"We're finally here!"
Adam returned to the Black Bulls headquarters just as dawn was breaking. Noelle was out front, training hard with her magic. It was obvious she'd been waiting for someone to come back.
"Adam!"
Noelle's face lit up with joy. She ran toward him, sweat dripping down her forehead.
"Noelle, you really work hard," Adam said, glancing at the potholes and water marks around the training area.
This was clearly the result of Noelle's training. One day, it would all pay off.
"Um…"
Noelle's face turned red at his praise, and she didn't know how to respond.
"Then I'll go back first."
Adam patted Noelle on the head and turned to head inside for some sleep.
"Water Magic: Water Ball!"
Noelle panicked, accidentally firing a massive water sphere. It smashed into Adam like a cannonball and sent him flying.
"AHHHHH!"
Adam let out a scream, crashed into the ground, and blacked out on the spot.
"Adam!"
Noelle's eyes widened in shock, and she ran toward him anxiously.
It's all Adam's fault…
Three days later.
"Good morning, everyone!"
Adam opened the door, still looking half-asleep, and dragged himself toward the dining table. Without hesitation, he picked up a chicken leg and started devouring it.
He had been out cold for three days, and the hunger was unbearable. The only reason he woke up was because his stomach forced him to.
"Adam, you're awake!" Noelle's tense expression finally softened. She had been worrying nonstop these past few days.
"Hmph!" Charmy didn't say anything, but the look on her face clearly said 'Finally.'
"Brother Adam, you're so charming," Vanessa teased, eyeing him with a playful smile.
"Hey, Adam!" Asta said with a grin, his mouth covered in grease from the mountain of food he was eating. He looked just as exhausted from the battle at the royal capital.
He deserved his nickname—the Roaring Emperor.
"Adam, why are you so tired?" Yami asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I fought a guy with white hair and a striped face," Adam said casually. "He trapped me in some kind of different dimension. It took everything I had just to get out alive."
What was done was done. He just had to train harder next time.
"Is he strong? I really wanna fight him!" Luck shouted, grinning like a madman as usual.
"Striped face?" Yami's expression turned serious. That sounded like the mysterious man the Wizard King had mentioned…
Royal Capital — Flat World.
Adam and his group arrived here after Finral organized a social gathering and called Asta and Luck over. Adam just happened to tag along.
"Take your time and have fun! Bye!"
Adam waved at them and headed toward the black market.
After losing the power of the Rooster Talisman, he felt a growing sense of urgency. Something big was coming, and the power of just the Pig and Dragon Talismans wasn't enough to face it.
There were two known ways to gain new Zodiac Talisman powers:
One — Rare objects, like the gem in the Dungeon last time. That kind of thing was almost impossible to find.
Two — Through animals, like the way he got the Pig Talisman power from Ladin's mutated pig blood.
"Ladin… I hope you don't miss me too much." Adam grinned wickedly as he passed through the magic barrier into the black market.
"Ten-in-one tonic pills! Stronger than an ox, fiercer than a tiger! Fake? I'll pay ten times the price!"
"Here, I'll give you eleven!"
"You bastard, profiteer!"
"Thanks for the compliment!"
This was just a regular day at the black market. Deals like this happened all the time, and people still came hoping for a lucky find.
Here, there were plenty of "forbidden items" unavailable in the outside world.
"This grimoire in my hand belonged to the nephew of my sister-in-law's boyfriend—the previous captain of the Green Mantis Knights. It's a treasure!"
Ladin stood proudly at a small stall, holding up a tattered grimoire like it was gold.
"Found you."
Adam's eyes lit up as he walked toward him.
"Ladin, did you dig that grimoire out of a garbage dump?"
A middle-aged man took the book, sniffed it, and immediately grimaced. It smelled awful, and the pages were practically glued together. It looked more like trash than a treasure.
"What do you know?" Ladin snatched it back, clearly annoyed. "If you're not buying, don't talk nonsense. I risked my life getting this thing from the previous—uh…"
"Previous what?" the man asked.
"Nothing!"
Ladin instantly wrapped his stall in a blanket, threw it over his shoulder, and bolted. He looked ridiculous.
The middle-aged man just stood there, dumbfounded.
"Ladin, stop right there!"
Adam rushed after him, but without flight magic, catching up was tough.
"You bastard! What do you want from me now? I already gave you a low price last time! Haven't I suffered enough?"
Ladin remembered the entrance exam, the flattery, and calling Adam a bumpkin. He thought they'd moved past it. But apparently, Adam wasn't someone who let things go easily.
"Adam, let's just… leave some space between us, okay? I apologize for what I said back then. Please don't come after me anymore!"
"When did I say I was here to cause trouble? I'm here to buy something."
"Buy something?"
Ladin instantly stopped, turned around with a big grin, and said, "Why didn't you say so earlier? You're always welcome!"
"You didn't give me a chance," Adam muttered, deadpan.
Am I really that scary? He pulled out a mirror from Ladin's bag and admired himself. "Handsome guy right here."
"Reflector—can reflect low-tier magic. One thousand Yul!" Ladin stretched his hand out expectantly.
Adam pressed the mirror back onto his hand. "I'm not buying that."
"Then what do you want?"
"The something like pig blood from last time."
"No more," Ladin said, raising both hands helplessly.
"Really?" Adam frowned. He already knew it wouldn't be that easy to find something like that again.
"If you want normal pig blood, sure. But that top-grade stuff? You might not find it on the entire continent."
Adam sighed and rubbed his forehead. After all this time, he only had two Zodiac Talismans. It wasn't enough.
The white-striped man and those arrogant nobles would definitely come for him again. He needed to be stronger.
"By the way, do you have a way to get animals? Cows, pigs, whatever. I wanna take a look."
If he couldn't find something extraordinary, then he'd just use quantity to make up for it.
"I…" Ladin hesitated for a moment. He hated Adam's smug face, but finally muttered, "I've got a super farm back home. We've got all kinds of animals."
"That's great!" Adam's face lit up. "When are you free to take me there?"
"It's not impossible, but… my family's been having trouble lately. I was planning to go back soon anyway."
"But what?" Adam asked.
"You have to bring money. I'm not letting you skip out on the bill," Ladin said seriously.
"Relax. Tomorrow's payday. I'll have cash. We'll leave in the morning."
Ladin finally nodded. "Okay."
"By the way, what's going on at your farm?" Adam asked curiously.
"Some unknown creatures have been breaking into the plantation lately. Every time we chase them, they run away," Ladin replied.
"Why not ask the Magic Knights for help?"
"My dad hates them. He thinks nobles are arrogant. He'd probably punch them before they fixed anything."
"Then why'd you even apply to the Magic Knights?"
"Didn't pass the exam, obviously."