After a few days, Cliff had managed to recover and so were his allies. Before leaving, he went to a place.
"D-Did you find it? It's been a few days and I was getting w-worried!" The cyan-haired man frantically asked the red-headed lad. Walking towards him with a flask in his hand, clearly unsafe.
Cliff pulls out a flower from his bag.
"I did."
"Oh my god, thank you–!"
Kein tried to reach and grab the flower but Cliff backed away from his reach, gaining distance as he walked around the alchemy shop, looking at the wares.
"We had a deal, yes? I'm quite the ruthless businessman, you see..." Cliff runs his fingers through his table and picks up a large amount of dust.
"You will convert your potion prices to the normal market price. That's the deal, yes?"
"Of course! I'll do it now–"
"I want you to get all of the seeds of this flower and plant it. Make it your product and sell it to those who need it, but make it cheap."
Kein's eyes widened. The lad's back is open, yet it feels like he has eyes in every nook and cranny around this room.
"B-but, sir! This illness– they've been plaguing people. If I sell it at a lower price, won't I lose more?"
"Like you've said, they've been plaguing people. This is why you must sell them at a lower price so that you can save more people. Be regarded as a genius and a savior, no?"
Cliff made an excellent point. Although he and the others worked hard for it, in the end, it will all go to the one who has the skills to make it into medicine.
"I know you like money. I like money too, but let's make it ethical instead of conning your customer."
The red-haired man turned around and slowly walked towards the alchemist, each footstep was heavy enough to destroy a plank of wood.
"So, what do you think? It's for the best of everyone, no? Oh, one more thing... If they ever ask how you got it, just tell them that a mysterious group of adventurers gave it to you." Cliff smiles, it should be a good thing yet he sounds so menacing.
After dealing with the alchemist, he left the building with a crate of medium-sized potions that contained red liquid inside. The two retired adventurers can be seen waiting outside, on a carriage.
"Yo! What took you so long? Did you get everything?" The bald warrior shouted, waving around his hand as his other hand held the lease for the horse.
"I got it, don't worry~ Where's Ms.Esther?"
Cliff would then put the crate inside of the carriage, cover it with a wooden lid and cloak it using black cloth. He pats his palms together, removing dust as he looks in the other direction and finds a woman with a staff holding a few pieces of equipment in her hand.
"Y-you two made me carry this heavy-ass equipment? None of you are gentlemen!" Esther complained, she then threw a pair of boots to Cliff and gloves to Enrid.
"Thank you, Ms.Enrid. I am sorry for making you buy and grab those for us– but at least I didn't just sit my ass on the wheel." Cliff scoffed, throwing the blame on someone else who didn't do anything but stay in the carriage.
"I calmed the horse down, y'all aren–"
"Did I mention anyone? I believe I didn't–"
"You implied it, you rascal!" Enrid shouted in anger, he balls up a fist and lifts it in the air. Screaming like an old man.
Esther laughed. It seems that she already forgot that we made her carry all of that equipment on her own. That's good.
Cliff side-eyes Enrid and also did the same. They both reached an agreement that they need to work together for her to not get angry or pissed.
Cliff would then sit down on the carriage and remove the sandals he had been wearing for the past few days. He stood up and tried walking, his face brightened as he sat down again.
"Comfortable... thank you again."
Esther then hops inside the carriage as she also sits down beside him.
"Eh~ It's not that much. You saved us, remember?"
Yet Cliff's expression says otherwise. Despite saving the two of them, he couldn't save the person who helped him and trained him even if it was just a few hours. But he looked up and sighed.
"Still, It's the only word I can say to show my appreciation. You guys are traveling with me after all, the best I could do is buy us a carriage."
"Laddie, you got some amazing connections! Perks of being part of the royal lineage, huh? I'm jealous~"
Cliff would say otherwise. Royal matters are so complicated, that no one would like to stay there. Not even the royal of the royals. Which is why they let their soldiers or messengers do it for them.
"So, Ms.Esther, what's that thing? A staff?"
Esther grabbed a cloth-covered item. It is long and quite durable from its texture and hardness. She then hands it to Cliff, who then removes the cloth and reveals a weapon. A Bow and a bunch of arrows.
[ Short Bow + 100x Arrows ]
"I-it might not be much, but I noticed that your bow has been missing since we left the clinic. An Archer must always have a bow. Just like how rogues must always have daggers, yes?"
