“Neigh!”
After logging back in, Ambrose heard the familiar neighing of the brilliant Chrysalis horse.
He opened his eyes and saw darkness all around, with a crimson glow coloring the nearby forest.
When he logged out, the sun was only setting, but now the moon was up in the sky.
Ambrose then looked at the Chrysalis horse and noticed that it was emitting a soft, ethereal light.
“Are you hungry?” He asked while touching his long face. The Chrysalis horse neighed and stomped the ground softly.
“Here…” He took out several apples from his inventory and fed them to the horse.
The Chrysalis horse immediately looked more satisfied.
Then he removed the reins from the wooden branch and mounted the horse. He caressed its white mane and said.
“Alright, Yatagarasu is already in sight. Once we have arrived, you can return to your owner.”
The Chrysalis horse neighed as if he understood.
He then unfurled his magnificent wings, and with few running steps, he started soaring across the dark, starry sky.
After flying over several mountains, they entered an open field filled with colorful wildflowers and tall grass.
Then Ambrose saw something on the horizon.
“Are those the railway tracks?” He wondered aloud, as there was something built on the ground. 𝑜𝒱xt.𝗰𝑶𝕞
The railway tracks ran down an open field without being obstructed by anything. Only the train was missing, but he didn’t expect to see one this soon anyway.
After flying another hour, the white-winged horse flew over a familiar-looking forest.
It was the Nether Forest of Yatagarasu!
“We are so close!” Ambrose encouraged the horse, and they soon left the forest’s air space behind.
He then saw the most populated city in the distance.
They had arrived in Yatagarasu!
‘Thank God it’s not raining at the moment.’ He then forced the Chrysalis horse to land beside the road.
He unmounted the horse and looked at the magnificent white-winged force with some unwillingness to let it go.
It was an immensely valuable horse, but it was simply too eye-catching.
“Alright, you may leave. Thanks.” Ambrose fed it another apple, and then the Chrysalis horse galloped away before starting to fly away.
His silhouette disappeared above the forest, with the sound of neighing fading away.
Ambrose covered his face with the hood and walked to the entrance of Yatagarasu.
While walking, he saw the railway station situated outside the city. It was occupied by hundreds of players and eager-looking NPCs.
The train was nowhere to be seen.
Ambrose then lowered his head and entered the city, walking down the cobblestone streets.
He then passed a public board that was covered in notices and advertisements. However, there were also some posters, which froze him in his tracks.
He took a step back, turned to look at the posters on the wall, and almost cursed aloud.
At the top of the public board, there was an announcement for players.
[The bounty posters are here]
[There are three ranks for the bounty posters—White, Brown and Red]
[White is the lowest rank—the player or NPC of that rank will have a bounty on their head for only 24 hours before it disappears]
[Brown is the second-highest rank—the player or NPC of that rank will have a bounty on their head for 1 month to 1 year, depending on the severity of their actions]
[Red is the highest rank—the player or NPC of that rank will never have their bounty removed]
Ambrose then lowered his gaze.
There, he saw a brown bounty poster with a sketched image of a young man with black hair.
[WANTED]
[DEAD OR ALIVE]
[Rank: Brown]
[Name: Ambrose]
[Reward: 7,500 silvers]
‘Hahaha, god damn it.’ Ambrose looked around the streets and pulled his hood further down to cast a bigger shadow over his face.
He walked away from the public board with clenched fists.
‘At least one month… At worst, I would have players and bounty hunters after my head for the entire year.’
However, there was one good thing about the bounty poster.
‘The sketch could be much better. It barely even looked like me, but my picture can be found on the Zahhak website and in forums.’
He shook his head, trying to forget about that for now. There was a certain group of players he had to find.
‘Where can I even start?’ Ambrose felt slightly overwhelmed.
Emma only told him that they were wearing masks and black cloaks. It was not much, but it was better than nothing.
‘I suppose I can start asking around. They sound like people who have done this multiple times. However, why aren’t they jailed? Could it be that they are only doing this for players? Hmm, perhaps there are more shops created by players who were their victims.’
With a destination in mind, he began searching for player-made stores.
It was quite a hard task, but he planned to search every street, even corner alleyways if necessary.
After an hour of searching through the streets, he finally stumbled upon a small shop tucked away in a desolate street.
It was far from the market street; therefore, not many customers came all the way here.
Pitter-patter—Ambrose put his hand out, and rain began slowly falling, landing on his open palm.
The raindrops splashed against the pavement, creating a peaceful melody.
He then hurried inside the small shop. It was a shop that sold clay vases and delicate ceramic figurines, each one uniquely crafted by local artisans.
“Welcome!” A friendly voice called out from behind the counter.
The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with a warm smile. His hands were covered in clay dust, evidence of his own craftsmanship.
“Hello, are you the owner of this shop?” Ambrose asked as he approached the counter.
“Yes, this is mine.” The shopkeeper said. “I also had my own store like this back in reality, but it bankrupted… Oh well, I am glad that I can still continue my hobby!”
‘He is rather carefree. If he had been robbed by other players, he wouldn’t act like this. I guess I came for nothing here.’ Ambrose thought, but decided to ask still. “Have you come across masked players? They might have a habit of stealing silver from players who have their own shops.”
The shopkeeper widened his eyes in surprise and looked conflicted.
‘He knows something.’ Ambrose leaned on the counter and looked him in the eye. “Tell me what you know.”
“W-why have you come here?” The shopkeeper backed into the shelf with a pale face. “I haven’t told anyone. I swear! And I won’t say anything to anyone, so please leave me alone!”
‘Huh, he is mistaking me for someone.’ Ambrose frowned. “So, you know something. I am not part of them; I just want to know where they are.”
“H-huh?” The shopkeeper bit his lip and looked away with a resigned look. “They leave me alone as long as I don’t mention them. However, they sometimes come here to test me to see whether I am loyal to them or not.”
‘So, he thought I was testing him. However, he did reveal that much information quite easily.’ Ambrose shook his head. “I’ll pay you for the information. How much?”
“E-eh?” The shopkeeper looked surprised but then shook his head. “What is the point when they will take that money from me as well.”
“…” Ambrose silently looked at the shopkeeper.
Ding, ding—the bell then chimed above the door.
“Yooo, sold anything?”
The shopkeeper paled as a masked figure walked inside the shop.
The masked figure cleared his throat and spat on the ground.
He then looked at the black-haired young man, who looked like he was making a purchase.
“Have you finished the transaction? If yes, hand over the silver to me. I am the owner.”
The masked man said lazily while moving his tongue around his mouth as if he were addicted to nicotine, and now that he couldn’t smoke, he was having some withdrawal symptoms.
Ambrose looked at the masked man in surprise before smiling.
Smack!
Crack—the masked man flew through the door and crashed into the cobblestone ground.
He coughed blood and whimpered in shock.
His face was bruised and battered, and his mask was barely hanging on.
Ambrose stepped out of the shop and grabbed the masked man by his collar.
“Oh, hello there.” He smiled creepily. “It looks like your face had it rough, but don’t worry, I’m here to make it even worse.”