Nick walked back through the gates of War Beast Sanctuary, hiding his pained look from the loss of potential profit from his decision.
He knew hiding his emotions like this was likely unnecessary, considering he often entered the sanctuary with his full emotions on display countless times over the last three weeks, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
It was impossible for this incredible opportunity to be hidden forever. Nick knew that for sure, as all it took was 1 relatively powerful Altered to get bored or stumble their way into Vaylan forest for the existence of the Awakened Sabertooth Wolves to be revealed.
Hence, Nick wanted to maintain this advantage while it lasted.
For the time being, if anybody asked about his incredible speed, he would simply use the excuse of having heavenly luck.
He could pass the Sabertooth Wolf Beast Armament off as an Awakened Beast Armament, and simply say that he came across an injured Mutant beast, and finished it off.
It was a story riddled with holes, as were all stories, but it was something that occurred every day in the Beast Domain, so people wouldn't get suspicious.
…If anything, they might get jealous and try something against him… but that was something for future Nick to worry about.
'Right now, I need to get back home before Luna wakes up!'
He'd been in the Beast Domain for over 6 hours by now, so he planned to head back before his sister woke up for school. He'd hate to make her worry about him.
Being a frequent delver into the Beast Domain was a dangerous and risky business, after all, so it was only natural for his sister to worry about him. No amount of reassurance could appease her worry, so Nick made it a rule to never spend too long in the Beast Domain if he could help it.
It lowered his potential for profits, as it gave him less time for hunting beasts, but it ironically did its job of keeping him alive.
God knows how high his chances of dying were if he continued hunting, ignoring fatigue and tiredness…
'I don't even have anything to sell today, since I had to leave the Sabertooth Wolf corpse behind…'
Dispirited, Nick made his way over to the teleporter before stepping through.
'But that won't be the case for long! I have the ability to make even more money now thanks to my Beast Armaments and increasing Soul Seeds!'
His confidence in his own abilities was gradually rising, barely being able to contain his excitement.
All his depression from having to abandon the potential millions of credits Vaylan forest might have netted him had all but disappeared at this point.
The sadness was temporary, as he knew that while he might not be able to bask in riches for the time being, at his current pace there would come a day in the future where he could.
…He was just hoping that day wouldn't be too far in the future though… He was hoping to at least give Luna a better start when she inevitably entered the Beast Domain.
In the federation, it was basically unheard of for someone to refuse to enter the Beast Domain.
After all, just stepping through the teleporter and officially becoming an Altered doubled one's lifespan, and there wasn't any danger involved anymore, so it was a no brainer.
Who wouldn't want a doubled lifespan, all for free?
Of course, many people still decided that just doing that was enough for them and never entered the Beast Domain again after their first time.
The very real danger of death was enough of a deterrent to stop people from doing so.
As her older brother, Nick of course wouldn't like for Luna to enter such a dangerous place and put her life at risk just to gain some measly Mundane Soul Seeds like he had to, but he wasn't about to make that decision for her.
He knew that letting her make her own decision was the best choice, and no matter what option she chose, he would support her.
…Of course, he would do his damn best to make sure she was much more well equipped for it if she did decide on hunting beasts!
Sure, he wasn't going to stop her from making her own decisions, but he also wasn't just going to sit around and watch her die either!
'Although, I'll probably have ascended to become an Evolver in the next level of the Beast Domain by the time she enters, so I won't be there to protect her in scenarios where equipment alone will…' Nick mused internally.
Luna still had a good four years before she turned sixteen, so Nick had plenty of time for preparation — assuming he didn't die, of course.
The journey back to his newly acquired apartment, courtesy of Kai's generosity, was a peaceful one.
It was still early in the morning on the side of Planet Terminus he live in, and the sun had only just appeared over the horizon.
Thankfully, his apartment wasn't too far away from the nearest teleporter either, so the journey was short.
'It's still so early in the morning, so she should still be fast asleep…' Nick thought to himself as he quietened his steps leading up to his apartment door.
Opening the door as quietly as he could manage, Nick took a peak inside to find the place still caked in darkness.
'Yup, as I thought.'
Luna was infamously scared of the dark, so there was no way she would be awake with all the lights turned out.
Nick picked up a remote from nearby and pressed a button, causing light to gradually start to filter into their open plan kitchen and living room through the windows.
'Man, you just gotta love technology.'
Most houses and apartments in this day and age came equipped with auto-dim windows, effectively blocking out all light when they were fully tinted, and acting as a normal window during the day.
As someone who spent most of his time outside, Nick much preferred to have natural light brightening things up for him, and the sunrise on the horizon only made it much more ethereal.
'Alright, time to get to work!'