I'm The Only One With Cancer

"How much for this Fireball Scroll?"

"10 gold coins."

"That’s expensive! Don’t you accept lits?"

"Don’t you see the signage over there? It says ’Gold only’."

"Come on, your scroll might be able to save a life."

"Shush, the Fireball skill in this scroll is at the Adept Proficiency, which was really difficult to engrave in this scroll! I’m sorry, but I have to choose myself first."

"Please? Can you at least bring it down to 3 gold coins?"

"Are you sick in the head? Just go away before I use this scroll on you."

"What the..."

...

The chatter of people resounded in the bustling streets of Listarte.

’Ferd told me that the official exchange rate for gold coins and lits is 1:2...’

Zen pondered over his conversation with the butler earlier as he took a stroll, "But it seems like... just like on Earth, the value between currencies fluctuates according to the situation and the value of the product involved."

He was currently on his way over to Listarte’s magic tower.

’I just want to know how much it would be to travel via their gateways...’

After everything that had happened, Zen still had not forgotten his main goal, which was to find the most efficient way to travel long distances between the major settlements in the Free World.

’But... it’s kinda strange...’

He could not help but feel like something was amiss.

The reason behind this was due to the ’merchants’ who had laid down their mats with various products, such as magic scrolls and other artifacts on them.

’Is it just me, or do they look like they’re wearing the same uniform?’

Zen could not help but squint his eyes, using his monstrous stats to see the details on the emblem located on the left chest of the merchants’ robes.

Iprahim Arcane Tower, First Year Apprentice...

’So... they’re like first-year students? But why do they look like that?’

Noticing the prominent dark bags under their eyes, as well as their cheeks sunken and their faces filled with exhaustion, he could not help but feel a little intrigued.

’I didn’t really get to attend colleges or universities, but there are many vlogs on YouTube where they show how tired they were due to their hectic schedule...’

Zen made sure to control his facial expression and keep looking ahead— only glancing at some products and stalls as he walked by, ’Heck, I even saw some dentistry students do all-nighters like it was their hobby...’

On the other hand, it was not as if he was judging them.

The situation merely differed from what Zen thought of Listarte, as the city where the magic tower in the Kingdom of Light was located.

’I thought there would be flying carpets, airships, people riding brooms and whatnot... Not people who looked like exhausted university students...’

Fortunately, the apprentices were unable to hear him comparing them to university students on Earth in his thoughts.

’Anyways, let’s just mind our own business and stay away from trouble...’

Zen thought to himself as he took every step firmly, making sure that his gaze would not linger on anyone for more than a few seconds to avoid any kind of misunderstandings.

’Heh, this is what I learned from those Chinese novels where a single gaze would prompt young masters to shout ’courting death’ at you...’

As he was immersed in his own thoughts, he soon arrived in front of a flight of stairs.

’What...’

Zen’s mouth fell open in shock as he stared at the longest flight of stairs he had ever seen in his entire life.

’This is just like that flight of stairs that Po climbed in Kung Fu Panda...’

Gulp—

’Well, with my stats and stamina, this shouldn’t be too hard...’

Zen reassured himself in his mind as he began climbing.

Seconds turned to minutes, and after some time, forty-five minutes had already gone by.

’What the hell? These stairs didn’t look this long from afar, doesn’t it?’

Sweat poured from Zen’s face and back as he felt the air resistance multiplying with every step.

Just as the time of his climbing reached one hour, the space around him suddenly changed.

"What...?"

Zen gasped as he could not help but rub his eyes a few times.

Just a moment earlier, there were still a vast number of stairs that were so tall they seemed to pierce the clouds above.

However, all he did was blink when the scene before his eyes instantly changed into a platform with countless people talking.

To his right, there was a huge circular construct with spatial distortions happening at the center.

Seeing this, Zen’s eyes brightened, feeling like the exhaustion that had overwhelmed him earlier had disappeared without a trace.

’That’s the gateway!’

It did not take two and two for him to realize that the circular construct to his right was the very thing he was looking for.

There was also a group of people waiting beside it with luggage and even carriages lined up before them.

’It’s really big...’

Zen could not help but feel amazed at the sight before his eyes, particularly the grand magic tower that was laid bare for him to see.

’It really does look like it pierces through heaven itself...’

Cough— Cough—-

Hearing someone cough beside him, Zen snapped out of his daze and turned his gaze.

Beside him, he saw an old man wearing a tattered robe with a hood, with his hands behind him.

He was wearing a monocle, and his long white beard was braided on both sides, making him look more like a Viking than a mage.

Seeing the old man stare at him silently as if he were looking at a lab rat, Zen could not help but scratch the back of his head to ease his nervousness.

"Um, excuse me, Sir. What can I do for you?"

"..."

Receiving no reply, Zen chuckled awkwardly, ’Did I do something wrong?’

"Fascinating..."

The old man finally spoke with his eyes squinted slightly, using his right hand to caress his beard as his eyes were filled with a myriad of emotions.

Admiration. Amazement. Interest.

Such were merely some of the emotions Zen had identified from the old man’s gaze.

’Why do I keep meeting weird people?’ He thought inwardly.

To be frank, Zen had only truly met four people in the Free World: Arthur, Adara, Ferd, and Verso.

’If I were to rank them, this old man easily takes the top 2. After all, no one can be weirder than Teacher himself.’

***

In the middle of a desert...

"Achooo!"

A man with a warm skin tone, black hair, and a chin filled with stubble sneezed while walking through the middle of a hilly desert.

He adjusted the headscarf on his face as he commented out loud, "Weird."

"Are you okay?" A feminine voice sounded beside him, belonging to a woman who was also wearing a headscarf arranged in a way that only her green eyes could be seen.

The man fixed some of the loose black hair strands on the woman’s face and replied, "I’m fine, it must be that apprentice of mine..."

"Hahaha..." The woman laughed beautifully as a certain figure appeared in both of their minds.

The two people were none other than Arthur and Adara, who had already disguised themselves as they continued their journey.

***

Kingdom of Light, Listarte, Iprahim Arcane Tower...

Zen was still at a standstill with the old man, who was currently walking in circles around him, eyeing him with an interested gaze.

’What’s the matter with this old man?’

Fortunately, or unfortunately, this only lasted for about five minutes before the old man stopped in front of him while nodding repeatedly.

"To think that you pushed the Flights of Eternity that far..."

"Huh? What? Flight of what? What are you talking about?" Hearing the old man’s words, Zen could not help but fire off a string of questions, his expression filled with confusion.

The old man chuckled loudly and said, "Come follow me."

"???"

Zen was still as confused as ever, but seeing the old man continue walking, he had no choice but to follow behind.

’Argh, so troublesome... but maybe...’

Despite the randomness of their meeting, he did not really reject it.

’Maybe he’ll be able to explain some things to me... or maybe this is just like one of those ’side quests’ or ’fated meetings’ where I’ll gain something good~.’

Zen’s mind was filled with random thoughts once again.

Though it was unclear whether this was his way of coping with how confusing everything had become.

Nevertheless, this optimism had been with him since birth, and it was one of the main things that kept him going through one of the most difficult periods of his life.

Oblivious to his thoughts, the old man subtly glanced over his shoulder, looking at the otherworlder who was following him.

’He’s really interesting. Otherworlders had just descended on this world; it’s hard to believe that an anomaly like him has already grown powerful enough...’ 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

With his experience and keen sense of character, he was certain that the person before him harbored no ill intent.

’Though I have to be sure just in case...’