"My name is Der.."
Daniel looked at Der with confused eyes, almost as if he had forgotten about something of extreme importance..
Unable to single out that thought in his mind, he threw it to the back of his head, and said "You can call me Daniel." as a polite smile formed on his face. He then added "What can I help you with?"
"I would like to know how you arrived here.. I have been trying to go home for many years.. I still have a family to go back to." Responded Der with a near Melancholic voice.
Daniel became pensive for a few seconds, then responded "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I actually haven't arrived directly from that world.. A year ago I ended up in a second world, and was only teleported back here earlier this morning."
A look of disappointment appeared on Der's face, as he said "There is no chance then.."
"I'm going to acquire the permission for interplanetary travel." Responded Daniel confidently after seeing Der's clear disappointment, which for some reason, made him feel bad.
"That's impossible.. I've been to the capital, and learned that the rights for interplanetary travel aren't something that anyone can obtain." Said Der, which then proceeded to explain the requirements to obtain the permission that Daniel aimed was aiming to obtain.
Basically, three things were required to obtain a permission. The first one, was a certain level of power. The second one, was a significant level of influence. The third and last requirement, was a reason that could justify the need to travel through space.
The majority of these permissions were given to explorers, high ranking members of the various factions, and extremely wealthy and high-end merchants.
The Emissaries and Acolytes of the Spiritual Emperor, just like the Herald of the Sovereign of Corruption, belonged to the second type.
The only types of permission Daniel could obtain without joining a faction, was either the permission for exploration, which would grant him the rights to scout uncharted space, and sell the information to the various factions, or a merchant permission, which would require him to have a business large enough to motivate his need for interplanetary travel.
Der paused for a few moments after finishing his explanation.
He could see that Daniel was considering his choices, so, he waited quietly while brushing his black hair with his hand.
It didn't take long for Daniel to make his decision about what path to thread.
He didn't want to join a faction, nor did he want to explore uncharted parts of the universe.. What he wanted to do, was to become a merchant. What was taking a bit longer to decide, was what kind of items he could trade in.
The ideal would be to produce items that required time to make, and that he could quickly produce thanks to the advantage granted by the karmic system.
Suddenly, an idea ran through his mind as quickly as a flash.
He turned to look at Der's brown eyes, vivid yet covered by a dispirited expression, and said "What's the value of essence treasures here?"
"Surprisingly low. There aren't many people which delve deeply into the profundity of essences, so, the ones who do, are overpaid, and focus mainly in higher level treasures."
Responded Der casually. He then added "I know what you want to do, but forget it.. Even if you can make a spatial sphere in a week, it will take you hundreds of years to reach a level of wealth necessary to become a merchant.. And that's despite the fact that spatial essence is considered one of the most useful spheres around."
Daniel's smile appeared once again, as he looked at Der and said "How about we make a deal?.. You've been here for twelve years, and Zack was born here.. You two help me get my hands on each and every essence treasure you can find, and I'll get you back home."
Der looked cautiously at Daniel's confident face, and saw no doubt in it. It almost convinced him that Daniel could pull it off. So, he said "I truly have no hope in you managing to do that.. But after twelve years.. I have no place else to turn to."
"Excellent!" Responded Daniel with enthusiasm. He then waved his hand, and made Lucious appear next to them. "Can you take care of the ring for a few minutes? Just sit here, eat anything you want, and when a man approaches the table, give him these." Said Daniel to the old man in the wasteland world's language, while giving him a few low-level crystal he had exchanged with gold the first time Zack had explained the monetary change to him.
After Lucious agreed, Daniel turned to look back at Zack and Der, and said "I'm taking you into a pocket dimension.. Don't fight it."
Zack had absolutely no idea of what Daniel was talking about. After all, seeing someone experienced enough with spatial essence to be able to create a pocket dimension, was extremely rare in his world.
On the other hand, Der showed a surprised expression, and nodded slightly.
The three of them suddenly disappeared from their chairs, and reappeared in what looked like a cliff.
From this cliff, a large city could be seen.
Der was a powerful cultivator even when he was still in his world of origin, so, after seeing the stage of Daniel's pocket dimension, his face reached a state that was way past what one would call surprise.
The first time he had met Daniel, he had thought that he probably was a disciple, or a servant of a much more powerful cultivator, to which this pocket dimension belonged.. But then, after sensing the size of the dimension itself, he confirmed that it had actually been created by Daniel.
"What is this?" He asked with curiosity.
"This is my group's base.. I guess that for you, this is a small piece of home away from home. The majority of these individuals come from our world." Responded Daniel calmly.
Der's heart threatened to burst out of his chest as he felt martial cultivators, and spiritual cultivators that inhabited the large dimension all around him.
