Aldred and the others finished their training and sat down to rest. Suddenly, a group of people with luxurious armor approached him.
"Hey, I heard you guys are selling hot baths. We have some treasures that might be worth your eyes." The man who seemed to be their leader showed Aldred two scrolls.
"Hmmm. That's it? I need more than that."
"This is all I have."
Aldred narrowed his eyes. This guy wanted to play with him? Humph. A perfect time to try that new ability then.
He activated the spell slightly. 'Emotion Manipulation.'
The man blinked.
"I am not sure I can give you the hot bath with just that."
The man hesitated. Aldred saw his chances and activated the spell again. His godly eyes helped him in reading his expression.
The man looked at him and nodded. "I have a couple more." The man took a majestic-looking shield and a few other weapons.
Aldred smiled. "I would need a little more than that. A hot bath in this people-killing environment can be very expensive. In fact, I am already kind enough to give you a discount."
Bartrem could only look in silence at how shameless the boy had become. 'You're not giving him a discount. You're ripping him off.'
The treasures already shown by the man were already of high quality and normally enough for Aldred to give him a hot bath. Bartrem didn't know why the boy asked for more.
"Fine," the man said before taking more treasures.
Aldred took all the treasures with a grin. "A pleasure making business with you."
He combusted a hole with flames and added water to it. "That is your hot bath. Enjoy your time in there."
The man and his group walked a distance for the hot.
"Hehe. I got him good."
"Aldred, you mustn't do that." Mira grabbed both of his cheeks and stared at him. "It's not good to trick people."
"I am not tricking him, Mira. We are merely negotiating, and it's just lucky that he considers the hot bath to be worth that price. But I think it's worth that price as well. Have you seen how many people died frozen because of the wind? Staying alive for a couple of treasures is worth it, don't you think?"
Mira hesitated.
"Treasures are simply tools, Mira. They cannot be compared to lives. That man might lose a lot of comrades on the way here. That is why he is willing to trade so many treasures for the warm bath."
Mira sighed. "You're right, Aldred. But next time, don't price the hot bath too much. It doesn't cost you much to create one right?"
Aldred shrugged and smiled. "Okay, Mira."
Mira then glanced at the poor adventurer who was shivering in the wind. She sighed once again in pity for their life.
'What a person would do for their ambition.' She thought to herself as she saw one person had his fingers turned blue-gray from the cold.
Aldred could see ice crystals forming in the finger's veins, blocking the blood flow. 'Those fingers are no more. They had to be amputated.'
It was a pitiful sight to see the man slowly dying in the cold, but he brought it to himself when he decided to climb this mountain.
A man must own up to the consequence of his action.
He glanced to the side and noticed Mira was crying. "Mira, why are you crying?"
"They're in so much pain. And there's nothing I can do to help them. They are our competitors. I understand that, but I cannot help but feel sadness for their pain."
Aldred could only applaud for her innocent heart. 'Mira is a person who would cry at the suffering of others.'
Such a high level of sympathy made him feel slightly shameful of himself. Compared to her, Aldred was a piece of shit human being.
"We can help them," Aldred said. "There's more than one astrolabe, and it's not like we would lose against them. Isn't that right, Bartrem?"
Bartrem nodded. "Aldred has a powerful undead army. We shouldn't be scared of competitors."
"We can afford to help others," Mary said.
Mareona laughed. "We're too tough to be scared."
Sophia hesitated but nodded at the end. She wished the person they helped weren't the kind that would bite the hand that feed them.
Aldred smiled and flicked his fingers. Suddenly, the whole place was combusted with flames all around, and the chilling wind disappeared.
The adventurers stopped trembling in the cold and watched in amazement as numerous fire dragons flew around in the sky.
Aldred decided to have a little fun so he manipulated the flames to create butterflies, grasshoppers, squirrels, and dragons. They moved around in the area.
The people there were amazed at his mastery over the fire element. It wasn't easy to do all of this at once. And they also felt the warmth in the air. The ice in their bodies melted. The ice crystals in their veins melted as well, though some of their fingers still had to be amputated.
The cliff was filled with these fire creatures and Aldred was satisfied with his work.
The adventurers were smiling when the fire animals rubbed their heads on their fingers, giving them comfortable warmth.
Mira and the others were staring in amazement.
"So beautiful," Mira said. She then hugged him. "Thank you."
Aldred smiled and patted her back. "It's nothing."
One of the adventurer groups approached him. "Thank you for your help. We have nothing much, but I hope this map will help you in the future."
Aldred looked at the map and noticed that it was much better than the ones he had. He even saw some markings of dungeons.
"Thank you," Aldred said.
Suddenly, more adventurers came and gave him all sorts of things such as a compass, survival guidebooks that they wrote themselves, and notes of information about the political situation of certain regions, the climate of some parts of the continent, and information about some beast and plants.
Aldred was shocked at how much the adventurers knew. They didn't have money or treasures, but their experience and knowledge were beyond comparison.
A noble who sat on his carriage all day wouldn't know much about the world compared to an adventurer.
"Thanks, all of you." Aldred smiled.
The adventurers smiled back, satisfied that they could help the boy in some way. They looked at the flames in the area and smiled in amazement. Some even laughed at their incompetence self. The boy flicked his fingers once and he saved hundreds of lives with his fire element. Such power was akin of a god.
Mira was looking at the boy with a sweet smile. "You are so kind, Aldred. With your power and talent, you can help so many people in the future."
Mareona rubbed Aldred's head. "I am so proud of you."
Mary's eyes were filled with proudness. The boy grew to be a better person because of Mira. She was glad that they met her and took her along.
Meanwhile, Sophia did not care. As long as Aldred was happy she'd be as well. If he wanted to kill the adventurer for his amusement, she would support it all the way. Their lives did not matter to her.
Suddenly, a large shadow moved quickly. They all looked up at the sky.
The Bajaragon returned, and this time it seemed annoyed.
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