NOVEL WEB Chapter 151: Mission
The world on this side of the portal reeked of blood and sweat—yet just beyond that rippling threshold, hope beckoned with a strange, electric promise. Rael lingered, heart pounding, as the last of the beggars vanished into the light.
He looked at the man whose mere touch had sent waves of warmth flooding through more than a hundred bodies, knitting flesh and bone. The air still shimmered faintly with the scent of blood and sweat, but beneath it lingered the crisp tang of something new—hope. Surely, this man was powerful beyond reason.
Besides, the people around him all looked quite powerful—but for him to act as their leader and go as far as to save them, which meant opposing the King of the Kingdom of Sphamain in their very capital city—
He does not fear the king at all.
It gave him hope even more now.
That horrifying scene replayed in his mind with every shallow breath, the iron stench of blood and the desperate screams of that night echoing behind his eyes.
Destroying this kingdom and killing all those who were responsible for his father's death was his goal.
A life goal.
Even if he died trying, he wouldn't give up on it.
Anything to see this city burn.
That might be the day the scene of his father getting dragged by the guards and being impaled to death would leave him.
He welcomed the ache in his chest, the phantom sting of loss with every heartbeat—a pain he would carry until the city itself choked on ash.
He promised he would bring justice to his father.
"Sir... If I ever become strong enough—will I have the right to return here?" Rael's voice trembled, thick with longing and buried rage.
There was also some hesitation on his face.
Leon met his eyes, voice low and unwavering. "Return when strength is truly yours. The day you can stand before the Awakening Dungeon, this city's gates will open for you again. Any of you who prove your worth will earn that right."
Rael's eyes solidified with interest, as he also needed to awaken before taking on the Royal Palace. He needed to become much, much stronger—and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity.
Now he didn't have to risk sneaking into a dungeon, whether it was in the divine being's world or here.
But from the divine's words, Rael understood that his world might not have any dungeon—but that didn't stop him from getting stronger.
He entered the portal, his feet tingling as he stepped through the rippling light. For a heartbeat, the world spun—then cool air wrapped around him, washing away the city's grime and the taste of hunger from his tongue.
He would have survived this place somehow because dying was not an option; he would have eaten another human if he had to, but these opportunities were too precious. He was eternally grateful.
Now, he didn't have to eat those disgusting rats anymore, and he could see the path ahead—which was a bit foggy before.
Leon looked at Kaela and the other three knights beside her.
His brows drew together, shadowing eyes that gleamed with a hard look—his expression carved in stone, unreadable but tense with suppressed energy.
Seraphine had noticed it all, yet she waited for him to bring it up himself. Yet she couldn't understand what was worrying him—the strongest man in the entire Lower Domain.
The image of him covered in golden light appeared in her mind. She kept her silence, as he seemed to have something to say to the knights.
"Kaela and the rest of you—I have something I need you all to do, and I want it to happen as soon as possible. Take the other four knights back home as well so you can complete the mission earlier."
Their curiosity piqued. What was it that their young lord, who was possibly divine, needed to happen so fast?
Kaela saluted, followed by the other three knights. "Just say the word, my lord. We'll see it finished, whatever it takes."
Leon was satisfied with their quick response. With a wave of his hand, he summoned eight pouches from his inventory, each with beautiful embroidery of gold on it.
Two of each pouch floated in front of every knight and gently hovered into their hands as they held them.
Each pouch landed with a solid weight in the knights' hands, the fabric cool and slick beneath their fingers. The faint metallic clink inside set their nerves tingling, the gold embroidery glinting in the sunlight.
Leon's words sounded once again.
"I want you to buy as much basic clothing, furniture, tents, even wood that can be used to make simple houses, medicines, basic bandages, soap, shoes... That's not all—buy everything you can that can be used for hundreds or thousands of people to have at least basic living conditions."
"But there is no limit to how much you can buy. Try to spend all the money I've given you—if you can."
He paused for a moment and continued.
"Also buy seeds of vegetables and fruits too—every kind enough to sustain a city. But do try to focus more on those that don't need much sunlight to grow."
He knew there was no sun inside his dimensional space, yet there was always light that gave him the feeling of the time just before sunset.
It was worth a try to see if normal plants would grow inside or not.
"And I suggest that after the first batch for at least a thousand people is done and reported to Seraphine—continue the purchases until the festival starts. Buy as much as you can, even if you have to empty every shop in this city or bear the cost of transportation and get it from the nearest city."
The knights were a bit perplexed and even confused now. Buying supplies for a thousand people seemed fine, and from the weight of the pouches full of coins in their hands, it was clear to them each had around 100 gold coins.
But they doubted that 800 gold coins would be enough for buying supplies going beyond the count of a thousand people—especially when they had to take every necessity into account.
Even the basic and cheapest set of clothing started from above 50 bronze coins. For a thousand people to live, they would need at least 3 sets of basic clothing.
At least 3000–4000 silver coins would be spent on just the clothing alone, considering the price variation. And 50 bronze coin clothing were used ones—finding them in bulk would be a problem in a single city, taking time into factor.
So they could expect to spend 50–60 gold coins just on clothing alone.
There was also furniture, wood, and all the equipment he had ordered to build houses. Things like sewing machines—he didn't give them a number for them—but those things cost a hefty sum, at least 10 gold coins.
800 gold would barely cover the cost—even if it was such an astronomical amount of money.
Kaela was the one to question him.
"Young lord, with respect… that amount can't possibly cover it all. I was thinking—"
She was going to suggest that there were only 600 or so beggars, so these supplies would be enough.
Leon silenced her with a subtle gesture. "All of you take a look inside the pouch."
A thought appeared in her mind, but she dismissed it. It can't be… or could it be? Perhaps there was one or two platinum coins inside.
That would make sense for his orders.
So all of them opened their pouches at the same time. Everyone was curious.
As they loosened the drawstrings, a dazzling flash of platinum caught the light—coins stacked so tightly they gleamed like frost. Kaela's hand shook; the cold metal bit into her palm, her pulse drumming in her ears as the reality of their fortune set in.
The pouches were filled with platinum coins—not gold.