There wasn’t much for Broken to do in the demon city, so they quickly returned to the forest to continue their routine. Just like the previous days, he focused entirely on the hatching process while the others kept busy leveling up and handling their own tasks, which he didn’t know much about.
During the waiting period, Broken discovered new ways to keep himself entertained, like binge-watching Netflix series. He got hooked on a Korean drama starring Heejin, the person behind the character Starfall, the mage from the Ass Guild. Freya had practically forced him to watch it!
Yes, he initially watched the Korean drama series because Freya insisted. But then he decided to watch another series, anticipating what Freya would likely push him to watch next. He’s nothing if not strategic. freēwēbnovel.com
The demon egg’s hatching progress was going well. After six days of repeating the same monotonous process, the egg had finally reached 35% completion. Broken felt a sense of relief and excitement-things were moving faster than he had anticipated.
Could it possibly be finished in three weeks? If so, he could finally start doing other things in Hell besides waiting for the egg to hatch. At this point, he truly felt like a mother bird patiently waiting for her egg to hatch.
As time passed, Broken also started getting to know the other team members better. They began pulling him into their conversations, and a few even rotated shifts with each other, ensuring that Broken didn’t have to spend his time alone in the cave.
There were no monsters in the cave-at least, no signs of them after the days they had spent there. Because of this, Broken felt comfortable enough to ease up on guarding the egg. Even so, he still sent his summons every so often to make sure there were no issues with the egg.
Their second expedition to the forest went smoothly, and they returned to the city without any issues.
In just two days, the team was supposed to take on the raid boss, something Marlene had mentioned at the very beginning of their expedition. But up until now, she hadn’t brought it up again, at least not when Broken was around.
Was this a raid he wasn’t supposed to know about? Weren’t they short on a tanker in the team? The role of a tanker was crucial-without someone to hold the front line and absorb the monster’s damage, the team’s balance could easily collapse. It was exactly like their first monster hunt, where they had returned to the cave with severe injuries, narrowly escaping disaster.
They hadn’t mentioned anything about the raid boss hunt to Broken-at least not until the day finally arrived. Marlene came to him and explained that the team would be heading out to face the raid boss. She told him he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted over the next day or two. Subaru suggested that Broken log out and take a break outside of the game rather than being left alone, but ultimately, they left the decision up to him.
So, on the eighth day, Broken found himself alone in his inn room with plenty of time on his hands. What should he do? It was a rare chance to take a break from playing mother bird to the demon egg. He could explore the city, maybe shop for crafting materials, or he could offer to run errands for his friends outside of Hell, picking up items they needed in exchange for a fee.
Broken decided to wander through the city again, this time venturing further into its outskirts to see what he could discover. Most of the merchants he passed were selling food or mining equipment, which made sense considering many demons in the area seemed to work as miners. It explained why he had encountered a group of them before.
They lived a normal life, in their own version of it.
He hadn’t come across any slave merchants yet, but something else caught his eye: a fairly large auction house, surprising for such a small town. There was also a fight club-more like a tower-where participants could win prizes by advancing through levels. The twist? Each fight was a barehanded brawl, matched to the opponent’s level and category.
“Matched by level?” Broken thought to himself. Wouldn’t that give him an advantage since his level was relatively low but his stat points were significantly higher? The idea intrigued him, and he felt a sudden pull to try it out.
But what truly captured his interest was the upcoming auction scheduled for the following week. Who knew what kind of rare items might be sold there? If Broken wanted to participate, he’d need to gather plenty of Hell Coins in the meantime so he could have a shot at buying something useful.
This could be the first auction he ever joined if he decided to take part.
And for some reason, Broken felt a sudden urge to raid the mining spots around here. With his mining skill and Legendary-grade pickaxe, he could clear out a cave relatively quickly. But then again, time wasn’t on his side. What should he prioritize?
Just as he was weighing his options, something he’d been curious about finally came into view. In the middle of the road, a group of about a dozen humans were being dragged along in cages attached to carts.
Humans. Yes, unmistakably humans, ranging from the middle-aged to the young, even children. They were being pulled along like animals, treated as nothing more than livestock. From the demons’ perspective, perhaps this was just how they handled their food supply?
It was clear now-the demons had a method of obtaining a steady stream of humans and other races from Yunatea. There had to be some kind of interworld trade going on, where powerful figures facilitated the exchange of slaves and resources.
One person he knew for sure could manage such feats was Marlene, with her mysterious means of opening portals to Hell.
Seeing the humans dragged like beasts disturbed him more than he expected.
What should he do?
He decided to discreetly follow the carriage, pretending to ignore the slaves for now, curious to see where they were being taken. But the cries of the humans rang in his ears, sharp and
desperate.
“Oh goddess of the moon, please, send your miracles, save us!”
The mention of the goddess of the moon caught his attention immediately.
Goddess of the moon?
His mind drifted to everything he knew about the goddess. She was a deity banished from heaven, descending to Yunatea. She was the one who granted the Sword of Dissidia to King Elandorr, the Sloth Champion. She had blessed the moonstone, and she was also the one who taught Sandro and his ancestors the ritual to summon rain.
The goddess of the moon was well-known in the Dissidia Kingdom, which made him wonder -could these humans be from the Dissidia Kingdom?
Suspicion filled his thoughts as he continued to tail the carriage dragging the slaves. How could he confirm that these people were indeed from the Dissidia Kingdom?
No, there wasn’t a direct way for him to verify that right now. But he could do something else. Something that irritated him even as the thought crossed his mind.
It was a skill from The Cape of Slumdon.
[Slumdon Insight – Allows the user to detect the three most prominent talents of the people
of Slumdon.]
Damn, could any of them possibly be from Slumdon Town?
Broken was still cloaked in his Obsidian Shroud-clothes that hid the armor he wore beneath. He was equipped with the Woodland Ranger set, which came with a useful skill allowing him to enter Stealth Mode for five seconds.
[Stealth Mode (Active Skill)]
He activated the skill, and his body vanished from sight. A scrawny demon, unaware of his presence, walked right into him and stumbled to the ground, bewildered by the invisible
obstruction.
Without wasting any time, Broken quickly donned The Cape of Slumdon. Its colors and emblem were far too recognizable, so he had no intention of letting the demons see him wearing it. Once covered, he activated the Slumdon Insight skill, directing it toward the human slaves.
His heart raced as he cast the skill on the human slaves one by one, hoping to gain some insight into who they were and whether any of them had ties to Slumdon Town or not!