There was no one to run from among the ruins of Rags. Hector took his time touring the debris. It looked like a natural disaster leveled the town. Though if he had to guess, Hector would wager that the disaster was more along the line of 'chaos bolt' than 'earthquake' or 'tornado'.

The human remains were nothing more than bones picked clean by animals and bleached by the sun. The streets were overgrown with hearty weeds sprouting from every crack in the stone. Wood showed signs of rot, metal signs of rust. Wildlife nested, burrowed, and otherwise sheltered among the mess, fleeing at his approach.

For a few hours, Hector searched the town for anything useful. He didn't expect the first random place he encountered to hold the secret recipe, but there was no harm in being thorough. Certainly there was no human present to mean him harm. Every sign pointed to the doom of Rags happening years ago.

He found nothing of value other than the stone itself. Should he ever get back to rebuilding the cosmic chamber, Rags had something better to offer than the sandstone on the farm. Hector suspected that a less principled person would collect the human bones as resources. He could almost hear Esther's reasoning that no one would be harmed by desecrating the bodies.

After consulting his map and the angle of the sun, Hector chose a direction to travel. He didn't want to use any more cosmic energy than necessary for now, so he walked. The roads navigated the steep slope with zigzagging switchbacks. In the interests of speed, Hector chose to increase the speed of his journey by climbing down to lower portions of the road instead of following every loop.

He sipped water from his canteen frequently enough that he decided to swing by a nearby mountain stream for a refill. That required him to spend some energy flying after he slipped and nearly plummeted down the mountain. He did end up with a canteen full of crystal clear mountain spring water, though.

The travel time was not entirely wasted. Hector cultivated throughout the extended hike.

A light drizzle began in the afternoon and continued with no signs of stopping. He slept that night beneath an overhanging rock ledge that kept the worst of the weather off him. The humidity ensured that nothing could be done about the dampness already infesting his clothes. At least the discomfort kept him awake to further increase his soul reserves.

Before the sun rose above the mountains, Hector was once more hiking. He was wet, cold, hungry, and more than a little disillusioned about a mission he never asked for. Zara most definitely was taking advantage of him. She took no risk, sacrificed no time, and spent no funds if he failed. Paying for Riley's meals didn't count when the girl was working as a cook.

Hector resisted the urge to check the map as the light grew bright enough to read. The drizzle had yet to let up and the map would not long survive conditions outside of the sealed tube that currently held it. His rough plan was to do a tour of the major towns to familiarize himself with places he could travel to. That let him be productive in the short term before he had his strategy figured out.

The closest town was called Baden. It took almost an entire day for Hector to reach it on foot. His leather trousers had a single pocket in front reminiscent of a kangaroo's pouch. Zara had placed the coin pouch inside. It held two tiny gold bars, twelve of silver, and six of copper. He had no idea what kind of value the currency held. This could be a small fortune or pocket change.

His first sight of the medium sized town straddling a stream in a narrow valley. It had three separate stone bridges crossing that stream at various points. The buildings were stone at street level but turned to timber and brightly painted stucco above that. The architectural style wasn't an exact match to anything on Earth, but it definitely evoked a certain vibe.

As he passed from dirt road to paving stone street, Hector had his suspicions confirmed when a man emerging from a building almost bumped into him. The man swayed on his feet, squinted at Hector, then swallowed nervously, tapped his hat, and muttered a quick 'guten tag' before stumbling on his way. The people of Stein were German speakers. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that the German language on Earth was a copy of the Stein language.

Hector pushed open the door the drunk had emerged from and discovered a beer hall partially filled. Curious glances in his direction turned into hard stares. He returned the attention, cataloging potential threats. The people were mostly at level four or five, but there were two stronger presences. The hefty woman pulling drafts of beer was level six but had no body enhancement to speak of. She probably advanced to her level purely due to alcohol consumption.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The other level six present was a sour-faced man caught between youth and middle age. No one else leaned against the bar at the corner he occupied, leaving a healthy space to either side. Either people feared him or didn't care for his company.

The bartender barked at him in thickly accented English. "Treasure hunter, get in or get out. Save our warm air."

His disguise hadn't worked for even a moment.

Hector stepped in and let the spring pull the door shut. He found an empty spot at the bar and leaned on it as the other patrons did. The beer hall did not seem to possess bar stools. There were chairs around the few tables, but most customers chose to lean while they drank.

"Have money?"

Hector pulled out the coin purse. "How much for a drink?"

"Three small."

After a moment, Hector pulled out three of the copper bars. The woman snatched them out of his hand. "Don't know our money. You are new treasure hunter." She returned to place a half-filled mug, then promptly disappeared to talk to the grumpy level six punk in the corner.

Hector took a sip of the beer. Hopefully this really was the Tian version of Germany and their beverages would be decent. He drained the mug quickly, not sure what he thought. It was smooth and drinkable for sure. Otherwise… it was an unremarkable lager.

A young man nearby studied Hector, obviously curious about him. Hopefully he spoke the same language. "Do you know where I can get food around here?" The man panicked at the attention and moved away fast.

Fortunately the bartender returned. "Where can I buy food in this town?"

"Bakery in morning," she said. "More beer?"

"First tell me where I can get a room for the night."

"Hostel by bridge." She made a grasping motion and Hector surrendered the remainder of his coppers. Soon enough he finished off the second mug. A quick glance around the room proved to his satisfaction that no one wished to have a conversation with him. The one possible exception was the level six man scowling in the corner. That seemed like the type of conversation that led to a physical confrontation, though, which Hector didn't want.

He left the beer hall and moved towards the nearest bridge. There were signs on the nearby buildings, but he couldn't read the language well enough to know if any of them indicated a hostel. It would have been nice if they used logos on their signage.

The scuffing of feet on paving stones caught his attention and Hector spun. The grumpy fellow from the bar was coming his way. Best handle this interaction quick. Prepared for violence, he studied his potential opponent. Body enhancement barely above four. The man appeared to be a bit of a hollow spear.

"Hunter," the man called, "I have proposition for you."

Hector's energy reserves weren't in great shape at the moment, but he had more than the other guy. That didn't mean he wanted to spend it on a pointless fight. Especially not knowing what form of externality the man had. The casual use of chaos bolts in the tournament still had him spooked.

"What do you want?"

"Zing bitches stay at hostel. Azure Spear Maidens." The vitriol on the man's face grew to crazed levels. "Help me kill them. We split their spirit restoring pills."

"I'm not going to kill women for resources," Hector said.

The man laughed, a hollow, bitter sound. "You go to hostel, they kill you. Remove their competition for a treasure not even exist any more."

"They're at the hostel right now?"

"They kill other hunters all the time. You their next target?"

Hector scowled. He wanted a hot meal and warm bed. Instead, he received this headache. Whether or not he trusted this shady man, he could not blindly stumble into potential enemies. That meant leaving town. No food, no bed. His enhanced body could handle the abuse, but that didn't make him happy to go without.

"I am Hans. Tonight I bring you to safe house. Show you spirit pill. You will want to be allies."

It was getting late and he was tired. After a moment of hesitation, Hector sighed. "Yes."

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