SPIRIT SOUL

Kyle didn't comment anything on her outburst and acted as if he hadn't heard anything.

Replying to her, he simply stated,

"Please give me Pryr crystals in exchange for the corpses."

Upon hearing him, Gaby, who was still visibly agitated, stored away the corpses.

She didn't say a word but only picked out a total of 10 Pryr crystals.

While she was counting the crystals, Kyle was taking a look around.

His eyes roamed through the Guildhall, searching for something, only to be unable to find what he was looking for.

He was hesitant to irk her with more questions but then he couldn't wait all day to let her calm down. As such, he tried to ask in a careful voice.

"I heard that I can lease equipment. Where can I find the list of the goods I can lease and the corresponding prices? I would also need the list pertaining to the goods sold in the Guild shop if possible…"

Kyle was trying to be courteous and inquire nicely while trying to avoid mentioning Dirk's name which the receptionist noticed.

As such, she could only sigh deeply before she took out two thin books. One book was about the Guild's shop and the other one was about the goods one could rent.

"The prices stated in the book about leased goods are chargeable on a per day basis.

If you lease something for a week, it's 10% cheaper, and for a month you receive a 20% discount.

You can also purchase used goods as they're 25% cheaper than new goods. This includes the spatial rings.

However, if you lose something you've rented, you will have to pay the full price of the leased goods as compensation!"

Kyle nodded his head while ensuring to not look into her eyes as it was something she was visibly uncomfortable about.

Despite thinking like that, he couldn't help himself but feel that her injury was not caused by a direct attack but something else.

This caused Kyle to stare at her for a moment.

Only then did he realize that she was probably even younger than he had expected. It was only her stern expressions and behavior that made him believe that she was much older.

Nevertheless, there was no need to think about it any further and dig into her past.

It might be interesting for later as it involved Milli, who seemed to be still on good terms with Dirk, but in the end, Kyle had nothing to do with their personal lives.

He had many tasks at hand and places to explore. Thus, he thought about her words for a moment before making a decision.

Instead of leasing a small spatial ring in exchange for the Pryr crystals he had received, Kyle simply stored everything away before he turned his attention towards Gaby.

"See you tomorrow!" Smiling lightly, he tried to cheer her up.

After getting to know her story he couldn't help but feel sad for her.

Based on her spontaneous outburst, she had lost her entire family three years ago.

To make matters worse, she had also lost her sight partially as a result of the aftermath.

She had only looked at him with a stoic expression and Kyle had decided to take her to leave.

While walking outside the Guildhall, followed by Selene, he had even forgotten that the Emerald Fox had still been laying on his shoulder.

Gaby had noticed this, but she had been too agitated to bother wasting her time in small talk.

Sitting down, she took a deep breath as her colleagues approached her.

They had been patiently waiting for Kyle and Selene to leave so as to not further create a spectacle of her and stir drama.

Once they saw that they were well out of earshot, her colleagues tried to help her relax.

"Calm down Gaby, everything is fine now.."

Just after these words were issued they heard another Adventurer voice out his opinion.

He had been standing in the queue, waiting for his goods to be inspected, and had witnessed the entire fiasco.

"Pushing all the blame on Dirk is not correct either...Jeal told him that everyone had evacuated aft-...."

At that moment, before the Cultivator could finish his sentence, he abruptly stopped speaking.

Gaby had shot several ice needles in his direction that shot past him while her icy eyes seemed to pierce through him.

"SHUT IT!"

**

While they returned to Milli's guest house, Selene was looking at Kyle with doubt.

She had expected that they would go out for another hunt, but the plan seemed to have changed.

Kyle was deep in thoughts, oblivious to the Emerald fox that lay on his shoulders let alone Selene, who followed him silently.

It was only when he heard the footsteps of someone rushing towards them that Kyle looked up.

They were less than 100 meters away from Milli's guest house as Milli ran towards them.

She was visibly frustrated and desperation was plainly written all over her face.

Before Kyle could even open his mouth, Milli had already exclaimed.

"Is it true that Dirk met Gaby??"

While Kyle was observing Milli, Selene nodded her head, answering in place of Kyle.

"If you mean the Gaby with the injured eye, then yes."

Speaking to her as if it was no big deal, Selene was able to stay rational.

But, on the other hand, Milli frowned deeply as she mumbled to herself.

"That's why he suddenly started drinking…"

Seeing that he had nothing to add, Kyle wanted to excuse himself and let Selene do the talking. He had almost turned around when he felt something around his arm.

It was Milli who had grabbed his and Selene's hand.

"Please don't misunderstand the situation and think badly of Dirk! He didn't do anything with a bad intention. It was his bad luck that he had been misinformed about the Blood Nasga's attack, and evacuation process when they infiltrated the town!!"

Her voice was laced with nervousness and desperation.

It almost felt as if she wanted to protect Dirk with all her efforts and shield him from further guilt or sadness.

At that moment, Kyle noticed that something was off which caused him to look at Selene.

'Milli's husband seems to have died and Dirk is her new partner, huh?'

Yet, instead of stating his assumption out loud, Kyle simply responded in a clear voice.

"If you don't want us to misunderstand anything, please start from the beginning. Otherwise, it will be too confusing and we won't understand anything at all.

And let's leave the streets, and return to your guesthouse. If you don't want to let everyone hear how frustrated and angsty you feel, it would be best to talk inside!"

