Chapter 29: A Scam?

It was a relief for Rayleigh to know that the people of the settlement weren’t already praying to him.

They already saw him as a tool sent by their god to save them from the monstrosities of nature. Perhaps they saw him as their god himself, wearing a plausible disguise.

Their view of him spiraled further out of control the second they witnessed him conjure nine crystals from thin air and hand them over to Jax’ulkan. They believed he was being kind, helping one of their own.

Rayleigh was anything but kind.

They all had the same stunned expression Jax had when Rayleigh pulled the crystals from his inventory.

The only difference between Jax and the rest of the settlers was that Jax had been close enough to Rayleigh to understand that he was not a god.

He was a human from Earth, as a matter of fact, and the rest of the settlement did not share that privilege.

However, Jax still held the same prospect as the rest of the settlement; he believed Rayleigh had been sent by their god.

Why else could Rayleigh do the things he could do? How could he defeat nine beasts like they were nothing, even though they were merely Weaker or Lesser Beasts?

Being a sort of celebrity around the small settlement, Rayleigh was offered a free room inside an inn.

The room was decent enough. It had a soft bed covered with white linen, while a lamp glowed on a small table to the right. A scented candle burned on the left side of the room, filling the place with a pleasant smell.

Rayleigh appreciated the settler who had offered him the room. The man had even bowed down respectfully before leaving the inn.

Rayleigh found the arrangement very convenient because this way, he wouldn’t have to walk a few miles for hours just to get back to his ship to spend the night.

Rayleigh crashed at the settlement shelter for the night. He hadn’t realized how tired he was; his entire life after getting released had been one exhausting trip after another.

For the first time since his release, he was going to get a good, sound sleep.

"I hope a beast doesn’t attack while I sleep."

Rayleigh’s eyes snapped shut shortly afterward.

◇◇◇

Dawn arrived, and the sun settled over Planet Mulka, casting a radiant glow across the desert. The dust seemed to glow even brighter than it had yesterday because it was still very early in the morning. The morning terrain of Mulka was truly breathtaking, but it was a normal day for the Mulkans.

For Rayleigh, however, it ought to have been a stunning scene, but unfortunately, he was still fast asleep.

Jax’ulkan moved through the streets of the settlement, his strides filled with haste.

"Good morrow. Good morrow," he greeted his fellow Mulkans, but he didn’t stick around for a reply.

Jax arrived at Rayleigh’s inn. Without announcing his presence as a common courtesy, he stepped inside.

"I can’t believe you’re still asleep!" Jax shook his head like a father disappointed in his child.

Rayleigh, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on, except for the fact that he was having the best rest of his life and someone had just hit the pause button on it.

"What is going on?" Rayleigh asked, his voice hoarse.

"You need to hunt for beasts, now!"

"Unless said beast is attacking the settlement, I suggest you buzz off before I blow you to bits," Rayleigh threatened, his eyes still shut as he lay on the bed.

For someone who needed fuel urgently, Rayleigh could be quite lazy at times.

Jax calmly explained to Rayleigh that his chances of running into beasts at this time of the day were very high because the day was still fresh, and the beasts would soon start hunting for food and other power sources. They wouldn’t be in their caves hiding or resting anymore.

Jax also added that if Rayleigh left immediately, he might be able to get all his remaining crystals today, which meant he could get his fuel as early as tomorrow.

Realizing this, Rayleigh knew that Jax was right.

What was that Earth saying?

The early bird gets the worm.

Rayleigh sprang up from his bed and grabbed his coat. He made his way out of the inn, but not before dropping a warning on Jax.

"If you ever barge in while I’m sleeping ever again, I’ll show a beast just how delicious Mulkan skin is. Understood?"

Rayleigh didn’t wait for an answer. He simply walked off, leaving Jax staring morbidly into nothing.

He was just kidding... right? He wouldn’t actually feed Jax to a beast, right? He was sent by their god, after all...

Rayleigh exited the settlement, stepping into the wasteland altogether and officially beginning his hunt for the day.

Sure enough, Jax was right.

Rayleigh found beasts at short intervals, merely roaming aimlessly, probably searching for food.

Each kill was a moment to relish because he got to test his physical skills and strength even more. Every single kill also brought him closer to the amount of crystals he needed, and not long after, Rayleigh had officially achieved his kill count.

He stood over a dead beast’s body, admiring his work of art.

After harvesting the crystal, Rayleigh stored it inside a small bag he had borrowed from one of the settlers.

His inventory had a ten-item limit. Rayleigh figured, why not store all his crystals inside an item and then store that item in the inventory?

It was smart and thoughtful, because it worked.

Rayleigh stored twelve crystals in total, and with the additional nine crystals he had given Jax, he was ready to buy some fuel in the city.

The second Rayleigh arrived at the settlement, he was greeted with a warm welcome.

Jax gave him the warmest welcome of all.

"Did you get all twelve?" He asked excitedly.

Rayleigh affirmed it, and Jax jumped in celebration. Rayleigh found it odd that Jax was more excited about the crystals than Rayleigh himself. But he didn’t think much of it.

He pulled the bag out of his inventory and shoved it into Jax’s chest.

"When are we going to the city?"

"We shall be leaving first thing tomorrow once the transport vessel arrives." Jax revealed.

Rayleigh nodded his head and walked away, heading back to his very comfortable inn.

A few hours passed, and Rayleigh simply lay on the bed, waiting.

He wasn’t good at waiting. He didn’t enjoy it, but he had a bit of experience with it. He had waited seven years before he could finally gain access to the Advanced Romulus System.

Every day that passed left Rayleigh even more impatient than the previous day. He had always fallen asleep wondering what the system was like.

Even though he was used to waiting, it didn’t make his current situation any easier.

Rayleigh assured himself that Beatrice could wait one more day. He would be going to the city tomorrow, and he would get some fuel, with the crystals he had handed to Jax for some reason... Why did he give Jax those crystals?

’Hold on a second...’

Rayleigh frowned all of a sudden.

’Yesterday, Jax explained that a transport vessel stops by the settlement once every two days, but just a few hours ago, he said the vessel would be arriving tomorrow. That is strange because there was no transport vessel yesterday, meaning today is day 2, and there certainly isn’t one now.’

It dawned on Rayleigh that Jax’ulkan was lying about the vessel. But why? He wondered.

Rayleigh began tracing back all the words he had exchanged with Jax; every word, every detail, everything Jax had told him.

While thinking deeply about it, Rayleigh realized that he hadn’t heard a single Mulkan in the settlement make any reference to the city or a transport vessel.

And if there truly was a city, why would they live out here in the desert where they could become easy prey for beasts?

Rayleigh slowly sat up from the bed, his mind slowly piecing things together.

He remembered his interaction with Jax from earlier; how Jax had been overly enthusiastic to see the crystals.

No one could be that excited about anything unless it was something that favored them.

Rayleigh’s eyes widened in shock. Everything clicked.

"There’s no city. There is no fuel. He’s scamming me!"