My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

300 million zeni — that was how much zeni he had with him, liquid. This was a lot of money.

Damon couldn't suppress his smile.

Robbing that casino blind before burning it down was the best decision ever.

Then there were the jewels and trinkets he had gotten.

He was on a path to generational wealth.

Though this money would soon be lost… the money Lilith spent on Luna was no small sum, and the potions that kept her alive and moving were also expensive.

"This isn't enough to pay back Lilith."

Damon could understand why it was better to let people with magic circuit cancer die.

Noble families simply couldn't pay that much money — it wasn't worth it, except if you were a high noble, and even then, they were better off.

He gritted his teeth. All the money in the world could never compare to his sister's life.

Closing his eyes, he let the movement of the carriage rock him off to sleep… or at least he tried, until a woman's voice echoed.

"Are you sleeping?"

Damon sighed. This woman was back again.

She was really trying hard to make conversation.

"What do you want…"

She smiled at him.

"So you're not sleeping. That's good. It's dangerous to sleep on top of a moving carriage — especially since monsters can attack."

He closed his eyes, bathing in the sunlight as she chirped off.

This woman was called Lena. She was a dark-haired adventurer at the first class advancement. She looked quite young, but evidently, she was actually in her late twenties.

She had been part of the group of adventurers that had stopped Damon when he had initially met the caravan.

She had a tendency to chirp off — and maybe give lectures on safety — seeing as she was supposedly the more experienced adventurer.

Though Damon was of a higher rank than her.

He didn't give her a response. It's been a few days since he joined this caravan heading to Ronel.

Honestly, it had been uneventful. The road was slow and boring — some low-level monster attacks, but none that he needed to interfere.

Damon stood up, glancing at her.

'Why are you here?'

She smiled, rolling her hair on her fingers.

He watched her with a deadpan expression.

'I have no idea what she wants… but I'm a minor.'

Well, not that she knew that, but it was better not to jump to conclusions about her intentions.

"Well… I've just noticed you were always alone. You don't talk to anyone, and you brush off everyone who tries to…"

Damon glanced at her as the carriages moved down the wide road.

Was she seriously pitying him… or just upset he was lonely? He didn't feel offended. This almost reminded him of Leona. She had gone out of her way to break his walls and make him more open to others.

"I see."

That was all he said to her. If this had been the past, he might have said something rude — but it seemed Leona's efforts paid off.

She bit her lips, glaring…

"This is a long journey, and maybe you've forgotten, but no one survives alone on Aetherus. That's why adventurers have parties and guilds. The whole world is out to kill us. We gotta stick together…"

Damon suppressed the urge to smile as she began another lecture.

"Heheheheahah…" he laughed lightly. This woman really was as pure and kind-hearted as Leona.

She glared at him.

"Why are you laughing? I didn't say anything funny…"

Damon smiled, his face still hidden by the hood.

"No one survives alone, huh… I find that doubtful — or I would have, if I had not seen what I have seen and know what I know…"

She glanced at him, confused for a moment. Then she raised an eyebrow.

"Errmh… okay. If you knew that, why are you alone…?"

Damon smiled, pulling down his hood. When he did, she stopped talking, her gaze fixed on his person.

He had long dark hair and a crown on his head.

"My name is Damon… nice to meet you, Lena."

She didn't move her gaze from his face…

"Ahh… ahh…"

Damon tilted his head at her reaction.

Is something the problem…?

She shook her head, bowing awkwardly.

"I… I am sorry… I had no idea I was standing in front of royalty…"

Damon smiled. He wasn't royalty — but the audacity to wear a crown despite being a commoner was unheard of.

"That's not the right courtesy — and I'm not royalty… you can stop."

She raised her head slightly as if she didn't believe him before nodding slowly.

Damon tapped the side next to him.

"Have a seat…"

She nodded, then slowly sat down on the moving carriage, the wind blowing their hair.

He glanced at her.

"You can relax — I don't bite…"

She nodded.

Damon found her awkward silence unusual for the woman who had pestered him for the past two days.

He smiled at her.

"So… why don't you start by telling me about this caravan…"

She nodded. "If you want… I mean, we came from Lorndale — actually, no, we came from the Beenes but stopped at Lorndale… There's a war between the two lords of the area, so there's some refugees and people who want to leave. It's been nine years since the demon wars, and there's no sign of another one — so alliances are breaking…"

Damon looked at the large caravan.

"Where are they going, then? Nowhere is safe from war. This is Soltheon — the war continent — and Aetherus is a world lit up by the light of war."

She shook her head. "They're moving to newer homes — somewhere in the Holy Empire. There's a place where the wars don't reach. It's remote and quiet… that's where they want to go…"

Damon nodded. This was the world of Aetherus — war was constant here. But that didn't mean the common folk wanted it.

They had no choice.

War was everywhere here. It was worshiped and revered… and doom was embraced and accepted. War brought doom.

She shook her head, not letting herself get depressed.

"Why don't I tell you about the adventurers here? There are several parties."

Damon didn't care much. Only one party caught his eyes.

He pointed at a party in the distance.

"Who are they?"

There was a pause. Then Lena narrowed her eyes.

"Those guys are eccentrics…" She glanced at them one by one and named them. "I don't know much… but this is what I heard from them.

"The one there is the leader — Veyne Astair. His nickname is 'Unnoticed Singularity.'"

Damon paused when he heard that name get mentioned.

Lena didn't notice but continued.

"That one is called Eivind 'Wimpy' Waltson. They just call him Wimpy."

She pointed at another — an elf.

"That's not a woman — he's a man. His name is Aleph. The one next to him is called Ilukras."

She pointed again.

"The handsome one is called Leon Saint… he has a heart of gold.

"The arrogant-looking one is the Twilight Reaper — his name is also Twilight."

Damon nodded.

She whispered in his ear.

"The lunar moth guy is apparently a moon-obsessed pedo called Dred…"

As soon as she said that —

Damon heard the person in question stand up.

"No, I'm not! Which bastard is slandering me?!"

It was then that the one called Saint Leon stood up with a completely serious expression.

"Yeah… there's nothing wrong if he likes little girls. Thirteen is a ripe age… he's only an embarrassment to the group."

Dred gasped.

"Yo… you… my… whose side are you on?!"