Initially, Kyle had wanted to steer clear of others' personal issues and focus on getting stronger.

So far, he had followed that diligently and aimed at earning lots of cultivation crystals and purchasing several things.

One of his goals had been to find a great place to cultivate and advance his strength with Selene and the Emerald Fox by his side!

Unfortunately, it looked as if this was not possible anymore, as even he felt a little curious about the entire situation regarding Dirk and Milli.

Thus, Kyle decided that hearing the entire story from Milli in one go would be far better instead of hearing it in fractions through rumors and hearsay.

He realized that the most efficient way to figure out the town's situation, whether it was their defenses, social interactions or problems was to find it from the ordinary citizens.

After hearing Kyle, Milli realized that she was indeed being a little jumpy and anxious.

Thanking him in her mind for putting some sense into her, she nodded her head.

As she calmed down, her erratic breathing returned to normal, before she cleared her throat.

"You're right. Let's go to the dining room…"

With that being said, they went into the dining room, where Kyle and Selene found Dirk.

He was seated in the corner of the room, drinking beer out of a large mug.

Dirk didn't even notice them arrive, let alone the fact that Nina, who was healed, was playing around him.

He had tried to drink his worries away so he was not even aware that Milli had begun to tell Kyle and Selene what had happened three years ago!

Apparently, a large number of Blood Nasgas had attacked Vila town on an inconspicuous day like any other.

If rumors were to be believed, they hailed from some sort of unique bloodline of the Nasga race with great talent in the cultivation path of strength.

Because they had launched a surprise attack on the town at dawn when most of the citizens were sound asleep, the Blood Nasgas had been able to break through the defensive layers in two different locations.

In an effort to defend the town, the town guards had decided to evacuate the rather secluded areas of the town as it was extremely difficult to defend.

This decision had been the root cause of the problems and why Gaby had begun to loathe Dirk!

While everyone had been safely transported to a safe shelter, Gaby's family had heard the guard's announcement too late.

Adding to the dilemma of the family was Gaby's mother's health.

She had been bedridden owing to a severe illness that made it difficult for her to even move.

This had slowed down their pace considerably, preventing them from moving as fast as others.

Their slow speed had already unwrapped a fresh set of severe issues to the guards, who were already feeling immense pressure to defend the town at two different positions.

Unable to fake the tension, and pressure weighing on him, a guard, called Jael came into the picture.

According to Milli's statement, he seemed to have informed Dirk that the reclusive area had been safely evacuated, which was a blatant lie!

This particular guard had long since left the town because he felt too ashamed of himself to look into anyone's eyes for the grave mistake he had done.

But he was not the only one to feel so. The same applied to Dirk who had made a severe mistake!

He had left the defensive line which the guard captain, Gaby, had ordered him to protect.

His split-second decision had left a gaping hole in their defenses, as he had been scared to death about Milli and Nina's safety. Thus, he had not only disobeyed his senior's orders but also become the reason for her insufferable loss.

On that day, many citizens had died, but Dirk had protected the vast majority of citizens.

Despite not listening to Gaby, he had done his part in massacring the infiltrating Blood Nasga and single-handedly saving a lot more lives than he normally could.

The guilt of putting his selfish interests before his duties had been gnawing at Dirk, making him recklessly kill the infiltrators left and right.

Most of the town folks had witnessed his bravery which was why a majority of them believed that Dirk had done everything correctly with the intel he had received!

Despite that, Milli's husband had been one of the casualties, with many other citizens which not even the healer was able to save!

Amongst the casualties was Gaby's entire family that might have survived if Dirk hadn't left his spot.

Though at that time, he was doing all he could and wasn't even aware that Gaby's family was in danger.

Due to her loss, Gaby blamed everyone, and she had been consumed by anger.

Her hurt and resentment had morphed into the desire to avenge her family by killing both guard Jael and Dirk.

In a mad fit of rage, she had even attempted to kill them but luckily she was held back by the town's Guildmaster, who had taken the young woman under her wing.

Because the contagious blood of hundreds of Blood Nasga had splattered into Gaby's eyes, something about her them had changed.

In the beginning, she had only felt a slight itch which she thought would heal on its own in some days.

However, it had begun to turn into pain before she began to lose her vision.

While Milli had been sharing the harrowing tale, Kyle and Selen had heard every spoken word in rapt attention.

She finished recounting the incident with the last few sentences that showed Dirk's remorse.

Milli had also hinted at something else that caused Kyle to look at her with doubt.

"We haven't found a cure for Gaby's illness, and Dirk, who has spent the last three years searching for a cure, has so far been unable to find even a single clue about it either!

It was only her family that died because Dirk left his assigned position, you know...he wasn't aware that they hadn't evacuated because the other guard had told him otherwise!

Gaby doesn't believe that, but everyone else is aware of the truth...she is still hurting. It was Dirk's fault to leave his position, but…*sigh* ...on that day my husband died too...you know, almost everyone lost someone close to them."

In the beginning, Kyle had been interested in the story, but it turned out to be quite different than he had expected it to be.

However, the last few sentences were interesting as they included Milli throwing words like 'we didn't know' and many other excuses that were lined up one after another.

At that moment, Kyle realized something he hadn't expected to be possible.

After hearing her, he was able to put the tiny pieces of the big puzzle together which allowed him to finally understand what was going on!