Chapter 152: Making Preparations

After returning with Emir’s kingdom alongside Valerie, Kaelen was uncertain what his next move should be.

He could decide to return to Akkad briefly before the tournament officially kicked off, but after Global Descent was called off, he was certain his mother would be smart enough to know it probably had something to do with him, and Kaelen wasn’t sure he wanted to discover how she’d react to his little adventure.

It was best to stay away, possibly till after the tournament was over and he’d achieved the immortal pill and the unfathomable strength to make a difference.

"The tournament would officially begin in a few days’ time, so I’d advise you to make preparations accordingly. I can have someone drop you off back at Akkad, but you can’t let your mother know about me or the tournament, or she might go to great lengths to keep you away from everything. If I were you, I wouldn’t underestimate her," Emir said.

"Who’s gonna drop me off if I wanted?" Kaelen asked sharply.

"I can have the butler do that."

Tch. There was no opportunity to speak with Valerie, and if he insisted, she might get suspicious, and who knew what she’d do to the woman?

"You said I should prepare accordingly, right? How do you expect me to do that when I don’t even know what I’m getting into? Is there any vital information you’d like to share with me?" He asked as he felt the Suppression Pill vial in his pocket.

"Vital information? Like what?" Emir asked as she tilted her head.

"I dunno. You tell me. You did mention in our agreement that you’ll guide me on obtaining what I want."

"Yes, and I’m going to be doing that. I’m going to be one of the many Heralds chosen for the tournament, and I personally made a request to have you under my team."

"What’s a Herald’s duty? You never mentioned that to me. And if you’re going to be my Herald, shouldn’t you be telling me key details on the tournament?" Kaelen asked.

"That’s a lot of questions you’re asking, Kaelen. The tournament happens only once every millennium, and the rules often change. I’ve been inactive for the past ten thousand years, and you wouldn’t want me giving you key details I remember from back then."

"Are you saying you’re as clueless as me even though you’re a Herald?"

Emir exhaled wearily. "The rules would be explained before the tournament officially begins, so you have nothing to be worried about. Trust me, the real dangers are inside the floors, not the rules. And if anyone tells you they already know the floor’s layout and challenges, then feel free to kill them on the spot. What I meant by making preparations is to train, stay in shape, and get enough sleep because you wouldn’t have time for those inside the Tower. Is that good enough for you?"

Kaelen was silent for a moment. "I see... I’m guessing you’ll know where to find me."

"I won’t. You’ve already been selected, so you’ll be summoned there when the time is right."

"Very well then," Kaelen calmly replied.

"I’ll have the butler drop you off—" Emir was still saying when Kaelen disappeared from the spot.

Emir paused to stare at the empty spot where he disappeared from.

"I think he logged out," Valerie commented from behind.

"I know, but... that felt kinda personal."

***

Kaelen logged off, appearing at the exact spot he left off with Felix in the ruins of Akkad. It was strangely quiet, but the moment he appeared, he caught the light off a sniper’s scope and turned to look in that direction.

It was Aria who raised her rifle on seeing it was him and jumped down from the tree she was sitting on.

She stopped before him and stared at him for a moment with a complicated expression.

"What happened?" As she asked, another figure appeared from the bush.

"What do you mean? I killed the Titan, of course."

"That’s not... never mind. What about ’mother’?" She asked in difficulty, which surprised Kaelen that she had recognized his mother to be ’their’ mother.

"She’s safe with me. I’ll be keeping her in her pod for as long as it takes me to find a cure for her, so you don’t have to worry about that..." Kaelen had just said that when he realized Aria might not know about his mother’s condition, but on seeing her complicated expression, that doubt was cleared.

"Do you... want to go and see her with me?" Aria asked, surprising Kaelen again.

’What is this? Why’s she acting so submissive now? Is this the big brother effect?’

