The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1601

Vlitgar walked out of the Attainment Chamber sometime later and made his way over to the bar to sit next to Hao Xuan.

*sigh*

Head hung low and Malka's words still ringing loudly in his ears, he glanced over his shoulder at Hao Xuan's red face.

"You took my advice I see."

Hao Xuan's head lagged up and down in a drunken stupor.

"Goood~ drink....s-strong driink~ haahaa...ha..."

Vlitgar smiled inwardly before noticing the obsidian wine bottle in front of him. He motioned the merman over, "It went well?"

The merman nodded enthusiastically, "Yes lord! Its quality will have risen tenfold! Will you have it now? Should I bring another glass?"

"No no," Vlitgar stored the bottle away somewhere within his cloak and patted Hao Xuan on the shoulder, not noticing that the bottle was a lot lighter.

"Let's go for a walk brother Jin, maybe get you sobered up. Then you can ask your questions while I find a replacement piece for my armor in the-"

The words got lodged in his throat when he saw Hao Xuan casually stand up with plumes of steam rising off of him. But it smelled sweat and a little fruity.

"Pheew~ that was a STRONG drink!" Hao Xuan slapped his chest while stretching, "I don't usually get drunk that easily...or ever, haha."

Vlitgar's ears perked up as a hint of worry lingered in his gaze.

"Will you be alright, brother? Your heart is racing..."

"Hmm? Oh they do that, not often but sometimes. Really makes the blood flow better though."

Vlitgar's brow shot up as he realized it, "They?? You have two hearts?!"

Hao Xuan nodded without much thought, "Yup, last I checked."

"Ohh...that's...unexpected," he murmured to himself while his thoughts finally found reason in Malka's words.

'If he is not a full-fledged human then it is possible for him to have such intense psychic power without outside influence. Perhaps I was being too hard on him...'

He lent Hao Xuan a shoulder until they got out of the inn and by then he was sober enough to walk on his own. Vlitgar noticed the rock in his hand which he had been cradling like a newborn and felt even more guilty for doubting him.

"What did you want to ask me, brother Jin?"

Hao Xuan rubbed his eyes while searching for the three moons in the night sky to get back to his reality.

*sigh*

"Where do I even begin, brother?"

Vlitgar couldn't help but chuckle to himself. To him, Hao Xuan's worries were so small that it was almost cute.

'I was once that way too, thinking it would be the end of the world if I didn't get my way. And now it really might be the case soon...'

*Sigh*

He let out a heavy-hearted sigh in much the same manner as Hao Xuan while patting him on the back.

"Take it one at a time. Let us talk while we pay a visit to the curator."

"The curator?"

"Mhm, right there," Vlitgar gestured towards a nearby shop.

There was an unassuming black door with a strange symbol of a snake eating its own tail carved on the top.

'Oroboros?'

Hao Xuan's eyes narrowed as his interest built up. There was nothing on display in the windows or any signs or goods hanging from the rafters.

They walked up to the front door, Vlitgar knocked three times and stepped back patiently.

Almost a full minute went by but nothing happened so Hao Xuan leaned in to whisper, "Is this a store or a house?"

"Both," Vlitgar explained with a smile.

"Remember that symbol, there is one in almost every Night Market. Sometimes you can find it even in the outside world."

"And....the curator lives there? Like one person? In all of these shops?"

"Mhm, that's what it looks like. But not just anyone can do business with him, you must have something he wants. If he is interested then the door will open and he will welcome you."

"Ohh...what does he sell?"

"Anything, EVERYTHING! He gets you whatever you need. If it is out there and it can be retrieved, the Curator of Curiosities will be able to appropriate it for you IF he is interested."

"Wow...must be pretty expensive then," Hao Xuan felt out of place even standing in front of the store but Vlitgar dispelled his misconceptions.

"It all depends. Sometimes the curator will accept cursed gold as payment and other times he will ask for a specific thing- something only YOU can get. Not everyone pays the same price here. If you need something you can try asking him."

But Hao Xuan could only let out a hollow laugh in response to that last sentence.

"Haha, how can I ask him for something when I don't even know what it is?"

'All I know is that it needs to be anchored in this timeline.' (Ch 1571)

*Click*