"I hate my life…"

The day had passed quickly without any other events, but the fear inside Dante remained.

He hated them.

From the bottom of his heart, he hated every ounce of them.

The uncertainty, the overwhelming sense of the uncertainty of his current situation, the uncertainty of his luck and future.

The unknown, the unknown living being that was observing him, the unknown enemy that wanted to harm him.

He hated them!

He had spent all night sitting in front of the treehouse, using Shadow Detection in the hope of finding that unknown shadow again.

The last time he encountered an "unknown" shadow, an "unknown" creature attacked him with an "unknown" force and stole Ruby's carriage. Dante was becoming dangerously paranoid.

Unfortunately, he couldn't sense that creature again despite all his efforts.

He even created a new technique while waiting—an attempt to catch that thing if it appeared again.

He called it: Pseudo-Shadow Technique — Blind Shadowstep!

The original Shadowstep required Dante to see the shadow, which placed a clear limit to that technique.

But now, he could use it without seeing the shadow. That way, if the mysterious shadow appeared again, he'd teleport to it immediately without seeing the shadow with his own eyes. Because of that, he called it "Blind" Shadowstep.

How did he achieve that? He basically combined Shadowstep and Shadow Detection!

"I only have to sense the shadow in order to teleport to it. It's mainly a technique, but it also uses a spell to function. For that, I think Pseudo-Shadow Technique suits it."

Now, even though he couldn't find the mysterious shadow again, he felt that creating this pseudo-shadow technique wasn't a waste of time.

"Now, what should I do?"

He couldn't find that creature nor did he know what caused the sudden change in his misfortune.

"I can either stay here and build some defensive mechanisms or run and find another place to live."

Both choices had their own advantages and disadvantages.

The former provided a sense of comfort and safety, but the mysterious observer was still somewhere there.

The latter provided some flexibility and freedom, but running in a random direction would send him to the unknown.

He couldn't pick one.

"I can also absorb the Rank 2 cores to advance in rank. 250 cores are more than enough to let me advance."

With his Crown of Existence, he would get a high boost in all his stats upon advancing in rank, though he wasn't sure whether the Demonic Energy stat was included.

And that was only one of the benefits he'd gain. There were many other benefits that would make him significantly stronger.

But using them now would be a waste, as he wouldn't be able to absorb the Rank 1 cores after advancing in rank.

"Should I… toss a coin?"

As these words left his shaky mouth, he quickly shook his head and pretended he never said them.

That… that cursed coin wasn't a good item to make a choice. He would rather die than use it again!

Instead, he just worked his mind over until he decided to simply stay here and practice his ether control. If anything happened, that would be his ultimate defensive trump card.

"I also have to think of a new spell for it…" Dante sighed: "I can't infuse it with spiritual energy for some reason, my only other option is to create a unique—!"

Before Dante could complete his sentence, his eyes suddenly widened as he sensed a shadow.

'Wait, it's…' Dante narrowed his eyes as he focused on the shadow's shape, noticing that it was something familiar other than the shadow that was observing him.

'Is it a carriage?'

His eyes widened in recognition, it was a carriage pulled by what seemed to be a deer.

'It's either someone passing by or Ruby finally arrived.' Smiling, Dante stood up: 'Good timing. Completing the treehouse will make my situation a bit safer.'

Dante observed the carriage silently, and as expected, it was heading directly toward Dante's treehouse.

When the carriage reached his sight, he finally confirmed that it was Ruby, as she was the one driving the carriage.

"Sir! I'm here as I promised!" Ruby waved to Dante with a nervous smile, giving a quick glance to her own shadow.

'Wait, is she still afraid of the fake shadow wolf?' Dante suppressed a laugh and waved back, examining Ruby's new carriage.

It looked like an average carriage in both size and structure. It wasn't like the cheap ones that he had seen nor the expensive ones like Omar's carriage. Additionally, it had a large wagon for goods attached to it.

The deer looked a bit old and strong, suggesting that it was a Rank 1 deer, which showed her seriousness about becoming a merchant again even after her recent loss.

And although he couldn't see them, he noticed the faint shadows of some people inside the carriage. They were likely some mercenaries.

After the carriage stopped, Ruby jumped down and rushed toward Dante. She looked at him from a distance—remembering Dante's curse—and bowed respectfully.

"Everything is here as you asked! Unfortunately, I spent all the coins you gave me and even had to spend three mana crystals of my own mana crystals for a few things. So… if you don't mind…"

Dante understood her intent immediately. He took three mana crystals from his pocket—which he prepared in case he had to fight something—and threw them to her.

But just then, he noticed that she had two arrows on her Wheel of Luck.

'Another opportunity? Wait, why is the color different from the last time?'

One of the arrows aimed at Ruby's carriage, while the other pointed at Dante. Unlike the last time, these arrows were azure instead of silver.

'Does that mean it isn't a wealth opportunity? I thought that her ability brings her only wealth.'

Unaware of Dante's thoughts, Ruby caught the mana crystals happily and said: "Thank you so much! I want to start building the treehouse now, but there is something we have to do first."

Dante frowned: "What is it?"

Instead of answering, Ruby ran to her wagon. Simultaneously, Jin and another man with sharp features left the carriage.

'That drunk man again? Did she hire him?'

Holding a wine bottle, Jin recognised Dante and shouted: "Hey! Are you still cursed?! Don't worry, we found an old solution!"

Dante's frown deepened at his words. Did they find a solution that fast? Did Ruby's strange luck help them?

'If that's true and that's the meaning of the blue arrows… then her luck is more useful than I expected. I should enslave this woman when I get a chance.' Dante thought casually before realizing that Greed was playing with his thoughts again.

'Fuck you!'

However, he didn't know how to feel about that. Was Jin simply drunk or did they truly find something to help him?

After a moment, Ruby returned with two books.

She showed the first book, which was the biggest, and explained: "This one has knowledge about mana runic formations and arrays, in addition to some tips to safely install external arrays and formations from any aspect to your house, which is needed in things like building a bathroom."

"It was one of the books that helped me to become a bit of an expert, but it took me two months to understand it completely. Of course, a man as talented as you might be different!"

She showed the second book: "And this one has knowledge about shadow runic formations and arrays. They both had good combinations that might be helpful for you in the future." As she said that, she winked: "Of course, if you couldn't understand them, especially the first book, you could always ask me for help. It won't cost you much."

Dante's eyes twitched at her remark, but he didn't mutter a word and just took the books.

'I asked for these books so I wouldn't ask for your help again!'

Dante couldn't help with building the floors and rooms, but the runic matters were different things. For now, he needed her to make the bathroom, and maybe modify the shadow formation. But those were things he could learn if he studied hard enough.

Unfortunately, he couldn't delay them until he read the books. The bathroom was… well… for his comfort, and the shadow formation was now more urgent than before.

Dante looked at the treehouse and said: "If that's all, you can now rest for some time before starting your job, or you can start now if you feel good enough."

Dante wasn't in a hurry to know about the opportunity. He was sure that Ruby herself wouldn't waste it.

Hearing Dante's words, Ruby simply shook her head and smiled brightly: "There is still a surprise that I didn't show you yet. Didn't you complain about a curse of misfortune?"

Dante's heart skipped a beat instantly, but before he could answer about the solution, Ruby looked at the carriage and shouted: "Jin and Ryan! Help Ms. Agnes to come out of the carriage! Support her as carefully as possible."

"Sure, Ma'am."

"Yes, yes."

Jin and Ryan, the other mercenary, went to the carriage and brought a woman with them.

As Dante saw the woman, his brows furrowed.

'Is this Ms. Agnes?'

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