Shang wanted to ask what the Day of Chaos was, but for some reason, he felt like he shouldn't ask the teacher.

The entire classroom had been dead silent for the last three hours. Not even the students in red uniforms had said anything.

It was probably better for Shang not to ask any questions.

After the short announcement, the Vice-Dean left the room, and the other students began to stand up from their chairs.

Shang remained sitting on his chair for a bit longer, but not that much longer. He also left rather quickly.

'The Day of Chaos, huh?' he thought as he left. 'I should ask a teacher what that is.'

Shang descended the stairs, but instead of returning to his room, he left the building to go to the marketplace. By now, the merchants should be here.

Sure enough, when Shang arrived at the marketplace, he found several merchants. Shang directly went to the first one that seemed like they were selling ore.

"Hello, how can I help you?" the merchant asked with a polite smile.

"Middle Rank Two Fire ore," Shang said. "How much per unit?"

SHING!

Two pieces of red ore appeared on the table. "As you can see, our ore is of excellent quality. It directly comes from the Volcano Wyrm Zone. The Volcano Wyrm releases a lot of Fire Mana, which makes the ore from that region especially useful for warriors with a Fire Affinity."

"How much per unit?" Shang repeated.

"450 gold per unit," the merchant stated.

Shang's brows furrowed. 'I need two units, which comes to 900 gold. I have a bit more than 200 gold, which means I need around 700 gold to purchase it.'

"Where is the Volcano Wyrm Zone?" Shang asked.

"It's two Zones to the north of the Ice Wyvern Zone, but you can only get there by going through the Empress Cobra Zone and three other Zones," the merchant explained.

"How come?" Shang asked.

"The area to the north of the Ice Wyvern Zone and to the south of the Volcano Wyrm Zone is a beast battlefield," the merchant said. "Humans don't live there since the Ice Wyvern and the Volcano Wyrm have their beasts fight in that zone. Many Commander Stage and even some True Path Stage beasts fight there. The Mana is in chaos, and no merchant dares to travel through that region."

"Because of that, everyone has to walk around the battlefield to get to the Volcano Wyrm Zone. Traveling through the Empress Cobra Zone is also very difficult, but it's manageable."

"However, as you can see, the ore from the Volcano Wyrm Zone is of the highest quality."

Shang nodded. 'That explains the price. Sure, he is also selling it at a premium, but that's still a Zone that's difficult to get to from here.'

'Would it be worth it for me to travel there to buy it locally?' Shang thought as he scratched his chin.

'I guess I would need at least two days to get there and then another two to return. On top of that, I have to find someone that actually sells it at a reasonable price.'

'I'm only familiar with the Storm Eagle Zone and a bit familiar with the Ice Wyvern Zone. If I want to travel to the Volcano Wyrm Zone, I would have to study it beforehand.'

'For what? All that work and time investment for what? To save a couple hundred gold?'

'I can probably earn enough gold to buy the ore here in five days.'

Shang looked at the merchant.

'Seems like it's better to buy the ore here.'

"I'm interested in two units of the Fire ore, but I'm lacking the funds right now," Shang said. "In the next couple of days, I will try to get enough gold to purchase two units."

The merchant was a bit disappointed, but not that much. "Not an issue."

"If I may ask," Shang said, "do you know of a good way for someone like me to earn gold? I'm new here, and I'm only familiar with how to earn Contribution Points."

The merchant was a bit surprised by the question, but he happily answered it. "Go to the Hunter's Guild in the north of Warrior's Paradise. You can accept missions for gold there. Usually, you would need to get through a lengthy process of registering as a hunter, but as a member of the Warrior's Academy, you are automatically a member."

This piqued Shang's interest. "Thank you. I think I will do just that."

"I wish you a profitable hunt," the merchant said with a smile.

"If I may, I have one more question, but it doesn't have anything to do with the ore," Shang said.

The merchant looked interested but also a bit skeptical. "Yes?" he asked.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ "What is the Day of Chaos?" he asked.

The merchant furrowed his brows. "You really must be new here," he uttered.

Shang nodded.

"The Day of Chaos is a day that happens once every six months," the merchant explained. "Once every six months, the Storm Eagle leaves the Storm Eagle Zone and flies to the north for a day. No one knows what it's doing in the north since that's outside of Duke Whirlwind's duchy, but it always returns one day later."

"Whenever the Storm Eagle leaves, there's a chance that at least one of the True Path beasts far to the south decide to go hunting in the Canyon or even the Wasteland."

"Well, hunting might not be the correct term. It's more along the lines of a rampage. The Mages believe that the beasts act out when the Storm Eagle leaves because they have been suppressed for a long while. The Mages think that the True Path beasts enjoy venting their frustrations on the weaker beasts."

"This has a ripple effect. Many Commander Stage beasts flee from the Canyon and also kill weaker beasts."

"During the day of Chaos, Commander Stage beasts run rampant in the Wasteland, and General Stage beasts invade the Wild Forest. Of course, Warrior's Paradise also has to endure severe attacks during that period."

"The Day of Chaos is a day of fear, terror, but also prosperity. It's one of the very few times the True Path beasts enter places not filled with other True Path beasts, making this their most vulnerable time."

"But that doesn't have much to do with us little people," the merchant said with a grin. "On the Day of Chaos, Warrior's Paradise is closed to everyone. No visitors are allowed, and the ones living here have to leave."

"All General Stage warriors and Adepts have to defend the Farm Line from the onslaught of beasts coming from the Wasteland. All Commander Stage warriors and Mages have to defend Warrior's Paradise."

"Us? We only retreat to the Farm Line and hide until the next day arrives."

"And then, everything returns to normal," the merchant explained.

Shang had been listening with rapt attention.

The name was very appropriate for the Day of Chaos.

As soon as the Storm Eagle left, the entire Storm Eagle Zone would fall into a state of pure chaos.

But what did all of that have to do with these quotas the Vice-Dean was talking about?

"Thank you for your time," Shang said politely.

"No problem," the merchant said. "In exchange, please purchase the ore from my shop and not one of the others."

Shang nodded. "Will do."

"Then there's nothing to thank for," the merchant said with a polite smile.

Shang said his goodbyes and left the marketplace.