CHAPTER 79: BLACK WILLOW SHELTER

After Nash finished his daily training, he called Amber to hire some manpower to help Michael assemble the training equipment.

Putting down his intercom, he headed to the Virtual Dark Pod.

Materializing in the Lantern Shelter, he was greeted by William’s familiar face.

"Boss Noir!"

"What? I can’t join you today."

"I know. I just wanted to see you off," William said reluctantly.

In truth, what he really wanted was to convince Nash to join him for another hunt and maybe cook him some delicious food.

"No need for goodbyes. You’re a big man, why act like a little kid?" Nash scolded with a smile.

Standing over two meters tall, with muscles like boulders, watching William pout like a wronged little girl sent chills down Nash’s spine.

"I just wanted to see you one last time, boss!"

"Tsk."

---

Walking together to the center of the Lantern Shelter, they arrived at the Teleportation Hub.

"Where are you going?" The Transit Officer asked.

"Dark Willow Shelter."

"That’s a 4–5 star danger zone! Where’s your battle badge?" the Transit Officer muttered coldly, thinking Nash was just another reckless fool.

Not just anyone could enter any shelter as they pleased.

First, you had to match the shelter’s rank limit.

For example, the Lantern Shelter only allowed Void Warriors inside. From government officials to merchants, coordinators, and even the gate guards—everyone here can only be a Void Warrior.

This system existed to prevent internal killings and assassinations of talented fighters.

In the past, even a Void Commander, the leader of a shelter, was bribed to assassinate an elite from a top family. The incident nearly sparked a full-scale war.

Since then, shelters in the Nova Dark Battlefield enforced strict entry limits based on rank.

Next was the star rating. To enter a shelter, one had to be at least one star below its danger rating.

In the case of the Dark Willow Shelter, one needed to be at least a 3-star Void Warrior to enter.

Showing his battle badge containing three stars, the Transit Officer still frowned.

"Are you sure? This is a 4–5 star danger zone. It’s recommended you reach 4 stars before going," Although it was technically allowed, the transit officer still advised against it.

"I’m sure. I know the risks."

"Tsk. That’ll be 1,500 merits for the teleportation fee." Unable to talk Nash out of it, the officer could only shake his head.

After paying the required fees, Nash was told to wait in line.

---

A few minutes later, a receptionist called his turn.

"Time to say goodbye. I’ll go to the Dark Willow Shelter as quickly as possible..." William said, fidgeting like a little girl.

"Hmm. Be careful." Nash patted his shoulder in farewell.

---

Stepping into the teleportation gate, Nash felt his vision darken.

When he opened his eyes, he stood in a marshy field.

Looking at the muddy tracks leading to a worn-down shelter, Nash couldn’t help but sigh.

Although the Dark Willow Shelter had richer resources than the Lantern Shelter, few people came here. The dangers simply weren’t worth the rewards.

At this level, most of the Void Warriors didn’t have large-scale attacks. Instead of facing swarms of low-merit dark beasts, they preferred to hunt stronger dark beasts that granted higher merit points.

As a result of the sparse population, the economy, infrastructure, and transportation here couldn’t even compare to a low-level area like the Lantern Shelter.

"I need to buy a weapon first..."

Without William lending him the Sun Bow, Nash had to purchase his own.

Fortunately, during the week he hunted with William, aside from the merits he used to increase his void saturation and payment for the teleportation fee, he still had a few thousand left.

Buying a few S-class weapons should be enough for now.

Having decided on a plan, Nash headed to the nearest weapon shop.

Stepping inside, he was greeted by a deserted store filled with rows of dazzling weapons, each suited for marshy terrain.

Spears, short blades, crossbows, traps, slingshots, nets, whips, poisons—everything was here.

"What do you want to buy?" the shopkeeper asked lazily.

"How much for this S-class adjustable spear?" Nash asked, picking up a spear with 9% saturation.

"1,300 merits. No bargaining."

"So expensive?" Nash frowned.

A regular S-class weapon in the Lantern Shelter only costs a few hundred merits.

"Tsk. Poor bastard. If you’re broke, go buy second-hand weapons," the shopkeeper clicked his tongue at Nash’s reaction.

"Second-hand weapons? You sell those here?"

"Look in the back. Pick what you want. S-class second-hand weapon is 100 merits each; Tier 1 second-hand weapon is 1,000 merits each. Call me when you’re ready to pay," the shopkeeper said in one breath, then shut his eyes lazily.

"There are Tier 1 second-hand weapons too?" Curious, Nash hurried to the back of the shop.

But as soon as he arrived, hoping for a bargain, his lips twitched in disbelief.

"What is this garbage...?"

Broken weapon fragments, chipped blades, tangled messes—if not for the faint void energy they emitted, Nash would’ve thought he’d stumbled into a junkyard.

Thinking of this body’s memories before he transmigrated, the garbage station was cleaner and organized than this chaotic pile.

Unfortunately, with only a few thousand merits left, he could only step forward, searching for something barely usable.

After a few minutes of digging, he finally found a sturdy short stick, a broken sharp blade, and a complete wire, probably once part of a net.

"After a little fixing... it should be barely usable." Nash smiled faintly.

Even broken apart, these items were still Tier 1 weapons.

Returning to the shopkeeper, he held out his finds.

"Three Tier 1 items. That’s 3,000 merits," the shopkeeper calculated instantly.

"What? You’re counting these broken pieces as full price?"

"I told you earlier—all Tier 1 items in the back are 1,000 merits each."

"What about this broken wire? It’s barely a piece."

Nash could understand charging for the blade and stick, but this wire was barely a meter long!

He only had 2,800 merits left; he simply couldn’t afford the price.

"Oh, that? Fine, I’ll give it to you for 300 merits." The shopkeeper relented a little.

Though unscrupulous, he didn’t want to offend Nash too much.

"Good." Nash paid 2,300 merits and quickly left the shady shop.