After the tenth, he was certain.
It was extrely hidden information.
He ended up walking away from another useless conversation while the vendor was practically trying to scam him.
Gabriel left the establishnt without responding.
His expression remained calm.
Until he found a different shop. It was small and modest, almost hidden among the weathered walls. A sign hung over the entrance.
OPEN.
With crooked letters.
One of them even seed about to fall off.
But the sll of herbs escaped from inside.
When Gabriel entered, a rusty bell rang above the door, but no one appeared.
He looked around.
Several shelves lined the walls, with bottles, dried herbs, roots, and strange powders.
It wasn’t an impressive shop, but it had a unique spirit of authenticity.
From the back ca the sounds of grinding. Sothing was being pounded.
"Excuse ?" Gabriel called.
After his words, silence followed.
And finally an old man appeared.
He had disheveled hair, stained clothes, and an expression that suggested he hated all humans who could speak.
He observed Gabriel for a second.
"Five minutes." Then he disappeared again.
He wasn’t in a hurry, so he decided to wait.
***
As the minutes passed, he began to examine the products.
Many were unknown to him. That alone was extrely interesting.
He picked up a small vial containing a dark blue liquid.
He leaned in slightly to observe it better.
"If you touch it, you pay for it!"
The voice ca from behind him.
Gabriel imdiately released the vial. As if he had never touched it.
A vein began to throb on the old man’s forehead.
"You’re lucky I was joking."
Gabriel nodded solemnly.
"Of course."
"Or you really would have to pay for it."
"Naturally."
The old man seed disappointed for so reason.
Gabriel seized the opportunity to ask.
"I’m looking for information."
"What a sha."
"About a rare object."
"Even worse!" the old man replied.
Gabriel ignored him.
"They are crystals... Blood Crystals."
Only then did he notice he had captured a brief flash of interest.
"Don’t try to buy sothing you don’t even know what it is," the old man replied stubbornly.
"I know quite well what it is," Gabriel tried to argue, but was interrupted without a chance.
"Then you have so kind of ntal problem."
It had slowly beco a difficult conversation to sustain.
He was about to ntion another topic, but before doing so he threw out one last question.
"Have you heard of them?"
For a fraction of a second sothing happened in the old man’s eyes.
And it disappeared imdiately.
"Very strange questions. What kind of crystals are those?"
"So you do know them."
"I have sixty years of experience. Don’t try to play gas with ."
Gabriel continued watching him and the old man watched him back.
Neither looked away, until the old man advanced. He moved much faster than soone his age should be capable of.
A hand gripped Gabriel’s coat with force.
He pulled him just a few centiters closer and his voice dropped to a whisper.
"Young man... Those are stories from the past. I don’t know where you heard such absurd matters, but you’re wasting your ti."
Gabriel remained motionless.
He wasn’t afraid, but he was genuinely surprised.
That reaction was exactly what he had been looking for. Confirmation.
They existed and certain individuals recognized them.
The old man released him at that mont.
"I understand."
He didn’t try to insist, because it would probably only cause the man to close up completely.
He had already obtained sothing much more valuable: a clue.
He began to head toward the exit and then sothing unexpected happened.
"That ring is an extraordinary piece of work."
The voice ca from behind him. The old man was pointing at one of his hands.
Gabriel looked down.
The Jester’s Ring.
"This one?"
The old man observed the piece with attention.
"Its outstanding craftsmanship. I know it."
The old man narrowed his eyes.
"Where did you get it?"
Gabriel didn’t respond imdiately.
At that instant a notification appeared before him. And his expression froze for a second.
____________
[Special Quest Detected]
[Rumors of the Past]
[Description: An old alchemist has recognized an object related to a fundantal clue]
Do you wish to investigate?
______________
Gabriel observed the window.
Feeling the weight of his ring on his finger, it was a mory and today, it opened a completely unknown path.
Reviews
All reviews (0)