She looked at his waist. The dagger he used is still intact but worn down from the flames.
"Y-you didn't have to do this–"
"Oh c'mon, lad. It's the least thing we could do. Besides, you'd be useless if you didn't have your bow! Hahaha!!"
The two of them looked at him, smiling and laughing as his eyes got blurry. He covered his face and sighed deeply.
"I'm– Thank you. Mr.Enrid and Ms.Esther."
"You're welcome." They both replied, as they closed their eyes and patted his back.
<••••••••••••••••••••••>
"Are we ready to go?" Enrid looked back, asking his passengers if they were ready to set out of the city.
"Yes. To Aria Academy." Cliff smiles, confirming that they are ready and to remind them where they are going.
"Then, let's go!" The warrior flaps the leash and the horse starts moving. The carriage is being pulled by the horse and the three of them are now leaving the city.
Cliff glared at the adventurer's guild.
One day, I'll return and conquer you.
Do not let me down, Infinite Dungeon.
.....
After a few hours, they've left the city and are now traveling on the road while the sun is still high in the sky. Enrid and Esther are both in the front of the carriage, talking and planning the routes they'll be taking to arrive at Aria Academy. It usually takes a month to arrive at the academy, but since they are adventurers, they know the shortcuts of life.
So, while they are busy planning. Cliff went ahead and opened his Inventory.
[ Inventory: 100x Silver Arrows, 1x Book of Fire, Short Bow(Equipped), 2x Dirty Loincloth, 2 Copper Coins, 20 Gold Coins, 5x Dire Fur, 10x Slime Jelly ]
Igh… Despite having killed so many slimes and rodents, these aren't enough to reach a single gold coin.
Cliff scratched his hair. Annoyance and frustration, that's what he is feeling right now. His luck has gone shit ever since he finished his first mission, the system hasn't given him another mission since then. It began worrying him.
After all, This is the past.
Indeed. So far, he had asked every single adventurer and Clarissa about the events that had happened during the game, yet they hadn't heard of it at all. The obvious evidence is that they haven't cured the hardening skin illness. The Wiki said that a group of adventurers discovered it.
The wiki was quite vague with its description. I hope that what I said to Kein was enough.
Survival and the goals of the original Cliff is already a problem enough for Nash, but to keep the timeline and the events of the story the same as it is written in the wiki? That'll be hard. So, he formed a conclusion.
As long as I do not interfere with any more major events that happens in the past, I am not disrupting the story.
Suddenly, an interface popped up.
[ Order Interface ]
[ Congratulations. You have left the city. You are now on your way to the Aria Academy, where you will be starting your student life. You have been rewarded… ]
[ Reward: 40 Gold, 5 Status Pts, and Golden Ticket. ]
"Finally, rewards…"
Cliff released a sigh of relief and laid down on the carriage. Looking at the rewards that had been given to him, two rewards shouldn't be here.
The Status points and the Golden Ticket.
The stat points can only be earned by leveling up. Each time you level up, you gain 3 pts. Yet, here… He had been given 5 points without leveling up.
Someone is controlling the system.
An obvious answer, yet he couldn't reach it until now due to the lack of evidence. Well, maybe he just didn't notice. He always had a gut feeling that somebody was sending him these holographic interfaces since they gave him messages that sounded too human and less than a system.
"...Now that my agility has come down to 20 again… Put 2 in AGI and the rest on CON…"
[ AGI: 22 (D2)
CON: 23 (D3) ]
Now, for the other item reward that shouldn't be here…
The Golden Ticket
In Infinite Dungeon, the game had minor microtransactions. Which is… Gacha.
Not for characters. But for weapons and rare items.
A golden ticket allows you to receive a weapon, armor, or a usable item that is rare-grade. It's a gamble.
Unfortunately, this item causes loud noises. Definitely can't use it here inside of the carriage or he'll freak them out and get suspicious of his existence.
"The gold is handy though."
He smiles. The only good thing that came out of that dungeon was self-realization and the gift of the divine phoenix. I got too reckless, making that kind of proposal and returning late.
Still, I don't know what I want.
What I know is that I want to live.
Despite being fake, I will live his life and use my knowledge to cherish his life and protect the bonds I'll make as Cliff.
That's all I have to do right now.