Chapter 409: The Hub World (Patreon)

Chapter 409: The Hub World

After years of battle, the Fire Lizard Warriors had suffered heavy losses, with only 132 members remaining.

Yet every one of these survivors had made significant progress through the brutal conflicts in the Green Forest World. Under the relentless pressure of biological weapons and hazardous yet evolution-enhancing flora, nearly a hundred of them had advanced to second-tier Fire Lizards, while the remaining first-tier warriors were on the verge of breaking through.

Even more astonishing, the First Company Leader had recently ascended to third-tier.

What truly surprised Richard was that a considerable number of these Fire Lizards had developed rudimentary spellcasting abilities. Though their magic was crude—even Wizard Apprentices surpassed them—it was still a remarkable achievement. It proved their potential was far from fully tapped.

The Fire Lizards assembled as ordered. Richard surveyed the iron-willed warriors before him and declared, "Your performance in this war has astonished me. Once again, you’ve proven that non-human species are not inferior. Now, as this conflict draws to a close, I shall honor my promise."

He produced two contracts. "One is for continued service in the war band. The other offers a return to the Crimson Sun World as instructors. Each has its merits—choose wisely."

With that, he handed the collective contracts to the newly ascended third-tier First Company Leader. Without hesitation, the leader signed his name on the continued service agreement. One by one, the rest of the Fire Lizards followed suit.

This unanimous decision caught Richard off guard. He hadn’t expected such fervent devotion to warfare among these warriors. His earlier revisions to the contract now seemed unnecessary—even without incentives, they would have chosen to stay. War had become inseparable from their existence.

"Every single one chose to serve… I hadn’t anticipated this," Richard mused as he scanned the fully signed document. With a flick of his wrist, he added his own signature, and the contract vanished in a burst of flame.

The Fire Lizard Warriors remained as silent as ever, but Richard sensed a shift—a spiritual refinement, as though the contract had been a crucible tempering their collective resolve. The war band now moved as a single, cohesive entity.

"Since this is your choice, I won’t force you back. Resume your training."

"Yes!" the Fire Lizards answered in unison.

...

Fifteen years after the final battle, the Portal activated.

But this time, it didn’t connect directly to the Tower of Truth. Instead, it linked to a transit realm known as the Hub World.

Portals couldn’t span infinite distances. Once the gap between two worlds exceeded a certain threshold, an intermediate Portal was required. The Green Forest World happened to lie just beyond the maximum range from the Wizard World, necessitating a stopover in the Hub World.

This particular Hub World was bustling, serving as a relay point for Portals from over ten different worlds.

The cross-domain merchant caravans of the Wizard Chamber of Commerce, wandering Wizards seeking broader horizons, various subspecies of humans, and even the enslaved races of Great Wizards converged in this world, forming a peculiar yet harmonious tableau.

"Gah, this world isn't bad—just like the commercial world back home," Ulysses perched on Richard's shoulder, gazing nostalgically at the chaotic city of this hub world.

"Where we're from, there are similar transit worlds too. Merchant caravans from all directions stop in these worlds to trade goods or replenish supplies. All sorts of bizarre things and races gather in one world. If you're willing to look, you can find anything you want in a transit world."

Richard observed the somewhat chaotic city before him but didn't share Ulysses's sentiment. To him, this world was merely an enlarged version of the Tower of Truth's commercial floor—nothing particularly noteworthy.

After stepping through the Portal, he immediately began searching the city for a Wizard Chamber of Commerce called Fist of Truth. Jimmy had told him that Grand Wizard Galon had discovered the Ritual Magic capable of retrieving items from other dimensions years ago. However, since the Portal hadn't been connected back then, Galon couldn't be bothered to return to the Green Forest World from the Wizard World for such a trivial matter. So, years ago, he had entrusted it to a chamber called Fist of Truth, affiliated with the academy, for temporary safekeeping.

With the Portal now connected, the Ritual Magic had been transferred to one of Fist of Truth's branches in this hub world. Richard's purpose in coming here was to retrieve this Spell and, incidentally, return to the Wizard World.

...

Cities in hub worlds typically sprawled outward from the Portal at their center, forming massive metropolises. Locating a specific chamber branch in such a city was no easy task. Although Fist of Truth was backed by Galon's Wizard Academy, it wasn't a major chamber. Its primary business was procuring specialty ingredients from various worlds—essentially serving as the external procurement department for the academy's cafeteria. Naturally, they wouldn't have a lavish branch in these prime-location hub cities like some of the larger chambers.

