There wasn't much time left before the morning ignited, so Ray Kang decided to head back to the city.
As they approached, a soft whiteness began to envelop the area from afar — the result of the illumination flooding the streets. The roads were lit by a faint white glow emitted from pure essence crystals, carefully placed along the edges of sidewalks and on specially built poles designed to hold them in strategic locations.
This meticulous design wasn't just functional; it was also aesthetic, giving the city a serene and enchanting appearance.
The reason these crystals weren't used for lighting during hunting trips was due to the animals' sensitivity to essence.
When the essence is within the body, it's much harder for these creatures to sense it compared to when it's physically manifested in the environment.
Suddenly, morning ignited, and the clear blue sky appeared.
Ray Kang's team arrived at a location near the edge of the central palace.
A gray device, about half the height of a man, was connected to a medium-sized room. The device had a spot for placing hands, and just above it, three extinguished crystals were aligned horizontally.
A man opened a window from inside the room.
"Hello," he waved at Ray Kang.
"How are you? We've come to deliver the essence," Ray Kang said with a smile.
The worker in charge of the device held the same rank as Ray Kang — the first rank.
Since overseeing essence — the lifeblood itself — is a sensitive duty, anyone involved in it must possess a high level of focus.
"That's good. Place your hand there," the man said, pointing at the device before returning inside the room.
The device resembled the one inside the palace where Ray Kang had previously received the essence to upgrade Kogan.
Mei Li stepped forward first and placed her hands on the device. Suddenly, a white light shone on her hands, and one of the crystals on the right lit up with a pale white glow.
After about two minutes, she was done, and another person stepped up. Following the same process, a total of thirteen essence units were successfully delivered.
"Well done," the man inside the room waved his hand and closed the window again.
The window was reflective, providing privacy for the worker inside the room.
Once the task was complete, the team members dispersed and headed back to their homes.
"Captain, what do those who delivered the essence receive?" Kogan asked.
"They get their salary, along with contribution points," the captain replied, looking at him.
"I didn't get any essence. Does that mean I won't be paid?"
The captain smiled and said, "It's true you didn't obtain any essence, but you tried. And besides, just because you didn't get any today doesn't mean you won't next time."
"I see," Kogan nodded.
There wasn't a single squad assigned to one specific task — instead, all squads rotated through various duties.
For example, Ray Kang's team had previously been stationed at the fixed camp by the river for nearly a month, and now they would be spending around a month hunting for essence.
This system was designed to deepen their experience across all fields.
Ray Kang's squad wasn't the only one sent out to hunt essence — there were dozens more.
They spread out in different directions to increase their chances.
And occasionally, even teams on unrelated missions got lucky and stumbled upon essence beasts.
****
"I can't believe they live in a fancy house and haven't even reached the first rank yet," Wei Li remarked.
A night had passed since they went out to "hunt" essence. While Kogan and Mei Lan returned to their home, the rest of the members headed back to the inn.
On this night off, they gathered in a spot beneath the inn — a tavern-like area where they occasionally spent time.
They were drinking wine, though it wasn't of high quality.
Not that they would know — none of them had ever tasted anything better.
This wine was made from their monthly fruit rations. Some chose to eat the fruit or turn it into juice, while others gave it to the innkeeper, who took care of the fermentation process.
Thus, every time they came here to collect their accumulated share of fruit in the form of wine.
After their work the previous night retrieving essence, tonight was a break for them, and so they gathered to relax.
And, unsurprisingly, they couldn't find a topic more worth discussing than Mei Lan's unexpected promotion.
They didn't know Kogan, but they knew Mei Lan, having worked alongside her for some time.
So when they discovered she was now living like royalty, in their eyes, feelings of jealousy and anger stirred within them.
What was strange, though, was that no one mentioned Shan Yu's sacrifice.
She wouldn't have gotten that house if not for his sacrifice.
Perhaps they hadn't noticed, but it showed they didn't truly care about their life partners.
As long as your death improves my life, go ahead and die, please.
"Even though their partners have disappeared, they haven't paid the price," Wei Li said, drinking a cup of wine in one gulp.
"The curse is still on them. Because of them, we only got 13 essences last night," another man slammed his hand on the table in anger.
The signs of poor drunkenness started to show on their faces.
"How much were we getting before?" Mei Li asked with a hint of sarcasm.
"It doesn't matter... but because of them, things will get worse now," he stammered before getting angry again.
"Hmph," Mei Li turned her head away.
She knew they were talking this way out of jealousy. Didn't the ruler know about their situation? Then why were they still treated normally — no, with privileges?
Surely there was something they couldn't see from their position.
'The curse won't have that much of an effect,' Mei Li thought to herself.
She rested her cheek on her hand and glanced at Wei Li.
Her partner, Wei Li, was among those fanatics too, but there was nothing she could do now.
Just let him vent his anger and jealousy