Chapter 1047 Night <TOC> Chapter 1049 Canaan's Voyage Experience
Translator: SumTLMan
When Canaan, with a succession of stumbles and fumbles, found her way to the Phantasmagoria cabin, she discovered she was not the first one to arrive.
Within the confines of the tiny timber cabin, Canaan spotted three water-type half-demons and an intimidating Three Headed Crocodile.
Canaan assumed that her late arrival might place her towards the end of the queue. However, upon her entrance, she heard a pleasant voice say, “Hello, beautiful miss, are you here to partake in the Voyage of Experience as well?”
Canaan nodded subconsciously, her gaze drifting towards the speaker, likely the proprietor of this establishment. She wondered what race the proprietor might belong to… wait, what?
Canaan examined the cheerful young man on the opposite side with a brilliant smile, she couldn’t be mistaken, could she? The deep, ink-like pupils, emblematic of the indigenous inhabitants of the Abyss.
Wait, the proprietor is an Abyssian?
While Canaan was still reeling from this revelation, the proprietor on the opposite side was already grinning from ear to ear, “That’s perfect then. With your inclusion, we just reached our minimum quota of five guests. By the way, we operate on a pay-first, experience-later basis. As one of the first six customers, I will only charge you two hundred demon gold coins.”
Canaan was still surprised by the proprietor’s Abyssian background, and it wasn’t until he spread his hands in front of her that she realized he was asking for payment.
When she heard the price was two hundred demon gold coins, all of Canaan’s surprise at the shopkeeper’s identity shifted to bewilderment about the price.
Two hundred demon gold coins was not a small amount. Canaan had been living in La Sutherland for almost a decade, and she had saved up just over three hundred coins. This transaction was set to take nearly two-thirds of that, leaving her somewhat hesitant.
After a long pause, Canaan noticed that none of the other demons seemed to have any objections to the price. Was she the only one who found it too expensive? She looked up at the other demons, and they all seemed quite calm. However, the Three Headed Crocodile kept glancing out the window. Was it her imagination, or was that crocodile trembling?
“What’s it going to be? If you pass up this opportunity now, you won’t get this benefit later. Next time you want to have the experience, it’ll cost you the original price of three hundred demon gold coins.”
The shopkeeper’s words left Canaan somewhat hesitant and indecisive.
At this moment, the sound of footsteps once again echoed from outside.
“Another visitor approaches. If you can’t make up your mind, you’ll miss out on this opportunity,” the shopkeeper’s voice wound its way around Canaan’s ear.
Canaan glanced at the half-demons near her, and then turned to look at a small demon ambling its way into the shop. In this moment, memories of the taunting images of the Fork Tail Demon flickered in her mind, as did the vision of the sky filled with the gentle, azure glow of the star river.
“Alright!” Canaan decided to take a risk, pulling out two bags from the natural pouch attached to her arm.
As the bags hit the table, a melodious clinking of metal resonated in the room.
Canaan wanted to give it a shot – after all, if Prapa could make a breakthrough, why couldn’t she? She didn’t just possess the bloodline of some ordinary Phantom Imp, she was an ocean demon!
“Excellent. As the sixth customer in my shop, you’ll receive a discount of two hundred demon gold coins,” the shopkeeper grinned as he accepted the two bags filled with demon gold coins, then turned his attention to the small demon that had just entered.
This was a Floating Imp, named Scorpion Woman, covered in green spikes.
“Welcome, madam. Are you also here for the Voyage of Experience? With you, we’ve just reached our minimum group size of six… our rate is three hundred demon gold coins.”
The shopkeeper, true to his word, had promptly restored the original price for this newcomer, a Scorpion Woman. This brought some semblance of balance to the hearts of Canaan and the other demons who had already paid their due.
However, the newly arrived Scorpion Woman was not buying it. It had heard at the entrance that the rate for the previous group was two hundred demon gold coins. Why had the price risen when it was her turn?
Most importantly, the person standing in front of her was just a native, yet he had the audacity to be so brazen.
Anger welled up in the Scorpion Woman’s heart, but it didn’t consider the fact that it wasn’t the only demon in the shop. Over there was a Three Headed Crocodile, quietly and obediently complying.
As the Scorpion Woman strutted with smug superiority, peppering the shopkeeper with a flurry of barbed jibes, her fate was seemingly sealed.
In the midst of the empathetic gaze of the Three Headed Crocodile, the Scorpion Woman was swiftly snatched and cast out of the window by a dark-skinned woman.
Earlier, the Three Headed Crocodile, due to its colossal size, had obstructed the view outside the window. However, now Canaan could clearly see the chaos beyond… a veritable wasteland strewn with lifeless bodies.
The Three Headed Crocodile then turned to the half-demon beside them and whispered, “I nearly took action as well earlier, fortunate for my keen vision, I peered out the window.”
It now dawned on Canaan why the other patrons showed such a lack of objection. It wasn’t serenity, but a terror that choked their voices into silence, wasn’t it?
“Since there are no new guests, it will just be the five of you. Prepare yourselves, your Voyage of Experience is about to commence. May you find satisfaction in this venture,” the shopkeeper announced. However, after finishing his announcement, he mumbled under his breath: “Five seems a bit of a shortchange, why not gather ten next time before starting?”
In a daze, Canaan felt as if she had been transported to a place that made every cell in her body leap with joy — the sea.
However, this was no ordinary sea that he had seen before. This was an ocean brimming with the anticipation of an impending storm.
…
Rubbing his slightly dizzy head, Angel found himself disoriented. The Scorpion Woman was filled with toxins from top to toe. Even when speaking, she would unintentionally emit a faint poisonous mist. Though it was not fatal, it was still somewhat discomforting for him as a human.
