Zongman, the journey begins from the wrong place

He exerted slight force with his palm, as if he wanted to convey his will through this power.

Feeling the warmth of the palm against her face, Ais consciously held her breath, even her crying stopped, and she stared at Noah blankly.

"Ais, I've said that people are complex. Why must we be either this or that? Your hatred isn't wrong. It's just that without you realizing it, you already have something more substantial, more important, and more precious in your heart. So don't resist hatred, and don't be afraid of this preciousness. Take them all with you and keep moving forward. Of course—"

Noah slowly squatted down so that his eyes were level with Ais's.

During this process, Ais clearly felt that some of the gentle warmth in Noah's eyes disappeared, and another more aggressive heat was born.

The 'big brother who takes care of you in the clan' is gradually disappearing.

'Noah Sipher, born to conquer everything and surpass everything' appeared before him.

"——If you're ever really lost and can't find your way, how about just looking at me?!"

A cold current surged through her body, and Aisi's eyes widened.

"Look, Noah?"

In Noah's eyes, Ais saw a blazing glow - she couldn't tell whether it was the fiery red glow of the sunrise or something else.

I just felt the flames shining into my heart and the heat surging throughout my body.

"Yes, look at me, chase me, defeat me... No matter what Ai Si wants to destroy, I will surpass it. So, isn't it enough for Ai Si to just look at me?"

Listening to the voice with a hint of temptation, a slender hand appeared in front of Ai Si, inviting her.

Those deep blue eyes that could reflect her own soul were like an abyss that swallowed everything, and Ai Si couldn't take her eyes away.

Apart from that, everything in sight seemed to be melted away by the boiling heat in the body, turning into boundless pure white.

It's not just the tears that are hot, the whole body feels as if the blood is burning, making people groan in pain.

The back, in particular, felt like it was branded with a red-hot iron, causing Ai Si to breathe rapidly and unable to utter a single syllable.

This feeling is just like being tempted by the evil god in the dungeon.

Too small, too narrow, too fragile...

Ai Si understood that the one she was about to chase would be a figure more powerful than the dark despair and higher than the boundless sky.

But the burning heat in her heart, which was far hotter, purer, and more powerful than the black flame of hatred, did not allow her to refuse.

In this boiling heat, not only confusion, but even hatred, pain, despair, anxiety, expectation, cowardice and all other impurities will be swallowed up and turned into this boiling and burning fuel nutrients!

Transformed into that clear, yet sparkling, dazzling glow...

With the blazing heat and the shouting expectation emerging from her chest behind her, Ais gave her answer almost instantly—

"Noah, he's a bad guy!"

Scale-like white clouds float in the sky, and the clear sky is boundless and high enough to seem to have no end.

Bathed in the warm morning glow, the girl held Noah's hand.

A clear and determined light appeared in her eyes, and Aisi's tear-stained little face became clear-headed and no longer confused.

Looking at Ais's pouting mouth, Noah smiled with satisfaction.

Before leaving the city wall, Noah cast a glance towards the huge chalk tower in the city center.

*

"The original haze has been wiped away, leaving no more confusion. The golden soul has become even purer and more dazzling... So, has the sword found its scabbard?"

Looking down at the scene from the highest floor of the giant white-walled tower, the silver-haired goddess took a sip of the wine in her hand with her delicate red lips.

"In just a few days, such interesting changes have occurred?"

The pigman warrior slowly took this scene in, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.

"Goddess Freya, do we need to take him into our Familia? To fulfill your wishes, even if he is from Loki's Familia, we will..."

After hearing this suggestion, Freya pondered for a moment and then shook her head.

"That soul is interesting, but not my type... and how should I put it? I sense a kindred spirit in him."

Ever since the boy appeared in Orario, Freya had been observing his strange soul filled with deep darkness.

It wasn't until yesterday, when Noah went to the underground city, that she noticed some clues.

That is, when Noah was killing monsters, there was no hatred or hostility in his heart, only pure enjoyment!

Then, Freya remembered that he had no reverence in his heart when he came into contact with gods, or anyone else.

It was as if both parties were equal, and there was no difference to him...

Freya immediately realized that it was an extreme equality that could only be produced by extreme contempt for everything.

After all, when one person only uses the sword to distinguish others, all living things in the world are only divided into those who bleed and those who don't, and those who are enemies and those who are not enemies.

I believe that if necessary, killing a god would be no different from killing a monster for Noah.

However, what concerned Freya more was that she smelled a similar scent from Noah.

What do perverts hate the most?

Definitely not those noble and upright people who are on the extreme sides of themselves.

It's better to say that I like you very much, even if the other person hates you extremely.

After all, whether it is teasing those righteous people, watching them struggle in pain, or dyeing them with your own colors and then possessing them, it is extremely pleasurable.

Therefore, we can infer that what perverts hate most are definitely perverts of the same level as themselves.

Now, Freya smelled a hint of the same scent on the child from the underworld named Noah.

Although the number of those desires was small, the sense of similarity was very strong.

...Why do I always have an inexplicable sense of crisis in my heart?

53 Skill: This Heart, This Intention

As the sun rises, the noisy breakfast begins again in the Dusk Pavilion.

If there was anything peculiar about it, it was that Rocky didn't seem to get out of bed because he was hungover.

After breakfast, Finn announced that Loki's family would go on an expedition in seven days.

In the heated atmosphere, Finn assigned tasks to the team members one by one. Whether they were veterans like Noah or newcomers like Raul, they all had their own tasks.

