Chapter 168: Outside Balon City

Words : 1566 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

After receiving the money from Mr Chen and the compensation from the men whom Zoran used to work for, he had thought of starting a business where he would be getting a stable income and be able to properly support his family as the man of the house. Opening a shop in the commercial district was a good idea that the couple had thought of. And the most profitable items that were frequently purchased were mana cores and magic items used by explorers and newly awakened mages. Zoran had long thought of this matter, but wasn’t able to take action because of unavailable capital; now that he had enough money, there was nothing to hold him back. Alex nodded in approval after listening to his father’s words. The man had already met with the owner of the shop and had paid for five years’ rent. Zoran planned to higher some people tomorrow and start setting up the place while he went to get his sales licence from the Union. The license was what would authorise him to operate his shop in the commercial district and show customers that he was verified and wasn’t some shabby dealer. Having the licence from the Union also meant that his shop would be under their protection but Zoran would have to accept their price range for items that would be sold in his shop. This was to prevent shop owners from setting the price of items too low and therefore pulling over all the customers. Everyone was happy that the situation of the family was finally going to change after listening to Zoran’s plans. They talked for a bit before everyone went to rest for the night. Morning came with the soothing warmth of sunlight that rose in the distance. Zoran left very early and didn’t have breakfast with his family. He said that getting a licence wasn’t an easy task, and one had to get there early if they wanted to be attended to on time. And he also needed to start the work on the shop early. For that, he planned to get his good friends with whom he used to work since he trusted them to do an efficient job of changing the place and making it look like a real shop. His wife waved him goodbye and reminded him to buy something to eat if it took too long at the Union branch. After Zoran left, she went to the kitchen to fix breakfast for herself, Alex, and the two girls. Alex didn’t have any plans for today and was thinking if he should go farm exp just in case he wanted to craft emergency spells in the future. His current exp points were less than 30k, it wasn’t much. However, just before he came down for breakfast, Alex got a message on his. After reading through it, he understood that he had a mission to complete with Joan and she wanted him to come to the group’s base as soon as possible. Alex thought of bringing Alice along but immediately killed that idea. She was better off watching after his family. After breakfast, Alex informed his mother that he had a mission from his group and had to leave. His mother didn’t stop him, she repeatedly reminded him to be careful and not to hurt himself. Alex smiled and nodded. Before leaving, he shot a glance at Alicia, his stare telling her to do a good job while he was away. Some time later, Alex arrived at the group’s base. He saw an armoured vehicle parked outside the building as he walked in, and he recognised it as one of the armoured vehicles that they use whenever they go on raids. Entering the building, Alex found Joan and a few others in the living room. "You’re here, that was fast." Joan voiced out after seeing Alex. Alex replied that he was already done with everything he needed to do at home when he got the message so he came after eating. "Good, so about the mission..." Joan proceeded to tell Alex the details of the mission. It was a small town that was located to the west of Balon City. The area was usually very peaceful since there were other cities like Balon City surrounding it and magic beasts were rarely found near it. However, the Union officers who were stationed there had recently sent reports of an unknown creature moving in the forest outside the town. The creature only appeared at night and only moved in a particular area of the forest, since it didn’t come out of the forest, they couldn’t tell what it was. As for going into the forest to investigate, the Union officers in the town didn’t dare to go for fear of the unknown. After all, they were ordinary humans with magic weapons. They had sent reports and asked for help from this Union branch, but instead of which the Union further turned into a mission that was accepted by the members of the Rising Wave group. The threat level of this mission wasn’t high as the creature was suspected to be at the common or mutated beast rank at most and was cautious about approaching the town. If it were anything stronger, the town would have been wiped out long ago. After listening to Joan’s explanation, Alex understood that they were going on an investigation mission and, if the chance presented itself, probably a magic beast extermination. "Ok, when do we leave?" Alex asked. "We can leave right away, we were waiting for you," Joan replied. "We? Thought it was only the two of us," Alex asked with a raised eyebrow. The message he received had made him think that he was only going with Joan. Besides, since the creature that was moving in the forest outside the town was most likely at the mutated beast rank at best, he felt that it was light work for them. "Oh, don’t be silly. Even if the mission looks easy, we’re both only Adept rank mages. It’s best to be prepared for any unexpected situations. That’s a big part of being an explorer, be prepared for anything." Joan lectured with a serious face like a big sister who was teaching her younger brother about the ways of life. "Okay, I understand." Alex didn’t argue, he argued with what Joan said. If one thought about it, there were certain situations that they should even consider. What if there weren’t a single creature? It would be problematic to send only two Adept mages there. Not like it really mattered to him though, he wasn’t scared to even go by himself; it was that creature that should be scared. Alex soon realised that there were a total of five who were going on the mission, this included himself, Joan, Selena, Phil, and Helen. Helen was a member of the group with the fire element and was an Adept mage. Selena was the only Core mage in the team. The five of them left the building and entered the armoured vehicle that Alex had seen outside when he first arrived. Phil was driving and Joan sat in the front with him. Alex, Selena, and Helen sat in the back. Alex glanced at Selena. As always, she looked tired as ever. Alex wondered what she was doing that made her always look tired. The armoured vehicle drove off soon after and they entered the road. After driving for some minutes, they were out of Balon City and were headed for the town. There wasn’t an official road that led to the small town, so they had to pass a rough ground path. The big tyres of the armoured vehicle rolled over the uneven ground as they journeyed. Along the way, they didn’t encounter any magic beasts and even saw other people who were also travelling. They arrived at the town after almost five hours of driving. From the side that they came from, it looked like the town was located at the foot of a hill with a large forest surrounding the rest sides of the town. From where the armoured vehicle was, they could see the entire town at a glance. Old buildings with washed paint and cracked walls, roads that looked like they were made centuries ago, and a few people walking by. Their vehicle continued toward the town. After entering the town, the few people who saw them gave them long stares as if such armoured vehicles were a rare sight. The group continued to drive and soon met up with the Union officers who were stationed in the town. The leading figures of the town were also present, and they began to discuss with Selena. While they discussed, Alex observed the street that wasn’t far from them. He could spot some shops and people in working outfits. The condition in the town didn’t look any better than the outskirts in the city but he could understand why these people preferred to stay here instead of going to the city. Not everyone could adapt to the busy lifestyle of the city or survive the expensive cost of living there, a place like this was much calmer and required less to survive. "Alex, let’s go; time for work." Helen’s voice sounded in Alex’s ears, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Hmm, okay!"

Chapter 168: Outside Balon City

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