Sunlight filtered through the giant iron trees to softly caress Lukas's face. Birds hooted and hollered loudly above, the reason unknown.
Lukas's figure moved silently through the forest, his destination the Roaring Dragon Settlement.
While moving, a thin thread of star energy moved from the back of his hand to wrap around his entire body, subtly reducing his presence, making it harder for beasts and monsters to detect him.
Lukas utilized the Traceless Steps to its full potential, moving through the forest undetected. Unless he directly jumped in front of the monsters, it would be difficult to notice his presence.
Just like this, he continued to move forward. From time to time, he would check his pockets to make sure that the star crystal pouch was secure. To avoid any mishap, after fully memorizing Night Dipper: Low-Grade Star Energy Technique, Lukas chose to destroy the hard copy.
Without him realizing it, it had been hours of continuous travel. With the undead traits that he shared with Tommy, he had an almost endless supply of stamina, so he didn't feel any tiredness at all.
The iron forest thinned, and signs of civilization slowly started to appear. The number of warriors that he encountered increased considerably. Lukas's eyes narrowed dangerously.
Each of these star warriors caused his danger sense to tingle slightly. Most of them are either at Rank 2 Star Refining or Rank 3. There are a few like me at Rank 1.
Lukas calmly assessed the situation, but upon thinking about it carefully, it made sense.
Most of the new awakeners arriving at the Star Dimension were from poor backgrounds with no access to star energy gathering methods or, for that matter, star energy body refining methods. They had to grind in the settlement doing odd jobs before they could even think of going out to hunt.
All those who went to hunt in the Iron Forest were veterans who had been in the Star Dimension for at least a couple of months, with a solid understanding of the threats and opportunities.
While Lukas was examining the awakeners, some awakeners with keen senses also noticed Lukas's presence, their eyes growing strange.
This brother has a very weak presence, but what is with his star energy concentration? Just at Rank 1?
Lukas was clearly only at Rank 1, but for some reason, he gave off the feeling of slight danger.
This contrasting feeling caused most of the warriors to grow alert.
Lukas noticed this change in their demeanor. Frowning, he ducked his head low and hurried to the main entrance of the Roaring Dragon Settlement, passing through the small market outside. This was the market where the Roaring Dragon Guild recruited the new awakeners.
He wasn't in a rush, quietly moving through the market gathering information.
"Sigh... the market is completely empty. None of the ingredients that I need to refine the Body Strengthening Pill are in the market. What is happening?"
"Hey, brother, where did that merchant go? He used to set up a stall beside you."
"Oh, Brother Khan!... He was killed by a beast horde yesterday."
"How is that possible? He was supposed to give me the key ingredients!"
The man inquiring about the merchant Khan roared in disappointment, his face turning ugly.
Lukas continued to scan the market, a tight frown appearing on his face. The entire market seemed to be filled with worry and desperation. Star warriors looked willing to part with all of their wealth just to get their hands on precious treasures. The situation was that there was too much demand and too little supply. The price of ingredients shot through the roof.
This caused awakeners to take repeated risks to venture deep into the Iron Forest to gather materials and sell them at high prices.
Everyone looked keen on taking advantage of this gold rush.
Taking a look at everyone, Lukas's frown deepened. He sensed something amiss.
All this desperation, the market going up, prices surging—it all pointed to one thing. A crisis seemed to be brewing in the region.
Lukas's heart chilled, and the sense of urgency in his heart suddenly went up.
I cannot afford to waste time like this. First things first—let's get into the city first.
With that thought in mind, he made his way toward the large main gate of the Roaring Dragon Settlement. The Roaring Dragon Settlement was huge, home to thousands of star warriors from all over the world. Some had been living in this place for so long that it was practically their new home.
Security at the main gate was especially tight at all times. There would be star refiners at least Rank 4 or 5 patrolling, with a Rank 6 or 7 captain overseeing them.
Most of the guards were veterans whose potential had run out. They had no hope for any future progress, so the guild gave them a good position with handsome pay.
However, from the rumours, there was tough competition for these guard positions.
When Lukas first heard it, he was also curious about this tough competition for a measly guard job, but never would he have thought he would find the answer so fast and in such a fashion.
"Hey, kid! Pay up fast. There are people waiting behind you!" A rough voice came from ahead.
A Roaring Dragon guard dressed in tight leather stood tall with a sharp sword in his hand. From time to time, red condensed starlight would flash in his eyes, signifying the concentration of star energy in his body was incredibly high.
Lukas's expression was slightly dark as he looked at the guard with a chilling look in his eyes.
He did his best to calm himself and asked, "When did the entrance fee increase? Wasn't it supposed to be only ten star crystals? Why are you asking for thirty-star crystals?"
Those words caused the guard's expression to turn chilly. "Utter one more word, and I will raise the entrance fee to forty. Pay up fast or scram. I don't have time to deal with you people."
"Understood..."
By the end of his words, the suffocating pressure of a Rank 5 Star Refiner erupted outwards. Lukas felt as if a heavy weight was placed on his shoulders, his entire figure shaking.
Lukas gritted his teeth and reached for his chest pocket to take out exactly forty star crystals. He placed them in the guard's hand without other words, not forgetting to memorize the man's name and face in his memory.
Seeing how Lukas's tone changed after using only a little bit of force, the middle-aged guard chuckled with a sadistic smile on his face.
"Good boy."
Taking this, he handed a square-shaped card to Lukas and explained, "This is a settlement pass, valid for one month. After one month, you will have to pay the fee again to renew the pass. Understood?"
Lukas wordlessly took the card from the guard's hand, feeling it cool and rough to the touch.
This daylight robbery didn't go unnoticed by the people queuing up behind. They could only shake their heads in disappointment.
"Whenever there are signs of a beast horde, these guards start looting new awakeners in the name of protection."
"This guard named Old Ken is especially notoriously greedy, charging triple the price."
The guard named Ken only snorted, pocketing ten star crystals for himself from the thirty that Lukas had given.
"For all of your benefit, thirty star crystals are quite less. It is because of my guild's sacrifice that you all live in peace. Otherwise, when the beast horde came, you would be nothing but broken skeletons. Never forget that."
These words instantly silenced the surroundings.
A couple of leeches.
Old Guard Ken cursed and moved on to the next target.