While the first group of guests embarked on their journey to experience the Rhythm of the Ocean, Angel retrieved an antidote. Rather than consuming it, he simply took a whiff, which somewhat alleviated his dizzy state.
“Such is the fragile nature of humans, incapable of even withstanding this hint of poison.” As expected, Fafnir’s mocking comment soon followed.
Angel offered no refutation. Within the vast panoply of intelligent races scattered throughout the multiverse, humankind was indeed considered frail, a fact acknowledged even by wizards themselves. Thus, numerous wizards had resorted to augmenting their bodies, replacing parts of their physical selves with more robust components. Despite maintaining a human appearance, the true forms they could revert to were often more terrifying than the monstrous depictions found in Earth’s various horror games.
Unconsciously, Angel’s gaze shifted toward the Three Headed Crocodile, thoroughly engrossed in the Rhythm of the Ocean.
The bloodline of the Three Headed Crocodile was among the most sought after in the Abyss. Although the creature was merely a lowly imp, it was said that its lineage bore a connection to one of the superior entities within the demonic hierarchy — the Cerberus of Purgatory. The differences in power between the two bloodlines were evident. Still, there seemed to be a semblance of truth in their association. After adopting the crocodile’s bloodline, a subsequent grafting with the Cerberus bloodline would yield significantly higher success rates for both organ and lineage compatibility.
Due to its immense popularity, the Three Headed Crocodile was ruthlessly hunted down by humans to the brink of extinction. Some wizards even questioned whether the species had been eradicated entirely. Yet, surprisingly, Angel had encountered one here in La Sutherland.
“I heard the Three Headed Crocodiles were nearly wiped out by humans. Are you planning to take advantage of its vulnerability?” Fafnir’s voice echoed, a faint hint of excitement lingering in his words at the prospect of conflict.
Angel shook his head. Although the Three Headed Crocodile was indeed valuable, there were countless other methods for him to earn demon coins. There was no need for him to tarnish his reputation as a black marketeer on the very first day of his venture.
“I was merely wondering how to accommodate guests if they were all as big as this, or even larger.” Angel wore a face of worry. Previously, he thought the small size of his establishment wouldn’t matter as he didn’t plan on staying for long. But now, with a growing clientele and demons of varying sizes, he wondered how he could possibly cater to larger patrons.
“Aren’t you concerned about the lack of customers?” Fafnir recalled that just recently, Angel was pondering ways to establish new revenue streams.
“The customers will come, and as Night mentioned, there will be more and more.”
Now brimming with confidence, Angel learned that Prapa had been out there actively spreading the word about their quaint little shop. While it’s true that ‘the fragrance of wine fears no depth of the alley,’ what if there’s someone voluntarily diffusing that fragrance?
Previously, Angel couldn’t take up promotional duties because his identity was all too easy to reveal. Fafnir was hardly the sort to engage in such tasks either, thus all Angel could do was wait patiently for the customers to take the bait.
With Prapa stepping into the role of promoter, they’ve indeed seen a surge in foot traffic. Once these visitors have embarked on the ‘Voyage of Experience,’ they’ll naturally realize the true value of what they’re getting.
As the clientele grows, even without active promotion, if another figure with the capability to ‘hook onto visions’ similar to Prapa emerges, surely the curious demons would be drawn. At that point, the issue of customer acquisition will naturally resolve itself.
Even if no one quite like Prapa appears, should any demon undergoing the ‘Voyage of Experience’ undergo even a slight change that other demons around them notice, they would undoubtedly trace the vine to find the melon, leading them straight to the ‘Phantasmagoria’ cabin.
So, Angel feels that the issue of customer source is definitely moving in a positive direction.
However, whether it’s possible to accrue enough demon gold in a short period of time remains uncertain. That’s why Angel has set the astronomical price of three hundred demon gold coins — to reach this goal sooner.
After all, there is a rule written at the entrance: ‘This establishment will not receive the same customer twice. The ‘Voyage of Experience’ is a one-time only event, please cherish it.’
Thus, within this one-time experience, Angel wants to fleece as much as possible, naturally the set price should be on the higher side.
To shear more wool, Angel has decided that after this group of customers completes their ‘Voyage of Experience,’ he will partition off the backyard. If there are any larger-sized ones, they can simply enjoy their experience there, under the canopy of the sky and on the carpet of the earth. Still, to respect their privacy, it might be better to set up an illusionary environment.
While Angel is pondering all this, a half-demon slowly opens her eyes.
As she comes to, there’s a moment of bewilderment, seemingly unable to discern reality from illusion.
It is only when she senses the vigorous water-based energy within her that she jolts awake, her face a picture of ecstatic joy.
Previously, she was lamenting over being “blackmailed” into parting with two hundred demon gold coins, yet who could have predicted the bounty that was to come? Setting aside the heightened affinity with water, the true marvel was an inexplicable enlightenment she experienced, the depth of which was hard to express in mere words.
The benefits of this newfound wisdom, nebulous as they might be at the moment, were certain to manifest in the future. She could sense an impending revolution in the way she controlled her own energy, a cataclysmic change.
She struggled to keep her excitement under wraps. The local shopkeeper, who it had previously detested to the point of gnashing her teeth, was now viewed with a certain degree of gratitude.
“Quiet.” Angel gestured for silence, then whispered, “You can choose to leave now, or wait here until they’re finished and leave together.”
Surveying the other demons who were still in the midst of their closed-eye experience, she decided to stay and observe for the time being. She had experienced significant personal growth, but she was curious to see the kind of progress the other demons would make.
Chapter 1047 Night <TOC> Chapter 1049 Canaan's Voyage Experience