Expedition is the biggest and most important event in the exploration family, and there are many things to prepare in advance.

Apart from the huge amount of supplies such as spare weapons, tents, food, protective gear, potions and magic swords that almost drained the clan's funds, what is more important is intelligence.

The first thing is to exchange information with the guild.

As an indispensable and important combat force in the city, the entry of Loki's family into the underground city will cause a gap in the city's strength, and precautions need to be negotiated in advance.

And if Loki's family encounters an accident in the dungeon and is trapped inside, the guild will need to send an investigation and rescue team in time.

Then the dungeon information is updated, such as whether there are any abnormal conditions on the planned route, whether there are any conflicts with the target itineraries of other factions, and whether the floor master will be born in the middle of the route.

Finally, he notified other clans to accept various commissions.

After Finn announced the mission and disbanded the clan, Noah realized that he had not received the mission.

After the family members filed out of the restaurant, Noah stood up and walked towards the three giants who were still discussing matters at the main seat.

As he left, Noah suddenly frowned and looked around the living room, but he couldn't find the little blonde girl.

Aisi, where did you go?

When he approached the main seat with confusion, before Noah could speak, the three giants seemed to have finished their discussion and dispersed.

Livilia looked at him and spoke first, "Noah, do you have any plans for today?"

Noah discovered that at this moment, the elven royal family's delicate face had a melancholy feeling, as if facing a mountain of documents and work.

Moreover, Livilia, who always paid great attention to her appearance, was now leaning her head on the table with one hand supporting her cheek.

Noah was very familiar with this expression, and he knew that people with this expression were often in a very bad mood, and might explode with just a spark.

reason?

What excuse does a teacher need to find for hitting a student? Is it enough to just step in with your left foot?

This made him choose his words carefully and slow down his voice.

"Well, I plan to go to Amid's place this morning to deal with magic stones and dropped items. I'm not sure about the afternoon yet."

The elixirs made by the Dean Kate clan are the most effective in the city, so it is natural for any adventurer to go to the Pure White Healing Hospital to buy potions.

However, Noah said he was going to Amid, not to the Dean Kate clan...

For some reason, Livilia was somewhat concerned about the subtle difference.

Stopping rubbing her brows, Livilia looked through the drooping green hair and observed the cheek of the silver-haired boy.

"You went to look for that little girl from Dean Kate's house. What's the matter? Were you injured fighting Goliath yesterday? As I recall, you didn't drink many bottles of elixirs yesterday, did you?"

"No," Noah simply shook his head.

"But when I was buying medicine the day before yesterday, Ahmed said that if I went to her for a checkup every time I came back from the dungeon, she would sell it to me... She said something about a doctor's ethics, saying that a patient must never be cured by someone else."

In an instant, Livilia's eyes became sharp.

On the one hand, he used drugs to make the naive Noah make such a promise, and on the other hand, he secretly sold the information to me and asked me to monitor Noah?

Kill two birds with one stone, right?!

Although she didn't know why Amid did this, and didn't think it would harm Noah, Livilia was very concerned.

Okay, okay, the little girl from Dean Kate's family, I didn't expect that you would be so scheming at such a young age.

Noah shuddered as he felt an inexplicable chill spreading in the air. He subconsciously looked around but found no danger.

Livilia raised her slender right leg in a boot and gently kicked Noah to call his attention back.

"Don't go today. I'll go talk to the little girl from Dean Kate's family. Your mission for the next few days is to improve your ability as quickly as possible and prepare to join the expedition..."

"expedition?"

When Noah heard this word, Dean Kate and Amid were all forgotten, and his eyes suddenly brightened.

"Yes, Finn and I have discussed this. You will be the vanguard of the clan during the expedition. We'll also see if there's a chance we can encounter the two-headed dragon wandering between the 25th and 27th floors. Perhaps your great deeds will be enough..."

As she was thinking, Livilia noticed that Noah's collar was a little messy, so she subconsciously reached out to tidy it up.

"I won't follow you anymore. Be careful, okay?"

The gentle strength and faint warmth from his chest, as well as the faint fragrance from Livilia, caused ripples in Noah's heart.

"Livilia, have you been having a hard time lately? Do you want me to help you?"

When Livilia touched Noah's chest and felt the muscles under his clothes, she immediately realized that her actions were inappropriate.

But when she heard that Noah, a battle maniac, actually cared about her, she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, with a hint of relief in her eyes.

That’s great, it’s much less troublesome than Ai Si.

She smiled at Noah, the weariness on her face gone, and she stood up from her chair.

"Don't worry, it's just some trivial matters within the clan. I just feel a little discouraged when I think about having to argue with others over some minor interests."

As Livilia continued to narrate, Noah realized that she seemed a little tired because she was going to discuss the commission matters with the various clans next.

Even Loki's family often felt stretched when preparing the huge amount of supplies needed for the expedition.

Moreover, not every expedition's income can fully cover the expenses.

Rather, most of the time the losses are small, so that it takes two or three months to accumulate funds for an expedition that lasts a maximum of ten days to half a month.

In this situation, accepting various commissions becomes a necessary choice in order to obtain rewards and repay favors to the cooperating family.

Fortunately, as one of the few powerful families that can retrieve precious resources from the deep, merchants dare not bully small families and maliciously lower prices like the Loki family did.

Of course, I just don’t dare to take advantage too obviously. If I want to gain enough benefits, I still have to talk to them one by one.

This job fell on Livilia.