Genetic Ascension novel Chapter 749

Chapter 749: Ghost Man

Sylas slipped into an inconspicuous shop. Wares lined the walls, displayed quite crudely. The shelves they sat on looked like they might collapse at any time, but there was a steady flow of customers in and out. There might not be a large number of them, but they were consistent, and each one had a small conversation with the middle-aged woman behind the counter that warmed the atmosphere and made it clear they were repeat visitors.

This was a shop that exuded a quaint sense of peace, a mom-and-pop shop that formed the heart of a neighborhood.

But rather than comfort foods or simple dry cleaning services, this shop sold Elixirs and various consumable items at an extraordinarily competitive market price.

"Oh? I haven't seen you around here. New?" the middle-aged woman smiled.

She had the valiant air of a middle-aged housewife, but the kind smile of a mother. She was overweight in the she-knew-her-way-around-a-kitchen sort of way, carrying an amiable smile that made her both want to protect her and not disappoint her at the same time.

"I've been here for a while," Sylas said softly. "It's just that I haven't come here before. I've heard many good things so I thought I should."

"Oh! You must be the mysterious ghost, haha!" the jovial laughter of the middle-aged woman filled the store.

"The ghost man?" another middle-aged woman in the process of placing her items on the counter looked over toward Sylas with a chuckle. "Are you really?"

"Ghost man?" Sylas asked, pretending not to understand.

"We live in a small little neighborhood and most people who live here can't afford to live anywhere else. Even so, accommodations are very scarce and we're often packed together tight like sardines. But your apartment is the only one that's vacant. Let alone vacant, yours is the only one that doesn't have at least four people sharing it."

The confusion that played in Sylas' eyes belied the calmness of his heart.

In a small community like this one, anything that was out of the ordinary would stand out. Sylas had bought this shabby apartment months ago with the money he had scrounged up. It cost him 10,000 F-Coins at the time, and now, it was even more expensive than that, easily being ten times the price.

He then used the fact he owned land in the city as a springboard to earn his way into the military and rank up, not to mention get himself a Noble Title.

All of these actions seemed benign enough. But in a small little community like this one, anomalies stick out like sore thumbs.

Sylas' "confusion" was slowly ebbing away as he eked out the details.

"Ah, I see. Yes, that apartment is mine. I only return to rest every few months. Most of the rest

of the time I spend in the wilderness hunting and looking for opportunities."

The lady behind the counter smiled a bitter, understanding smile. Her chubby hands ran through her greying hair, a sigh escaping her lips.

"I know you're young, but you've got to take care of yourself better. Sometimes ambition isn't enough to get you through in life."

Sylas nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"So polite, hoho. Why don't you give the young man something nice, Eness?"

"Look at you, always trying to get free stuff."

"Hey, hey, hey," the middle-aged customer rebuffed. "I'm just trying to help a struggling boy out."

"Yeah? And then if I give him something for free, you'll come wringing your hands later." A laughter filled the small shop.

"Tell you what, young man. You look like you've got a strong pair of shoulders. I've got some inventory in the back that I need help sorting out. Can you do that for me? I'll pay you well."

A Quest window popped up before Sylas and he casually accepted it.

"No problem." Sylas said with a nod.

...

The day waned and Sylas finally finished up on the inventory when Eness was about to close up shop.

"Oh! You're finished for the day?" Eness asked. "You can come back tomorrow to finish up. I know it can be tiring. My brain isn't what it used to be, I completely forgot you were working back there."

"Nono." Sylas shook his head, a bit of fatigue between his brows. "I've already finished everything."