Chapter 1354: Reach

The seller’s eyes gleamed and he rubbed his hands together, smiling. He uttered more words Atticus couldn’t understand.

’He’s trying to haggle.’ Atticus realized. It became even more apparent Whisker couldn’t understand when he turned toward Atticus and cleared his throat.

"Give him one."

Atticus shook his head with a smile but listened. As a will stone radiating an intense crimson glow appeared on his arm, Atticus didn’t miss the shock in the man’s eyes.

’Is it too much? Or is it because it’s Redflame...’ He glanced at Whisker, who shrugged. It wasn’t like they could ask for change anyway.

He picked up more transparent gems before handing over the Redflame will stone to the man, whose eyes were now shining brightly.

"We should leave."

They left the baffled seller and walked out of the alleyway. Whisker chose a random spot for them to stop.

"If you would please." Whisker said to Atticus, who nodded. In the next moment, a mana barrier appeared around them, blocking their voices from reaching the outside world.

"These are empty willstones," Whisker began, stretching out the clear gems they had just purchased. "These are the mediums I mentioned. We need them in order to use our will."

Atticus collected one and scanned it. It looked like glass, except somehow he was sure it wouldn’t break even if he punched it.

"This fragile thing?" Ozeroth said, skeptical that something from a random shabby stall could do such a thing.

"How do we use it?" Kancilot asked.

"Smart question!" Whisker said, "unlike some."

Ozeroth realized the jab too late and glared at Whisker, but the latter had already begun explaining.

"You just make sure it’s in contact with your body before using your will. It’ll automatically siphon instead of the world. Once it’s full, you’ll be able to use it for whatever you want."

"How long will it last?" Atticus asked.

"Think of them like batteries. They have set power limits, can be recharged, and can get defective. You can deplete and recharge them a few times, but they’ll eventually reach their limits."

Atticus nodded, staring into the empty will stone once more. Wanting to see its limit, he focused and channeled his will into it. Atticus could feel his will getting siphoned into the stone, but soon enough he frowned.

’It’s low.’

"Are there grades to willstones?"

Whisker smiled wryly and nodded.

"And I guess this is the lowest grade?"

"Yep."

"And what we used to pay?"

"High grade."

Atticus sighed. "Of course."

Whisker had grabbed as many empty willstones as he could, but from the man’s reaction it was clear they were still at a loss.

"Relax, it’s not like we can collect change anyway. Plus, we have a truckload of willstones. We’re rich. The rich don’t brood, they spend."

"Thank you for letting me know that I can never trust you with money."

"You hurt me, my star actor! It’s me! Whisker Von Pounce! No one is more responsible!"

"Liar!" Ozeroth chimed in. He looked like he’d been waiting for this moment all his life. "I’d trust the entire middle plane before I trust you!"

"Well no one asked you! And see who’s speaking. You’d probably spend all that money trying to create a harem!" Whisker fired back.

"The great Ozeroth doesn’t require money! His handsome and charismatic personality will win them over!"

"Oh yeah!? How many have you won over so far?"

While Kancilot glanced between them, unsure of what to do, Atticus used the time to charge the rest of the empty willstones.

Though he had so many Redflame willstones in his possession, since he wasn’t of the Redflame path, he couldn’t use them.

"That’s enough. We have to move."

Whisker and Ozeroth exchanged a few more jabs before they listened. They continued their walk.

As they walked, Atticus gripped a charged will stone in his palm and watched as the world around him transformed.

Earlier, the words of the street sellers had been unintelligible, but now, he could hear them clearly. He became able to understand the words of the people walking around him. It felt... different.

Hours passed as they walked and Atticus had to stop Whisker again to ask him just how far they were going.

"Just a few thousand miles."

Atticus just stared, unable to hide his bafflement. "Walking is the only way to reach there?"

"Pfft, of course not. We could fly like them."

Atticus glanced up and saw people and objects whizzing past them. He turned towards Whisker again, who still held that amused smile. Atticus had never felt a stronger urge to punch someone’s face.

"Is there a reason you didn’t mention this before?"

"Of course, a good reason." Whisker sounded confident. "I wanted to take you on a magnificent tour! I’m awesome, aren’t I—"

"Did I ask you to take me on a tour?"

Whisker was taken aback. "No bu—"

"We’ve wasted hours, just walking. Hours." Atticus took a deep breath and calmed his mind. Whisker cleared his throat, averting his eyes.

"I guess that’s a bit much..."

Atticus flared. A bit!? A bit... but he took another deep breath and calmed himself. They couldn’t waste any more time.

"We’re flying there. Let’s go."

Mana enveloped the group, and they were tearing through the air in the next moment.

Atticus was shocked to see that they had just covered half of the journey before. If he hadn’t said anything, they’d still spend a few more hours on the road.

But with flight and speed, they reached their destination in less than a minute.

Atticus and the group landed in front of what could be considered barely a boundary. What differentiated the two places was that one was tarred and the other not. They were standing on the untarred side.

"Come on, it won’t bite." Whisker said, stepping onto the tarred ground. Ozeroth also followed, clearly trying to prove that he wasn’t scared of anything.

Eventually, Atticus also joined in, followed by Kancilot. There were no guards or checkpoints. As they passed, they simply began making their way through the paved streets of the mid parts. Not long after, they reached their destination.