"No. I’ll be gone for a while, but I’ll surely be back with the cure," he replied with a serious tone.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Naomi pitched in as she arrived before them. "I doubt that quack you have who puts sweetener in her health potions and uses it to eat bread can be trusted in brewing a potent cure for the high priestess."

"...What?" Kaelen was taken aback. "How do you know that?"

"Because she tried to offer me such concoction to help boost my stamina, which improves the healing effects. I’d rather die next time than let you hold me captive." Naomi sneered and spat to the side.

Kaelen’s brain went numb for a moment before he remembered why he was there. "Anyways, I believe you shouldn’t be receiving attacks in the meantime, because the Colossal Titan is going to be busy for a while. So if you see any scavengers around, they’re likely small fries from other strongholds. But before I leave, I’ll speak with the Empress of the human Strongholds to make sure that doesn’t happen, and in return, you guys should halt any planned retaliation attack and focus on fixing your broken home or, better still, relocating."

"Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?" Naomi spat.

"I wasn’t talking to you," he said as he raised his hand to ruffle Aria’s hair, throwing the two women into a state of shock.

Then he shifted his gaze back to Naomi. "You can go back running around the forest naked."

Before they could react, he disappeared from the spot once more, leaving Aria in a daze and Naomi in a fit of rage.

Kaelen reappeared inside his castle and went straight to look for Kenora. He wasn’t sure where she surely stayed, but he didn’t need to ask to know where everyone was inside his castle.

He didn’t know how the tournament would go, so he needed as many health potions as possible. He didn’t need Kenora for that, though. He only needed her to gather the ingredients to craft them himself.

With the Heavenly Gourmet Cauldron, they should be crafted with excellence and potent enough to regrow a lost limb.

He didn’t knock and immediately barged into the room, only to freeze as soon as he spotted the Drakaris.

Kenora also froze on spotting him, with her cheeks puffed with possibly bread and a half-empty vial of the health potion she had claimed she no longer had.

"What are you doing?"

"I-It’s not what you think. I swear this is the last one, and I gave you every other one I had." She quickly replied as she forced the bread down her throat.

"Why the hell are you drinking it with bread?"

"W-What? I wasn’t. I stubbed my toe on the door and decided to drink a little to heal it, then I felt hungry and decided to eat some bread..."

"Did you also add sweetener to make it taste good?"

"H-How did you know... I don’t know what you’re talking about," she said as she avoided Kaelen’s gaze and quickly stored the potion in her inventory.

Kaelen’s lips twitched. "I need you to go gather as many ingredients for all kinds of potions as you can get your hands on from your world."

"W-What? Are you serious?" She immediately jumped up from the bed. "You’re going to really let me go?"

"Yes. I’ll send you enough Evolution Points to purchase the materials, and when you return, I’ll pay you enough Evolution Points to cover what you would’ve made on your own."

Kenora’s eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. "How do I trust you’ll actually pay me when I return?"

"If you don’t believe me, you can run away with the amount I’ll send for the materials," Kaelen replied calmly. With such a deal in her face, he was certain she’d eventually return. Especially after she must’ve seen the last universal announcement.

"So tell me, how much do you need to buy everything you can get your hands on?"

"Well, I’m not exactly an alchemist, but I’d say about 500 if you aren’t exaggerating about getting all the ingredients I can find in a short notice."

"500 thousand?"

"What? I meant 500 million. It’s not ideal, but I can narrow down the list and prices for you if you think it’s too expensive—"

[Incoming Transfer: 500,000,000 Evolution Points from Kaelen Cross]

Her eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

"W-What?"

"I’ll prefer to have them as soon as possible. But if I’m unavailable when you’re back, just hold them and wait for me."

"Where are you going?" She immediately asked.

Kaelen paused to think for a moment. "I’m not sure yet, but it has to be somewhere I can make at least ten trillion Evolution Points in a day," he mumbled to himself.

If only he had thought about cultivation sooner, he would’ve remained in Emir’s kingdom. But if he saw a chance, he was definitely going back to crash at her place.

"W-What?!"