Chapter 524 (1/2)

Paolo and Kayle saw them off. Hank’s group would travel with the East End-ers South to their Village, and then would continue to Star Crossing, and take a Teleportation Platform to Donnyton. Again, Hank was a little dubious about the process. But at least he understood why these people didn’t seem to have any vehicles; they could just fucking teleport.

Hank shook hands with Paolo, and then with Kayle. “Thank ye kindly for the instruction. Who knows how long it would have taken for me to get a feel for this on my own. You two are mighty talented, to arrive here so quickly.”

“Haha, it’s not like we haven’t had help,” Paolo said, his arms folded. But the smug look on his face revealed how much he enjoyed the praise. Hank’s mouth twitched, but he said nothing. But before the two Donnyton Squad leaders departed, Paolo added.

“When you get to Donnyton, find Alana. Ask her for a duel. She’s the current leader of Squad I. That woman will show you what humans can aspire to be.”

Then Hank left with Vandal and his crew, with Ezekiel, Laurel, and Affina trailing after. Affina’s face was especially serious, and many times she turned and looked back towards the direction that the Donnyton’s group vanished. It even got to the point that Ezekiel noticed and zeroed in on this behavior.

“What are you doing?” Ezekiel drawled, his eyes narrowed at the Asian woman. “You look like a lovesick schoolgirl. Get a hold of yourself.”

Of all things, Affina blushed. “...I doubt that Sir Kayle sees me like that. Just a daydream.”

Then she hurried off. Ezekiel was left struck dumb, staring after the usually so silent and stoic Affina. Laurel snorted and walked up to Hank, her arm sliding around Hank’s. “You guys really didn’t see her intently watching all of Kayle’s fights? She even asked him to go for a walk so they could exchange “pointers”. She played up her blindness around him so he would offer to lead her by the arm. Does that seem like typical Affina to you?”

Hank shrugged. Honestly, he hadn’t seen any of that. He was busy with other things. Fighting and improving himself was one thing, but there were others.

The time spent recovering wasn’t just spent idle. They had been in contact with the leaders of Zone 32, and they arranged a meeting with people in power. They brought up certain issues, but they were waiting until they were in person to conduct any real business.

Secretly, Paolo revealed that Donnyton was in heated talks with the other Villages over the substance of what Donnyton was able to agree. Although Donnyton was the most powerful, Paolo claimed, the others weren’t without their own strength. And Donnyton never wanted to make these decisions unilaterally.

But one decision that they had come to, and in turn, Hank was told, was that Donnyton was named the capital of the Zone, and the Zone was named Rawland. Although Donnyton was only a tenth of the Zone’s population, sitting at 15,000 after the flood of new arrivals in the edges of the Zone, it was where trade was concentrated.

Still, around the same time, Hank found himself comfortable with his new Skills was when Rawland had reached a political decision; they were ready for Hank and his group to come to Donnyton.

The journey to East End felt quick, although it took an entire day. It was just a very different experience than traveling in the borderlands. Here, the monsters were frequent, but they weren’t dangerous.

This was one thing that puzzled Hank, and when he asked Vandal, the young man just shrugged. Zone 32, or Rawland, seemed to have more Raid Bosses and Dungeons than Zone 1, by a lot. They took small diversions twice to address reports of a Raid Boss. They defeated two Tier IIs and even stumbled across a Tier III that had hidden itself. This was due to Laurel, who felt a flash of insight that many would die if they did not go into a nearby copse of trees.

There, a Tier III python Raid Boss had set up hop, and immediately ambushed them.

Now, Hank and his team were few, but all were experts; they acquitted themselves splendidly. But there were several powerful individuals. Vandal was a wrecking ball and the squad that came with him were experienced and efficient cleaners.