To find the branch, Richard had no choice but to hire a local guide.

"Wizard, are you certain you have the correct name?" asked the guide standing before Richard—a creature with a humanoid body but a jellyfish-like head, its voice tinged with doubt.

Richard frowned slightly. "I'm certain of the name. What, couldn't you find it?"

"Then you might have come to the wrong city, sir," the guide said regretfully. "No such chamber exists in this Portal city. But if you could tell me its main business, I might be able to offer some suggestions—I'm familiar with other cities too."

Richard replied steadily, "This chamber specializes in Magical ingredients—things like Magical Beast meat and Magical Plants fall under their trade."

"Ah, I see."

Tiny arcs of electricity flickered within the guide's jellyfish head, as if it were sifting through memories.

"In that case, they probably set up their branch in City Nine—the world connected to that Portal is rich in Magical Beasts. City Eleven is another possibility; that world produces many Magical Plants."

"Alright, thank you for your advice."

Richard casually tossed the guide a piece of Magic Essence and immediately pulled out a map of the hub world from his pocket.

According to the map, the city he was currently in should be Portal City No. 7, which wasn't too far from City No. 9.

"Good, it's not too far."

Richard put away the map in his hand, then transformed into a streak of light and flew into the distance.

The jellyfish-man guide, sensing Richard's Life Radiation, suddenly felt his legs go weak and nearly collapsed to his knees.

He stared fearfully at the fading streak of light and muttered with lingering dread:

"By the Mother of the Sea, he was actually a Third Circle Wizard. Good thing I didn't try to cheat him out of his Magic Essence, or I'd be dead for sure."

...

Following the map's directions, Richard spent five days traveling to what was marked as City No. 9 on the map.

Here, with some experience under his belt, Richard quickly found a local guide.

"You're looking for the Fist of Truth Merchant Guild? I know that place well," said a short, green-skinned man with an ingratiating smile.

"Take me there," Richard said coolly. "You'll be rewarded."

The little green man grinned, and a pair of fly-like wings sprouted from his back.

"Right away, sir. Follow me."

With the guide leading the way, Richard navigated the complex streets of City No. 9. But soon, he began to sense something amiss.

The surroundings grew increasingly dilapidated, as if they were entering a slum.

The Fist of Truth Merchant Guild, after all, was backed by the Garon Wizard Academy. Even if they couldn't afford a luxurious branch, they wouldn't have sunk to such a place.

"Are you sure we're on the right path?" Richard frowned slightly.

Along the way, he had gathered plenty of information about the hub world. In these portal cities, Wizard-related crimes were rampant, and foreign Wizards were often robbed clean.

"Sir, don't let the looks fool you," the little green guide said, as if guessing Richard's thoughts. "This area was once one of the founding districts of City No. 9.

It looks so run-down now because it's difficult to renovate, and no one wants to spend the money.

But the people living here are all respectable Wizards—nothing like those slum dwellers."

Richard glanced around. Most of the buildings here were towering, a stark contrast to the current architectural trends in the Wizard World.

At least in the Fourth Circle's Tower of Truth, this towering style had been out of fashion for over two thousand years.

Now, low and spacious Wizard Towers were all the rage.

Back when Toshio was building his Wizard Tower, he had complained endlessly about the current trend, saying these squat towers were an insult to the very concept of Wizard Towers.

After another ten minutes of following the guide, Richard arrived in front of a small arena.

"Sir, we're here. The Fist of Truth Merchant Guild is inside."

Seeing the distinctive arena, Richard confirmed the guide hadn't led him astray.

Tossing the guide another piece of Magic Essence, Richard turned and approached the arena's entrance.

Two golden-maned lion-men stood guard at the door, looking impressively imposing.

As Richard moved to enter, the lion-man on his left spoke: "Sir, do you have a ticket?"

"No, but I'm not here for the fights," Richard said calmly. "I'm looking for the branch leader of the Truth Fist Merchant Guild."

"Do you have an appointment?" the lion-man on Richard's right spoke up.

"Uh... no, I don't."

"Then I'm sorry, but you'll need to—"

The lion-man on the left didn't finish his sentence before sensing a terrifying pressure emanating from Richard that made them tremble.

Under this overwhelming pressure, both lion-men froze, unable to move.

Richard walked past them calmly and said with slight apology, "I'm sorry. I traveled five days to get here. I really don't want to wait any longer."

(End of Chapter)