He could also feel the earth, wood, and powerful other elements all around.
One thing that is important to understand, is that even though Der was once a simple martial cultivator of relatively high level, after twelve years spent in a world with a full connection to the spiritual plain, he had practiced the spiritual path and had become an immortal cultivator.
At the moment, he was much more powerful than Daniel was, and possibly on par with the woman from the Sect of the Illusory Edge.. or even stronger.
"It's.. impressive.." He muttered while looking around. "With so many spiritual cultivators, you should be able to mass produce low level spheres.. But do they have the necessary comprehension?" He then asked after turning to look back at Daniel.
"Don't worry about that. As long as you find some treasures for me to turn into spheres, It won't take us long to get the job done.." Said Daniel while showing great confidence. "So, what do you say?"
Der looked at Daniel's eyes for a few second, then, said "I accept. From now on, we work together. If you promise to get me home to my family, I promise that I'll support you.. You have the word of Der'hor Rulin."
Daniel's eyes opened widely in shock. He then muttered "You.. you are from Karalis.."
Almost as if it was, once again, Der's turn to be shocked, he furrowed his brows and asked "How do you know that?" He more than anybody else was aware of how big their world of origin was, and until now, he hadn't had a single slither of hope that Daniel could be from the same country he was from.
"I.. met your daughter Mea.." Responded Daniel with a mixture of amazement, surprise and doubt in his voice.
After hearing Daniel's words, Der immediately grabbed his shoulders, and inadvertently yelled "MY DAUGHTER?! HOW IS SHE?!" He then quickly realized of how rude he was being, so he steadied his heartbeat, his breathing, and after composing himself, he waited for Daniel's response.
Daniel looked at Der, and after taking a deep breath, he started to recount his story to him.
He told him of how after his disappearance, his old enemy had slandered him for being a traitor, of how the population of the kingdom he once served had asked for the Rulin's family extermination, of how the king had agreed, and the fate of his family and daughter.
As Daniel reached the end of the story, Der's fingers were digging so deeply into his palm that blood had started to drip. He avoided biting his own lower lip off by muttering to himself "..a slave.."
He then turned towards Daniel, and asked "How did you met her?"
"I bought her.." Daniel started to recount, but before he could finish, he started to feel an incredibly powerful pressure coming directly from Der.
Zack was already lying on the ground, and breathing heavily, while Daniel was having difficulty in inflating his lungs.
It was at that moment that Daniel had understood how powerful Der really was. He was in no way weaker than the king of monsters.
"W-would you mind letting me finish?" Said Daniel with evident fatigue. "I freed her the very moment I received the ownership.. She should still be with my sister.. Possibly safe and sound." He was about to fall in his knees, but then, he started to feel the pressure slowly lessen.
*Cough Cough*
"She is the one that told me about you.. Of how you used to teach martial arts to her.." Added Daniel after coughing and taking deep breaths.
"I'm sorry.. It was a lot to take in all at once.." Said Der after calming himself down.
Despite his overbearing demeanor, Der had been greatly humbled since when he had arrived to this planet. He had found himself in a world where any average warrior was more powerful than he was, and had had to survive for twelve years just to earn a place for himself. Nonetheless, he had never stopped searching a way to go back.
"It's alright.. But now I have a question for you.." Said Daniel after noticing the melancholic expression on Der's face. "Why did you stop that guy from killing him?" He asked while pointing at Zack.
Der became pensive for a few seconds, then said "I had heard about the kids story.. He is pretty famous in the city.. I also knew that the young girl was the girl he was accused of raping.. I just didn't find her indifferent behaviour coherent with her story. There was no hate.. no shame in her eyes."
"You do have good eyes.." Muttered Daniel. "Let's go, there is a lot of people I need you to meet. You'll be treating with them while I mass produce essence spheres." He then added while waving his hand, and opening a portal that lead straight into the castle.
Once the three of them crossed it, a large number of people started to teleport right in front of them.
The first to arrive, was Jerigh, which had already learned various concepts of space thanks to the Edmund's teachings.
Der looked with shock at the average levels of power in Daniel's group. From the fact that none of them were immortal cultivators, he could infer that the pocket dimension didn't always have a full connection to the spiritual plain.. And that they were still trying to catch up to their first path with the second one.
What shocked him, was seeing such a large number of below thirty years old cultivators, that had reached the ninth rank of cultivation.
"We've got guests.. And a mission." Said Daniel to his group's members. "Unfortunately, since I need the majority of the monster meat we possess.. You guys will have to stop cultivating for a while."
Hearing Daniel's words, the various group members didn't even flinch, leaving Der extremely impressed by the respect they showed towards him.
"Okay, so.. About the starting capital.. I need your help to sell a few things.." Said Daniel after, once again, turning to look at Der.