While panting heavily, even more than Vera, Draven hissed. Every part of his body ached. Now that he had relaxed, the pain came flooding in.
He lowered his head, seeing his armor splattered with blood in various places and fragmented in multiple areas, especially the arm.
Every part of his arm that was broken was bleeding.
Raising his head, he noticed Vera's armor was worse than his, but her body wasn't bleeding.
'Looks like my Physique and Constitution fall below the line when I use Igni Vitalis. That means—'
"Stop staring at my body!" Vera's snap brought him back.
He immediately realized his eyes were fixed on her, which wasn't appropriate given their armor's condition.
"Sorry." He turned and faced the Haven.
'My body condition is going to be a problem. If a First Order Transient monster can batter it to this extent, a Third Order Transient monster will kill me in a breath. I need someone to explain the… Elite System to me. Not receiving Physique and Constitution attributes when I ascend… this must be the flaw the Soul Mystic spoke of.'
"So," Vera's voice interrupted him. "Why didn't you attend classes apart from battle classes? And how did you suddenly become an Elite?"
He turned to her and mused whether to tell the truth or brush it off. His lips curled beneath his mask as he thought of something.
Taking off his mask, he stared at her and said solemnly, "You see, I've been chased by death. I ran, tried my best to escape, but I was still too slow. So, I met death face-to-face, and I can tell you, all those people writing fictional tales about it know nothing. Then it took my soul to hell, where I witnessed the gate of hell—"
"Okay. Okay. No need for that if you don't want to say it," she cut him off.
He laughed at her twitching cheeks and eyebrows, finally relaxing since he received the new death date. At least he had completed the first ascension, so his future wasn't too bleak.
"As for how I awakened, I just went home, slept, and woke up to see a panel in front of me," he shrugged.
"You know, I always thought you were the aloof kind, who was nonchalant about talking to us. Like that clique of rich students," Vera said.
"Nope. Not like that. I was just fixing my life."
"Let's go to the Haven." Vera stood up and walked towards it.
Although his body still ached, he wore his mask, pulled himself up, and quickly followed her. With his soul sense active, they made their way to the Haven. Fortunately, nothing intercepted their path.
Upon reaching the Haven, he withdrew his mask. Draven saw tall fences, made from wide rectangular silver material that joined side by side, surrounding the Haven. Many people were going in and out, in groups and alone. Some were returning injured. Most were teenagers. Everybody wore their armor, with some exquisite armor making Draven realize how ugly his was.
"So, what do we do?" he asked.
She turned to him. "You don't know?"
He shook his head. "I only know that from the spawning site, I have to get to the Haven."
"Everybody knows that! That's why you should attend classes or do personal research. Let's go get a room," she snapped and strolled inside.
Draven shook his head and joined her. He decided to just silently tag along, with his aching body making him want to quickly return home.
Inside the Haven were rows of silver buildings.
Vera led Draven deeper into the Haven until they reached the middle, where a black dome stood, with a narrow door that could barely fit two people.
Both of them strolled inside.
Inside, the dome was dimly lit, with Elites entering and leaving a small black room in the center. Surrounding the black room were two rows of buildings—structured like those outside, except these were made of black material instead of silver—and a large house made of the same material with a plaque above the wide door: COUNCIL ASSOCIATION STORE.
"Let's go." Vera approached the Council Association Store with Draven beside her.
When they entered, there were few people inside, speaking with the receptionists behind the desk.
Vera walked up to one of the female receptionists.
"Hello, we're new Elites and just returned from the spawn site."
"You just came from the spawn site?" the girl asked, gawking at their battered armor.
"Yes," Vera replied.
She regained her composure and returned her gaze to their faces.
She spoke professionally, "Welcome to North Haven, Green House Rank 1 Plane. I will tell you the rules of the Haven. First, killing humans is forbidden, or you will be tried and sentenced on Earth. Secondly, seriously injuring humans is also forbidden here."
Vera and Draven nodded.
"As for what the Haven does, we provide a safe room with an exclusive key gear for you. However, if your key is destroyed or goes missing, which rarely happens, as it's not a weapon gear, you will repay us with six Second Order Transient monster crystals to get a new one. Any questions?"
Both of them shook their heads.
"Now for the best part." She smiled. "The Council Association Store buys monster crystals at the best prices. We also buy and sell gears at the best prices. You can also give them to us to place on our website to be sold at customized prices, and we only take a 5% commission from the sale. My name is Nina George, and I'm the best person to meet if you want to buy or sell gears. I do everything smoothly, efficiently, and swiftly."
Vera and Draven stared at the smiling girl, slack-jawed.
"Looks like I've blabbed enough," she laughed and stretched out her hand.
Vera shook it.
Then her hand switched to Draven, and he shook it.
[+1 Gear Received.]
"Don't forget: I'm your number one planar dealer."
"You sell monster crystals?" Draven suddenly asked.
Nina shook her head. "We don't sell monster crystals, only gears."
"Okay."
"Seeing that you're battered, you should go home and rest; you can come and check your room tomorrow. It's not going anywhere, since you've received the key. The Beacon is in the house at the center."
They nodded before leaving.
After coming out, Draven told Vera, "I'm going home to rest."
"Me too."
Upon entering the room, they saw a person walking out of the mirror in the center.
Both of them entered the mirror and appeared in the room inside the Council Association. There were few people inside.
"It's nice to be back," Draven mumbled.
They bumped into that receptionist outside.
"Miss Grace?" Vera called out.
"Go and shower before leaving," she said without turning.
"See you around," Vera said before leaving.
Draven took a painful shower before leaving after changing into his clothes.
'Tomorrow is going to be hectic.'
He fell asleep the moment his head hit the bed, not having the energy to even check the key.