Lee heard a violent whistling of a gale in his ears and the next second, the incoming person disappeared!
Immediately, he looked to his right and saw the person rolling in the floor and coming to a halt.
[That was some sick Wind Magic!]
Lee Shen could tell that the mage that used the Wind Magic was not a simple person. The person must possess an incredible affinity to Wind to produce such a powerful force to redirect an object flying at such high speed.
Came a series of footsteps running from the inside of the tavern which distracted Lee's observations. As he turned his eyes, a loli came into his sight.
She ran past Lee Shen and approached the man on the ground and quickly helped him get up.
"You have always been a troublemaker, brother. And a persistent one at that."
She muttered as her voice was filled with unhappiness. The disappointed tone was directed to the man lying on the ground, who happened to be the loli's brother.
With a magic staff in one hand, she was unable to support or lift her unconscious brother. But she did not give up and tried to raise him on his feet.
Lee Shen decided to help them and stepped to the duo. He easily raised the unconscious man who had the smell of alcohol around him.
'No wonder he was knocked out pretty easily.'
The sluggishness as the result in consuming alcohol was counteracting the loli's action to steady her brother, but Lee Shen was not bothered by it. He picked him up with his strength alone and steadied him.
Then...
The man's legs gave away and the body almost fell but Lee Shen had a firm grip on the man's shoulders. The pain that seeped into his uneven consciousness forced him to open his eyes.
Upon seeing an unfamiliar face, the man tried to forcefully take control of his body. But his pathetic coordination of body and mind counteracted his decision.
"Thank you. I shall take him from here."
The loli intervened and burdened herself with her half-conscious brother. She moved away from the spot with her brother over her like a sack of potatoes.
As Lee watched the siblings go away, Hudson notified him with a positive piece of information.
[The Tubian Finder detected the presence of the concealed target for a millisecond. Then the signature vanished to nothingness like it did not exist in the first place.]
Lee stepped to the tavern after turning his head in the direction of the shattered doorframe and asked-
'Where?'
Before a reply could fall in his ears, Lee Shen had entered inside the tavern. The dull and stagnant atmosphere inside the tavern with the smell of alcohol was uncomfortable to normal standards.
The lighting inside the tavern was poor but Lee Shen was able to see many pairs of eyes focusing on him. But after finding nothing particular with him, those brutish physiques turned away to chug down some drink.
The Essence reserve was losing its quantity when Hudson replied that the signature came from the outside of the building.
Contrary to Hudson's expectation, Lee did not go out of the establishment, instead asked for some fine alcohol.
This action made the Dimension Sovereign scratch his head in confusion.
And that's when Lee asked to increase the output of Essence!
[Wait, are you thinking of luring him in?]
After taking a large sip from the drink presented in front of him, Lee Shen nodded in agreement. There was a pleasant smile on his face which was triggered by the smoothness and beauty of the alcohol.
'Keep me posted.'
Another gulp of alcohol went down the throat of Lee as he asked Hudson to notify him of any development.
----------
The twin stars in the sky leaned more and more on the surface of the sea. They became dull by each passing moment and the street lamps began to open their eyes.
The tavern near the slum barely had any change in its bustling atmosphere. The sale of alcohol was abnormal but it was considered normal when taking the peculiarities of the drink into account.
With only 14 minutes to 6 PM, Lee had gulped down alcohol worth of 76 Silver coins. The server was pleased and simultaneously astonished by the unnatural alcohol tolerance of Lee.
But unbeknownst to him, the peak value of Resolve coupled with Serenity imbued Mana kept Lee Shen's mind in place.
It was then...
[The Tubian has entered the tavern and is moving here and there.]
Lee, who was smiling brightly with ecstasy from the drink, had a rather funny smile plastered on his face. The middle-aged man who served him alcohol tried to converse with him and the time went without a restriction.
=====
6 PM.
5,977,800 Essence harvested.
=====
The tavern was illuminated with Mana lanterns a few minutes later. The lanterns were not as bright as the daylight but were enough to shed its feeble rays of light on the interiors of the tavern.
Lee Shen, with slight dizziness attributed to the alcohol, turned his head around and saw the wooden interiors of the tavern.
[The woman wearing the jet black coat with deep purple stripes is the Tubian.]
While sweeping his eyes across the tavern, Lee Shen saw the aforementioned woman sitting alone at a table.
'Is she?'
[Yes, she is a demon.]
'Interesting.'
Lee Shen took a quick scan of the woman and turned back to the counter. The woman and those around Lee Shen only saw him casually glancing at the surroundings with drowsy eyes.
[Despite her visibly frail physique, her stats should be greater than Hegerus. Unfortunately, all attempts to use View have been somehow restricted by her. It is as if she has a superpower that could deactivate the View skill.]
'So she is troublesome.'
Gulping down the last bit of alcohol in the glass, Lee Shen gently placed it on the table and paid the money in Silver coins.
As he stood up from the chair and steadied himself, Hudson notified him of the demon's movement.
[She is going out.]