HEX: Aspect Of The Void

Are you all ready?" The coachman asked us.

Myself, Talia, Ana and Shamac all responded positively.

He looked at us and nodded with his unusually cheerful demeanor.

"Alright then, let us begin. Giddy up!" He said, using his bridle to take charge of the horses he controlled. Before long, they moved and hurried, dragging along the luxurious travel carriage we sat in, and ventured out of the city.

Everyone on the carriage, except for myself, looked behind them as they gazed at the city which grew smaller and smaller in their sights due to our constantly increasing distance from it.

I merely smiled at their display of childishness and giddy expressions. Even Ana seemed excited, though she tried hard not to show it. Before long, however, she also joined the fray.

We've only spent a short while in this city, yet the events that have occured here make it feel longer than that. 

Before we left Artia, I obviously needed to sort out some things and leave behind a system that doesn't depend on me to function. I left Lorna in charge of Imperius Auction House, making her the acting manager in my stead. This is the most optimal call to make since there's no one nearly as competent as she is there.

As for my Black Market empire, Borgos is running it smoothly for me, and since I have greatly ensured their obedience, there's no way any of them will act out of line, even in my absence. 

Before I also left, I ordered the Mayor to call out all the major stakeholders in the city, from the head of the trade union to the head of the tax office, and every other important figure in Artia. Using the huge amount of wealth at my disposal, I successfully bribed every single one of them.

It is unnecessary to put every single strategic person under my Influence through forceful mental orientation. By merely giving them the correct Incentives, even an enemy can turn into a harmless ally.

Besides, even though my mind orientation methods within Root leave no traces of Hex, there's no guarantee that Apostles who are sensitive to my activities won't be able to sense it.

In that case, it's best I only limit it's use to the upper echelon, leaving other methods such as bribery and threats for the lesser ones who will have more frequent encounter with those pesky people.

With everything in order, there's nothing left for me in Artia. For the next phase of my plan, I'll need a place with more action and combat activity. The best place for that, and the nearest one is the Adventurers City, Lamar.

Lamar, as the title implies, is a city whose major occupation and association is related to the adventuring business and career. Adventurers are individuals who earn wealth and fame through carrying out missions called quests.

Adventurers, as the title imply, go on adventures. They go through all kinds of things and venture through many different places. According to the memories I obtained, they are the ones who recover most Relics that exist in this modern world. 

They also possess incredible strength and prowess which allow them to hunt monsters and overcome several challenges. A lot of them use Arts as well as Relics.

Top tier adventurers possess more than a single Relic, and are even more proficient in it's use than the nobles and some of the Imperial Knights I have encountered. After all, they are the ones at the forefront when it comes to Relics.

"A lot has truly changed since I died" I muttered to myself, looking through the windows of the carriages as I viewed the lush forests beside us.

It will be quite an interesting experience for me, being in the city of Lamar. I'll be able to obtain very valuable information in form of memories and personal experience. 

Since my knowledge of this world is limited, and the ones I have encountered in the city know very little concerning Relics and how they work, it's time for me to meet the experts.

Obtaining the right transportation wasn't difficult. As someone with high prestige and unlimited connections in Artia, I easily got a luxurious carriage with one of the best coachmen to serve me.

Since I can't use 'Warp' to teleport to the city, for several reasons, and it will take too long on foot, we'll have to rely on the carriage.

The pathway looks clean and free, devoid of any plantlife. Since this road is used very often, there can be nothing seen growing on it. Also, since Artia is a commerce city, there's more than enough money to go into the construction and maintenance of roads.

I chattering sounds coming from my side. Talia and Ana were engaged in a heated discussion, something about power levels and combat experience. These people never get tired of this, do they? It looks like Shamac is playing the middleman, being forced to take Talia's side, but also not wanting to offend Ana since he is clearly attracted to her.It's almost surprising how well Ana has blended in with the group.

When I arrived at the house Phobio gave me, I met everywhere in shambles. Fortunately I had already kept a barrier there to keep it isolated from the normal world, or else it would have caused quite the commotion.

After I interrupted the last fight, between Talia and Ana, it had no clear winner.

They explained to me that after Ana had explained my plans to Talia and Shamac, they were both upset with me and threatened by her presence.

In order to prove her superiority, Talia challenged Ana to a fight. Ana agreed, but on the condition that Shamac joined in to support Talia since she wouldn't feel it as a challenge otherwise.

Talia reluctantly agreed, thinking she would quickly make Ana eat her words. Unknown to her, Ana is a beast stronger than the two of them combined. With Grace, especially one from a god like Hades, they stood no chance to begin with. Luckily for them, Ana emptied her arsenal to fight me previously... If not, they would not have lasted that long against her.

Even now, since there was no clear victor between them, Talia still argues with Ana, who is also argueing back, who the stronger one is.

Shamac tries to intervene, but is pushed aside since his words don't matter due to the fact that he lost. 

How nostalgic.

This reminds of me of how my siblings also got into arguments and fights over almost every little thing.