The Greatest Sinner

Basilisk was pretty fast, so in half an hour Evan and Malespera were already quite far from Inlas. One of the most criminal cities was mired in the flames of war, and no one knew what would eventually happen. But, Evan was sure that Inlas to change a lot. Some organizations would become weaker and lose everything, while others, on the contrary, would become much more powerful and influential. Of course, because of Evan and Roland's actions, Paper Hydrangea was significantly weakened.

Evan decided to go to Vextin for two reasons. First, it was a big city with tremendous opportunities. Second, the location of the town was perfect for Evan.

Vextin was very close to one of the Demon Tree bases. Evan had recently broken through his first "Barrier" stage, the 'One-Pointed Star.' He was now qualified enough to join the Demon Tree. 

However, Evan decided to take his time..

<Hmm, Avice said they haven't yet accepted anyone who hasn't broken through the first "Barrier" stage, the 'One-Pointed Star.'> Evan thought, looking at the hills ahead.

He wanted to be properly prepared before joining the Demon Tree. He needed Malespera as a potentially powerful ally and a valuable specimen to experiment with. She was the only one besides Evan with a crimson "Warp" at the moment. 

Vextin was located in the north of 'The Kingdom of Fallen Hopes.' Among several mountains that were so high and massive that clouds hid their summit. The temperature there was shallow, but even so, the land was very fertile. The inhabitants of Vextin survived and developed thanks to unique plants that adapted to the low temperatures. But, they also caused the cold to get colder every year.

These plants have adapted to survive in such conditions and even, on the contrary, try to improve them. The lower the temperature, the higher they grew and the larger their fruit was. In ten years, the average temperature in Vextin could drop from -10 to -15 degrees. It wasn't too much of a change, but the situation would be many times worse in a hundred years.

But, the inhabitants of Vextin were lucky. There were huge deposits of "Flame Crystals" under the mountains. They were filled with mana and were very expensive. They were used to create "Catalysts," armor and artifacts, but also had other uses. Thanks to unique mechanisms, "Flame Crystals" simultaneously raised the temperature and infused frost plants with mana. Thus, the average temperature in Vextin practically did not change.

At any moment, city dwellers could use more Flame Crystals and adjust the temperature. The average temperature in Vextin was -10, sometimes it would go down to -15 and rise to a maximum of -5.

The inhabitants of Vextin couldn't destroy the frost plants, and they were the most important part of their economy. The fruits were extremely useful in alchemy and were worth quite a lot, moreover they could be nourished for a long time. They were delicious and nutritious.

After a few hours of flight, Evan had already reached the northern part of the kingdom. A cold wind was blowing, and the snowy mountains could be seen in the distance.

"It's very cold..." Malespera muttered, trying to warm herself somehow.

<I'll have to buy a spell to resist the cold.> Evan thought, and his spatial ring glowed.

He tossed Malespera a set of winter clothes. He knew where he was going, so he had everything he needed ready yesterday.

"Malespera, what weapon would you like to fight with?" Evan asked.

There was still about half a day before they arrived at Vextin. During that time, Evan wanted to go through the contents of the spatial rings and pick out the most valuable items for himself and Malespera. He would sell the rest at Vextin.

"What kind of weapons...? Hmm, maybe a sword or a staff? I don't know." Malespera replied.

"A sword or staff, simple but effective, good." Proclaimed Evan and began to pick up a suitable weapon for Malespera.

Paper Hydrangea's vault had many weapons of rank zero, but they were not on the stands. Weapons of that rank were in spatial rings, and it was more like a huge mountain of different blades, swords, axes, and staffs.

<Hmm, Malespera hasn't chosen her element yet. She's learning all the spells I give her. She needs a weapon that doesn't depend on any element. Something neutral but still powerful and not too complicated.>

<I think this will do and this and this...>. Evan had nothing to do, so he decided to move all Malespera needed into one spatial ring.

Evan's spatial ring was 100 cubic meters in volume, but the Paper Hydrangea's vault had 6 rings of 300 cubic meters in volume. That was a huge amount of space, and such spatial rings were costly.

Three of the rings were taken by Roland, and Evan took three. Initially, Evan thought he wouldn't be able to use them since some were the second rank, but he saw all the contents when he poured in the mana.

Evan was a little surprised, but he quickly realized that each spatial ring had a special spell placed on it. This was so that every member of Paper Hydrangea could use a spatial ring from the vault if needed.

It was a very fortunate coincidence. Evan decided, to keep two 300 cubic meter spatial rings for himself and give one to Malespera. It would last her a long time. Evan would sell the rest of the spatial rings just like everything else.

After about two hours, Evan handed Malespera the spatial ring.

"Here, take it, put some mana into it, and you'll see a huge variety of things. There's armor, weapons, medicine, money, and a few other things in there just in case." Said Evan.

Evan moved everything he needed from the other rings into his two spatial rings. One he would wear and use at all times, and the other he left in a box inside this ring. He would sell the empty rings, as well as anything he didn't need.

...

"Evan, what is it?" Malespera pronounced, looking at the white flakes falling on her hands.

"It's snow," Evan answered calmly.

Today was the first time Malespera had seen snow, and she was amazed. She had never seen anything like it in her village. It was something new and unusual.

"We're almost there." Mumbled Evan looking at the huge city in the distance.

Vextin was so much bigger than Mossy Vulture or Inlas. Anything could be found in this city. Lots of blacksmiths, alchemists, and mages lived in Vextin and were constantly creating something. They were the driving force that developed this city.

Every town had stables, but Vextin had special places where people could rent or leave their flying beast. Evan saw this place in the distance and headed there.

The Basilisk obeyed all of Evan's commands, so they were already on the ground a minute later.

A man ran up to Evan and respectfully said: "Good afternoon, are you staying long? We can watch your beast if you like."

"How much?"

"Just a place one gold coin a day. But, if you want us to feed him and keep an eye on him, the price goes up to five gold coins a day." The worker quickly replied.

Evan nodded and tossed one platinum coin in his direction.

"Take good care of him." Said Evan and, calling Malespera, left the building.